Re-Visiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Spider-Man: No Way Home

 "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (2021)

When the MCU made its triumphant return after its pandemic induced break in 2020, they decided to save the best for last. "Spider-Man: No Way Home" was a movie that was hyped by everyone. It felt like even if you weren't a Marvel devotee, you were stoked to see this movie. You'd heard about the surprise guests. You knew it was going to be a moment. A real cinematic moment that we hadn't experienced for a long time. Audiences showed up and showed out for this movie. When tickets went on sale, it crashed sites. This may sound hyperbolic, but I really feel like this movie is a cultural touchstone. A highlight of Phase 4 to be sure, but a highlight of the MCU as a whole... so far.

Principal photography on "Spider-Man: No Way Home" began in October 2020 and ended in March 2021. The film stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Zendaya as Michelle "MJ" Jones-Watson, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange, Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon/Electro, Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, Alfred Molina as Doctor Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus, Benedict Wong as Wong, Tony Revolori as Eugene "Flash" Thompson, J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, Marissa Tomei as May Parker, Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. The film was written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. It was directed by Jon Watts. "Spider-Man: No Way Home" premiered on December 17, 2021.

Spider-Men.

I am going to start off by telling you that there is going to be a lot of gushing in this post. So, if you're not interested in reading me just showering this movie with praise, then I wouldn't blame you if you just stopped reading right now. I won't hold it against you. Honestly.

OK, so for everyone who stayed. How freaking amazing is this movie? Spectacular. Superior, even. You all are seeing what I'm doing here, right? This movie is the cinematic high point of Phase Four for me. And there have been some great movies so far and some great ones yet to come in our re-visitation. "Spider-Man: No Way Home" feels a lot like the original "Avengers" movie to me. It's just a blast of pure serotonin. It doesn't matter how many times I see that circular shot of the original MCU Avengers assembling during the Battle for New York, I always get chills. I always get chills when I see the three Spider-Men posing on top of the Statue of Liberty. Those two movies may not be the best from an objective standpoint, but they are the best for me based on pure emotion.

A lot of this movie really lives and dies by the cast. Every single actor in this movie is doing some damn good work. I will forever stand by that Tom Holland is my favorite live-action Peter Parker/Spider-Man. I think he does both roles so well. He kind of embodies that nerdy Peter Parker vibe with the quiet confidence underneath and his Spider-Man is what I've been looking for since Tobey Maguire made the first live-action "Spider-Man." I feel like Andrew and Tobey have been able to succeed with one or the other but not both but Tom really gets both sides. Plus, we really get to see him get hit with the adversity and awful luck that the 616 Peter Parker has to deal with. I, and I know a lot of other people have been waiting for that, so it was nice to finally see that worked into the MCU Spider-Man trilogy.

Holland's Peter would be as good if it wasn't for Zendaya. Zendaya's Michelle "MJ" Jones-Watson is far and away the best female lead that the "Spider-Man" movies have had with apologies to Emma Stone, who came so close. Holland and Zendaya have such amazing chemistry. It crackles when they are together. It's no shock that they are dating and maybe engaged? MJ is not a damsel in distress. She is her own person. It makes total sense that Peter entrusts her with Strange's magic box. He knows that she will push the button, no matter what. He trusts her to make this hard decision implicitly and you see that throughout the movie multiple times. And it's nice to see Peter's relentless optimism and heroism rub off on MJ. They bring out the best in each other. Peter's future with MJ is left up in the air at the end of this movie, but I'm hopeful that this isn't the last we see of her.

Iron Spider time.

Maybe it's because I just re-watched all the live-action "Spider-Man" movies, watching "Spider-Man: No Way Home" I couldn't help thinking of Peter, MJ and Harry from the Maguire trilogy in regards to Peter, MJ and Ned in the Holland movies. They make some inferences to this in this movie and it's pretty clear that this trio is the superior one. Jacob Batalon's Ned Leeds is the secret ingredient here. We would still love this movie even if what was MJ and Peter, but Spider-Man's "guy in the chair" is integral to the success of these movies. I think they tried to do this with the Maguire movies, but they failed. The three of them gel so well and they each bring something special to this team. Like, MJ, I'd be very sad if this were the last we see of Ned Leeds in the MCU or working with Spider-Man.

