Mike Ryan started his review by admitting, “Admittedly,
I was a bit worried about the multiverse being a new central theme of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe. (And, for that matter, the DC movies.) It just seems
like a lot, especially at a time when the MCU is also doubling down on the
cosmic side of things, too. It just seems so far removed from where it all
started with “rich guy builds a suit of armor.” Now, look, with Spider-Man: No
Way Home, I’m not saying my trepidation was unwarranted, but if there was a character
to do it with, it’s Spider-Man. And not just because he’s Marvel’s most popular
character and easily accessible and lighthearted, but it kind of, strangely,
resets our timeline.” With villains appearing in this film that go back as far as
Sam Raimi’s first “Spider-Man” movie, it’s now that “Spider-Man,” from 2002,
that begins the MCU. (Also, it’s somewhat fitting that Raimi himself will
direct the next MCU film, “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.”)
Jon Watts’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” starts exactly
where “Far From Home” ended. Peter (Tom Holland) has just had his identity told
to everyone and is web-slinging through the streets with MJ (Zendaya) trying to
escape the mobs of people who want to beat up Peter for killing Mysterio in the
last film. (Which he didn’t do, but people don’t realize this.) After MJ and Ned
(Jacob Batalon) get rejected from MIT because of being friends with “the
vigilante Spider-Man,” Peter goes to Stephen Strange’s (Benedict Cumberbatch)
house looking for help. Doctor Strange can’t grant Peter’s request to go back in
time to repair everything, but Strange says he can cast a spell that would make
people forget that Peter is Spider-Man, the only problem is it’s an all or
nothing deal and Peter would still like a few people to know. This
causes the spell to go haywire and instead of people forgetting Peter, everyone
who knows Peter is Spider-Man arrives. As you may have seen from the trailer, it
includes past villains like Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Doctor Octopus (Alfred
Molina), Electro (Jaime Foxx), The Lizard (Rhys Ifans), and The Sandman (Thomas
Haden Church) – all played by their respective actors from the five previous
non-MCU Spider-Man movies. (Ryan said, “Which, now, technically, as I said
earlier, they all kind of are.”)
Now Peter has to deal with all these villains who all
hate Peter Parker, but also don’t recognize Peter Parker and, mostly, just are
really confused why any of this is happening. Strange has a very easy way of
sending them all back, but once Peter realizes that most of them meet a tragic
fate back in their own universes, he has, with some help from May, reprised by
Marisa Tomei, a crisis of realization and promises to help them – even though
Strange does not think this is a good idea and most of the villains definitely
don’t want Peter’s help and still pretty much just want to kill him.
Some people might think this movie should be
somewhat of a mess. There are so many villains, played by great actors, who
need attention here (Remember, even the Avengers movies all somewhat focus on one
villain) that it’s very interesting this movie feels so in control of itself.
Ryan said, “Now, it’s controlled chaos, but it’s still in control. And, yes, I
will concede that the only reason all this controlled chaos succeeds is because
of the multiverse. Or, at least, a byproduct of the multiverse in having all
these (some beloved, some not as much) characters back from previous movies
and, most importantly, played by actors who originally played them.” (Also, the
“not as beloved” characters have been given some nice updates and often joke at
their origins. Jamie Foxx is really having some fun this time around. There
are so many references to “electric eels.”)
This is now the eighth solo live-action Spider-Man movie
since 2002. In this movie, at least one character appears from every single one
of the previous films. In a world swamped with superhero movies, it’s difficult
for any of them to feel special anymore. Remember that first time we saw all
the Avengers on screen together for the first time in the first movie? That
felt like a great build-up. Bring back some of these characters we haven’t seen
in 19 years made “Spider-Man: No Way Home” feel special, in the sense of “I can’t
believe they pulled this off.” Ryan said, “Yeah, sure, some of that’s
nostalgia. I’ll admit it! And sure, yes, some of it is fan service. Whatever!
It’s the giving season, so, sure, give us some fan service. But the story is
still there (though the second act does start to feel a bit long) and I felt
some actual emotion, even with all this chaos swirling around.” In the end, “Spider-Man:
No Way Home” somehow finds a way to keep everything together.
I think everyone is thinking this is a live action
version of “Into the Spiderverse.” You’re not wrong in thinking that. However,
if you think this one would be bad in trying to be just like the animated
movie, you’re wrong. This, along with the “Spiderverse” movie, is my favorite
of the Spider-Man movies, and another one of my favorite superhero movies. Go
to the theater to see this because it’s well worth seeing. I actually saw this
in IMAX, which was a real experience. This is not the last Spider-Man movie, as
the MCU confirmed they are doing another trilogy. However, this film is still a
great one to see around the holidays.
Spoiler alert: in the mid-credits scene, Eddie Brock, reprised by Tom Hardy, is speaking with a bartender regarding the blip, Thanos, and the Avengers, before he gets transported back to his realm. Stay for the post-credits because there is a trailer for the upcoming "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."
Thank you for joining in on my review tonight, see
what I will review tomorrow in ‘Disney Month 2021.”
No comments:
Post a Comment