Watercooler Pick
Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Movie
- Where to Find It: In theaters
- Rating: PG-13
- Release Date: 2021
- Runtime: 2 hours, 28 minutes
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Following directly after the cliffhanger ending of Spider Man: Far from Home—in which Mysterio revealed Spider-Man’s identity to the world—Peter Parker becomes a liability to his closest friends and loved ones. Turning to Doctor Strange to fix the problem with magic, he instead ends up inadvertently opening a portal to the multiverse.
Tom Holland reprises his role as Peter, alongside Zendaya as MJ and Jacob Batalon as Ned. Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, and Benedict Cumberbatch also return from the MCU. Several veterans of other Spider-Man films and Marvel properties show up as well. And that’s all I’ll say about that.
It’s difficult to explain what makes Spider-Man: No Way Home such a worthwhile and meaningful addition to the Spider-Man canon without revealing any of the surprises that make it so great. But I’m going to try anyway.
What I can say is that this is the film Spider-Man MCU fans have been waiting for. It’s filled with intense action, powerful emotions, genuine laughs, and so many punch-the-air moments your arm may get tired. In other words, believe the hype. If you have any kind of investment at all in the character of Peter Parker or Spider-Man, No Way Home is sure to resonate with you on some level.
With two Spider-Man movies and three Avengers team-ups (in Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame) under his belt, Tom Holland has had more screen time than either of his two predecessors (Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield), but the Marvel Cinematic Universe version has also strayed the furthest from Spidey’s comic-book origins. In No Way Home we finally get to see Holland’s Peter evolve into the Spider-Man he was meant to be. He comes to truly understand the lonely burden of being a masked superhero and the great responsibility that comes with great power.
Holland has always brought a likable quality to Peter—grounded in his naive optimism and steadfast morality—but here he gets to stretch that range even further, and it’s impressive. Holland isn’t the only one putting the work in, though. Everyone who shares the screen with him is absolutely committed, no matter how crazy things get.
And wow does it get crazy. Like world-shattering, heart-pounding, can’t-believe-your-eyes crazy. With such a complicated plot, there are bound to be holes in the film’s logic, and there are plenty here. But the pure joy in seeing what’s happening on screen is enough to keep you from thinking about it too much. It’s only after you leave the theater that you may find yourself asking, “Wait, what about this?” or “Why didn’t that happen?” And even then, those questions are easy to dismiss when you think about what the film gets absolutely right about the essence of Peter Parker.
Finally, there’s another big question that must be addressed these days when it comes to exclusive theatrical releases. With Covid-19 still a factor and new, more contagious variants emerging, is it worth the risk to see this film on a big screen? That’s a question each moviegoer will have to answer for themselves, but I will say that while there are big action set pieces that may not play as well on a smaller screen, Spider-Man: No Way Home is full of fun and poignant moments that will hold up in any format.
If you’re a fan of Spider-Man in any form, No Way Home is not to be missed. Just be prepared for an emotional workout, with wild swings worthy of the web-slinger himself.
This film is a crowd pleaser, so you can watch it with anyone. But if you’re a Marvel fan, gather friends who will want to geek out with you for maximum enjoyment.
Every Marvel fan worthy of the title knows not to leave the theater until the now-expected end-credit scene. No Way Home has two, though one is more of a trailer than a scene. Both have some big hints about the future direction of Spider-Man and the MCU, so be sure to stick around.
- Moods: find me fun, grip me, stretch my mind, thrill me, transfix me, up my adrenaline
- Interests: conversation worthy, epic, escapist, heroes/heroines, star power
Cindy White
Cindy White
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1 thought on “Spider-Man: No Way Home”
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Spiderman No-way Home is a flawless piece of art that evokes emotion, plays on your hearts and nostalgia and just leaves you awestruck wondering how it’s possible to make a movie that good. It easily became my favorite marvel movie of all time and a classic for the ages. I recommend everyone goes to see it, however be prepared to laugh, cry, shout and experience what spiderman fans have been waiting on for two decade. the Background music did not disappoint. They somehow took exactly what Peter was feeling and conveyed it through the music. The cast and characters in Spiderman No-way Home are unbeatable, easily making this one of my favorite actor lineups I’ve ever seen. The cast and characters in Spiderman No-way Home are unbeatable, easily making this one of my favorite actor lineups I’ve ever seen. This movie perfectly blended action with emotion, and had an insane plot that spiderman fans across the multiverse would appreciate.
1 thought on “Spider-Man: No Way Home”
Spiderman No-way Home is a flawless piece of art that evokes emotion, plays on your hearts and nostalgia and just leaves you awestruck wondering how it’s possible to make a movie that good. It easily became my favorite marvel movie of all time and a classic for the ages. I recommend everyone goes to see it, however be prepared to laugh, cry, shout and experience what spiderman fans have been waiting on for two decade. the Background music did not disappoint. They somehow took exactly what Peter was feeling and conveyed it through the music. The cast and characters in Spiderman No-way Home are unbeatable, easily making this one of my favorite actor lineups I’ve ever seen. The cast and characters in Spiderman No-way Home are unbeatable, easily making this one of my favorite actor lineups I’ve ever seen. This movie perfectly blended action with emotion, and had an insane plot that spiderman fans across the multiverse would appreciate.