I love how this movie says we could introduce MCU versions of villains we've already seen on screen or we can just bring back these phenomenal characters we've already had and the actors that played them. We can just re-showcase some of the best Spider-villains from past films ie Alfred Molina's Doc Ock and Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin and maybe put a new shine on a villain that didn't get the due they deserved in their original film ie Jamie Foxx's Electro. And that is exactly what this film does. 

It reminds us that Alfred Molina's Otto Octavius is one of the best comic book villains that we have seen on screen. He slips right back into that character and it still fits him like a glove. The same can be said for Willem Dafoe and Norman Osborn. I get chills every time I hear that tell tale cackle. Spider-Man has such a diverse and fantastic rogue's gallery and there is an argument to be made that Green Goblin is his Joker. I think the movie really makes that argument here. And I'm buying it. I felt like "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" really did Jamie Foxx's Electro dirty. He doesn't get a ton of screen time here, but I feel like the movie utilizes him in a great way and he takes advantage of every scene he's in. I am really happy they didn't make him blue. I think this is a great representation of his powers. We even get like a representation of Electro's famous lightning bolt mask when he's using his powers. Rhys Ifans and Thomas Haden Church also reprise their roles as The Lizard and the Sandman respectively. They only reprise their voices, which I didn't know until I was reading up on "Spider-Man: No Way Home" today. The footage of them reverting back to their OG forms at the end is re-used footage from "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man" respectively.

I've saved the best for last here. Marissa Tomei's May Parker has been a highlight of not just this new "Spider-Man" trilogy but the MCU since she made her first appearance in "Captain America: Civil War." This is a May Parker we hadn't seen before. She's beautiful. She's hip with her '70's inspired wardrobe. Marissa Tomei can rock a high waisted jean and a Halston jumpsuit. But what pushed her above the rest is that this was a May Parker that had a role in Peter's life that we hadn't seen before. The role that is usually filled by Ben Parker. May is the one that instilled in Peter the drive to be a hero. She doesn't try to dissuade him from being Spider-Man. She knows that it is his destiny. She won't allow him to take the easy way out. She is so proud when he decides to cure these men. Having seen the movie now multiple times, I should have seen her death coming. But, to the movie's credit, I didn't really until right before it happens. Every time I see Peter is holding a dying May in his arms as she tells him "With great power, there must come great responsibility" it will wreck me. And I'm fine with that. 

These MFers

Now comes the part of this recap where I spend a lot of time gushing over the Peters. I will be the first person to tell you that I'm a sucker for nostalgia. But i wasn't sure how I'd feel about the returning Spider-Men going into this movie. I had really no warm feelings about Garfield's incarnation of the character so imagine my surprise when I got chills and teared up when Garfield's Peter Parker emerged from Ned's portal. You got me, Andrew. I take back every negative thing I've ever said about your Spider-Man portrayal. I think this just proves that it's all about the writing. Everything about this is right. Peter 3 hanging from the ceiling and then crawling across it to snag the cobweb for Ned's grandma. This is what i wanted that I felt like I wasn't getting from Garfield's Spider-Man in his movies. There is a sense of whimsy here and I love it. Is there a petition to get Garfield to make "The Amazing Spider-Man 3?" Point me to it, I will be as happy to sign it as Heather Mooney was to sign Toby's yearbook at the end of "Romy & Michelle."

Then Tobey Maguire, dressed like a hip youth pastor, walks through a portal and they had me. They had me. I was even more in than I was before and I didn't think I could get more in. The interactions between these two are golden. The Spider-Man off is great. Then, the two of them go to find Peter and if you thought you were emotional when May died, well, prepare to cry even more when Peter 2 and 3 finally meet Peter 1. The older Peters recounting their own personal tragedies and how they have affected them will never not get to me. Or when MJ snags the box away from Peter 1 when he's going to push the button and shakes her head. It's an amazing scene and I marvel (pardon the pun) at it every time I watch this movie. 

Every single moment when the three Peter's are interacting is golden. If you're a Spider-Man film fan, then this is everything you've been waiting on. The way they encourage each other particularly Peter 3 is so endearing. They immediately start to help each other. I loved the awe that Peter and Peter 3 feel when they first learn about Peter 2's organic webbing. I love how he thinks they are making of him at first but it becomes very clear that they are being completely serious and earnest and it's just yet another lovely moment. We get Peter 3 saving MJ the way he couldn't save Gwen and man, that gets me too, especially when MJ asks if he is OK. Garfield really sells that moment. You can see the emotional weight that Peter 3 has been carrying since his failure lift from him. Peter 2 stopping Peter 1 from killing the Green Goblin and getting stabbed in the back in the process. Everyone gets these moments and every single one works.

