The latest entry to the highly-successful film series expands the superhero tale with a more ambitious perspective while keeping that nostalgic humor and warmth.
Sony Pictures | Marvel Studios
Actors: Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zendaya, Jaob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Benedict Wong, Marissa Tomei, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Premise: With Spider-Man’s identity now revealed, Peter asks Doctor Strange for help. When a spell goes wrong, dangerous foes from other worlds start to appear, forcing Peter to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man. (IMDB)
Running Time: 148 minutes
Direction: Jon Watts
Why You Should See It:
Coming on the heels of the success of the previous ‘Home’ films and the enormous box-office triumph of Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, Spider-Man: No Way Home definitely has the tallest order to tackle among stand-alone films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the pandemic still raging, expectations on how the film would perform at the box office are tamed by utterly conservative estimates.
The first two entries to the ‘Home’ trilogy collectively grossed USD2 billion globally, and predictions were initially placed near the two films; individual grosses. Although. Of course, that speculation has long been debunked by ‘No Way Home’ current global box-office haul, which now stands at USD 1.4 billion, making it one of the ten highest-grossing movies of all time. No Way Home feels like a culmination of a two-decade journey that started with Sam Raimi’s trilogy, which premiered in 2002. The first Spider-Man film in that series was a surprising megahit, which grossed more than USD800 million at the box office. Marc Webb’s underwhelming ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ films, which starred Oscar nominee, Andrew Garfield, managed to rake USD 1.4 billion, but it wasn’t enough to warrant a third film.
The web-slinger franchise reinvigorated with Holland stepping in to fill Maguire and Garfield’s shoes. The young British actor’s inherent quirk has undoubtedly magnified Peter Parker’s natural charm. However, it’s worth noting how timely Holland’s Spider-Man’s entry to MCU made it utterly intriguing.
No Way Home follows the immediate aftermath of the events in ‘Far Away From Home’. A posthumous video of Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) framing the Spider-Man for murder and revealing his identity surfaces. Parker now has to face judgment and constant nuisances from the citizens of New York. Still, he has the safety of his girlfriend, MJ (Zandaya), his best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon), and Aunt Mary (Marissa Tomei) to worry more about. In his bid to escape the consequences of Beck’s exposé, Parker enlists the help of Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), to make people forget that he is the Spider-Man. However, Peter’s numerous requests to exclude certain individuals from Dr. Strange’s spell generated unprecedented upshots that make known great villains across the Spider-verse converge in Holland’s Peter Parker’s world. But that isn’t the biggest surprise this landmark film has to offer: the real Spider-Men the villains are looking for also find themselves in Peter’s world. I assume much of the moviegoing public has already been exposed to this film’s meatiest trick, but let’s not go there.
No Way Home is a powerful film, and while that does not necessarily make it award-worthy, that seems to be enough to earn a special place in what could be one of the most commercially-successful cinematic universes. There are still things to say about how convoluted the plot is and how predictable things are, but one can’t deny the magic of seeing familiar moments and characters intersect in this monumental moment. For all those who waited for this for decades to take place, sitting inside the cinema savoring No Way Home’s nostalgic moments is an incomparable bliss.
5 – Excellent
4 – Very Good
3 – Good
2 – Tolerable
1 – Terrible
Watch Spider-Man: No Way Home in cinemas now. Check out the official full trailer of the film below:
