It’s possible that you haven’t seen “Spider-Man: No Way Home” yet. Technically speaking, that is. However, those chances are quite slim. Having been in theaters since Dec. 17, the film has broken both pandemic era box office records and pre-pandemic records. The hype for the film reached astronomical highs; however, the question remains: Did it live up to it?
This article will stay away from spoilers as it is meant to help determine whether this movie may be of interest to you. Regardless, it should probably be made clear that I have seen the movie, and this has informed my opinion on the matter. So, if you want to go in completely blind—clueless as to whether the performances are good or the CGI realistic—then you should probably stop reading here. Got it? Good! Let’s get started.
Do you like Tom Holland’s Spider-Man? If the answer is “yes,” then I have good news for you. This film explores his version of the character in depth, testing him in order to show audience members what he is made of. With two franchises behind the character, this movie serves to show viewers what makes this Peter Parker different from the others, beyond the usual connection to Tony Stark that he has in this franchise. If you are one of the people who disliked that Iron-Man connection—as some people critical of this choice have even taken to calling this Spider-Man, “Iron Boy Jr.” [1]—then you’ll be glad to hear that it is toned down here. However, it is still there, so if your disliking of it is extremely strong, then maybe this isn’t the movie for you.
Moving on, do you like the villains from the past Spider-Man movies? If the answer is no, then the trailers for this film must have been bad news, as their return was one of the first things teased in them. So, as expected, they’re in this film quite prominently. On the other side of things, if you’re the kind of person who could instantly think of quotes from their earlier appearances, such as “Back to Formula!,” “Misery, misery misery… that’s what you’ve chosen,” “The power of the sun in the palm of my hand,” “You know, I’m something of a scientist myself,” etc.—I was a nerdy kid—then you’re in for an extremely fun time. Willem Dafoe, in particular, shines as the Green Goblin. His performance has remained just as unsettling as it was in the first film, showing us that he hasn’t forgotten how to give his creepy Goblin stares and deliver unhinged speeches in the 20 years between films. This movie heavily banks on nostalgia, and these villains are a result of that. If you’d rather see something new, you probably wouldn’t like this movie, or franchises in general.
Adding to the nostalgia, the director of this movie, Jon Watts, has done quite a bit to incorporate the styles of the previous directors of Spider-Man movies, Sam Raimi and Marc Webb. It helped give the movie a bit more style than Watt’s last two Spider-Man movies, though he has also brought much more to the table than merely copying previous directors. It’s difficult to get into without giving any spoilers, so I’ll stay away from specific examples. All I’ll say is, there are an impressive number of memorable scenes in this film.
Lastly, are you a sucker for surprises? There are many things in this movie that weren’t teased in any trailers. Of course, speculation and theories were plenty on the Internet leading up to the movie’s release, and it is fairly easy to find spoilers and leaks over a month after its release. However, if you’ve somehow avoided spoilers until now, you’re in for quite a few shocks. Overall, if you’re into superhero movies, I think you’ll be really into this one. It’s still in theaters, but if you’d rather wait—as there is still a pandemic going on—a digital, DVD and Blu-ray release are coming soon.
(1) https://thedirect.com/article/spider-man-iron-man-junior