I could really go on about these guys forever but I'll wrap it up. I will say that I loved the moment where Peter 3 cracks Peter 2's back. It's a fun inside joke. If you are a movie trivia buff, you probably remember that there was a moment where people were worried that Maguire wouldn't reprise is role in "Spider-Man 2" due to a back injury that he suffered working on "Seabiscuit." The injury is real, but people have questioned the severity of it. Many have thought that it was a bargaining chip that Maguire used in order to get more money for the sequel. It's great that they referenced that here. I loved it. And it works even if you aren't familiar with the backstory.

Leaving my body behind.

The bones of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is really good too. The story is kind of simple but really smart too. After the world finding out his identity starts to negatively impact Ned and MJ, Peter heads to Doctor Strange to see if he can do a spell that will make everyone forget who he is. But after continuously altering it, the spell goes awry. The spell summoned people from across the Multiverse that knew Peter Parker is Spider-Man instead. As he deals with these folks, he realizes that if he sends them back he will die and the MCU Spider-Man is not about to allow that to happen. He decides to cure them before sending them back. This is such a great like nuanced thing. Some of my biggest issues with early comic book movies is how the villains always died which is usually the antithesis of how these heroes would usually handle things. So, Peter deciding to remedy that just feels so right and so smart. 

We can't have a MCU movie without another MCU character popping up and in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" we get Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Stephen Strange. Strange and Peter have a great rapport. Strange's cranky old man and Peter's excitable teenager. Sometimes these MCU cameos can feel out of place or take you out of it, but this is the perfect one. It makes complete sense that Strange would be here and they don't overuse him which I love. I feel like he's in just the right amount of time. And it reminds folks, hey, the next movie after this is all about Doctor Strange. 

The pacing is great. This is a longer movie but it doesn't feel that long. It zips along. We get the immediate aftermath of the world learning that Peter is Spider-Man. Hey Damage Control. Is that Matt Murdock finally showing up in the MCU proper?! I saw "Spider-Man: No Way Home" the Thursday it opened and I couldn't hear much of what Matt was saying because of the cheering of the crowd in the theater. Things zip right along but it never feels like things are moving too fast. Like, every time I watch "Spider-Man: No Way Home" I am always a little surprised when they get to the third act because it doesn't feel like it should already be here.

The action is so good. It is probably some of the best action in the three MCU "Spider-Man" films. And we get three Spider-Men doing the damn thing. Each action sequence slaps. And each one feels different. There is the sequence on the bridge with Spider-Man and Doc Ock and then in the forest going after Electro. I love that the black suit that everyone was excited for was just Peter's Spidey suit turned inside out. The fight with Peter and the Goblin in Happy's apartment building is brutal. You feel every hit. Every blow that lands. It makes your body ache. Then, there is the final fight which is maybe one of the best final act fights in the history of the MCU. A lot of times that is when things start to sag but not here. Things actually ramp up and we love to see it.

The film ends on an emotional note. When the Multiverse threatens to explode into the MCU, Peter tells Strange to do the original spell: make everyone forget about Peter Parker. It's a punch to the gut. Everyone remembers Spider-Man but no one will remember Peter Parker. So at the end of the movie, Peter is really alone. His best friend and his love have no memory of him and Peter can't bring himself to tell them who he is. At the end of this movie, we have the "classic" Peter Parker. He's living in a shitty apartment. He's studying for his GED. And he's making his own Spidey suit. At the end, we see him swinging in his classic comics suit and I really can't wait to see where we go from here.

The mid credits scene is a continuation of what we saw in "Venom: Let There Be Carnage." Venom and Eddie are in an island bar getting filled in on this new world. But as quick as they are there they are gone. But they leave a parting gift: a piece of the Venom symbiote. Are we going to get a real alien costume arc in the next movie. I hope so. The post credit scene is a teaser for the next MCU film "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."

Next up, we are introduced to the many personalities of Marc Spector in the Disney+ series, "Moon Knight."

What do you all think? Do you love this movie as much as I do? Am I gushing to effusively? Let me know in the comments.