Spider-Man: No Way Home, Does It Live Up to The Hype?

🛑 Please Do Not Read If You Would Like to Avoid Spoilers 🛑

Rating:

🍅: 10/5

Genre:

- Action

- Science Fiction

- Superhero

- Adventure

- Fantasy

Review:

Great. Excellent. Exquisite. Masterpiece.

That is all I can say about Spider-Man: No Way Home if you ask me to describe it off the top of my head. I know for some people it is rare to go see movies twice at the theater due to pricing and wait for the movie to be released on streaming platforms or general television. But, me if I am really interested in a movie and can’t wait to watch the film again I go to the movies a second time. At the age of 23 I have gone to see four films twice in the theaters throughout my lifetime: Sky High, Black Panther, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. As you can see there is a recurring theme in the movies I have seen twice at theaters 😂. They all possess superheroes and action within them including the fact that they are all part of mass media company Disney. Even though I was exceptionally young when Sky High was released in

2005, I vividly remember going to see it at a theater during a field trip. Then asking my mom to take me a second time because the film was the greatest and made me wonder, what if?

Back to Spider-Man: No Way Home, as a viewer that has been tough on Tom Holland as I said before, he really has marked himself as one of the greatest. I will not say he is better than Tobey Maguire, but I will not say he is less than either. They are on the same level and his acting skills as Spider-Man in this film really made me look at him differently because it reminded me a lot of Maguire. Many people complained including myself often that Tom Hollands Spider-Man lacked the emotional aspect of Spider-Man in the earlier films prior to Hollands and focused more often on the comedy instead. In this film it does have comedy, but I found myself crying and holding in sobs at certain points of the film. Compared to the other films where emotion was transpired, but lack thereof, in this film it will have you sneezing 🤧 about time it is done.

The film begins right off where Spider-Man: Far From Home ended after Spider-Man’s true identity is exposed to the public by fraud Quentin Beck. Everybody now knows that under the Spider-Man suit it is Peter Parker a sixteen-year-old high school student. Now the public believes he is a murder and is being investigated by the FBI and facing public ridicule. Though he does still have supporters those including the people he considers family: Happy, Aunt May, MJ, and Ned. Even when the investigation ends proclaiming his innocence, he is being attacked frequently by society even having liquid thrown at him staining his suit 😂. Then he has a**hole journalist J. Jonah Jameson, who I was glad to see original actor J. K. Simmons come back and play, to deal with. I did like his look in the original better during the Tobey Maguire era when he has the Dr. Stephen Strange hairstyle with gray on the sides and slicked back into place. But, regardless he is still a great actor and I definitely disliked his character on this one, but I like that his form of journalism was transitioned from the newspaper into broadcasting 👏🏾. It kind of tells the world in which ways society has shifted in a way regarding different news platforms. I am in the process of trying to become a broadcaster, but not like him at all 😂 which involved him even tracking and following Peter. Now due to the animosity from the public he has to move because everyone knows where he lives and the school he attends. Due to being in his senior year he is in the process of applying to college, which is supposed to be an exciting moment, but wasn’t. Though himself, MJ, and Ned had plans of attending prestigious university, MIT, there were declined due to the controversy surrounding Spider-Man. It just pisses me off because he did nothing, but society now at days will believe anything which is dangerous. I have seen people lied on when it has been exposed that such was a lie, but the person’s reputation is already ruined. Spider-Man helped people and saved millions fighting alongside the avengers to defeat Thanos. People forget such and now his life was ruined including those he held dearest to him which was unfair. As MJ likes to say, “When you

expect disappointment, you will never actually be disappointed.” I utilize such a quote pertaining to college and job applications. He can’t deal with his friends' lives being ruined so now he has to find a route to take in order to undo the turmoil amongst himself and those within his life.

Due to such he goes to the one and only Dr. Stephen Strange. He asks him to go back in time before the public knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man because himself and those he cares about lives has been affected. Unfortunately, Dr. Strange no longer has the time stone which would have made everything easier pertaining to the struggles that later on arrived. Then it clicks in his head, Dr. Strange, that he can perform a spell that makes every one forgot Peter Parker was Spider-Man. Unbeknownst to Peter that included those he loves

dearly and even Dr. Strange himself. He found out such during the time when Strange is completing the spell which results in him changing it multiple times and getting out of control. Peter ruined the spells changing it completely by yelling a statement while Strange is performing it. This part annoyed me more so with Dr. Strange because he should have explained to Peter the precautions of the spell beforehand. But, the spell doesn’t work and instead Peter takes on Strange idea to confront the official of MIT and ask for his friends to be accepted.

During such a scene when he does confront an MIT administrator, in the middle of the highway 😂, we find out that Dr. Strange spell might didn’t work, but it has caused a s**tstorm. Spider-Man 2 villain Otto Octavius, also known as Dr. Octopus, returns, but this time in another universe. If you are not aware he is in the universe where Tobey Maguire is Spider-Man. When he returns, they begin to fight which was amazing and interesting to watch especially when Octavius noticed he had the wrong Peter. Soon after the best villain arrives, Green Goblin, who is Norman Osborn under the suit. When I tell you I screamed in

my chair I was so happy the original actors came back to play their roles though another actor played the Green Goblin

in the Amazing Spider-Man films, Willem Dafoe will always be the true Green Goblin. His acting is fantastic especially the voice which I used to be scared of when younger. Then you have Alfred Molina as Dr. Octopus who I didn’t even know was British until researching him 😅. Of course, he did great and this time around his octopus’ legs are completely CGI, but they were still amazing. It was like reliving my childhood all over again seeing them.

As for the movie once this becomes known to Dr. Strange, he transports Peter and Dr. Octopus to his sanctum. There he locks Dr. Octopus and already has one other enemy present, Curt Connors, Lizard. He is an enemy from The Amazing Spider-Man featuring Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man. I know the movie receives a lot of negative critics, but I enjoyed it maybe not more than the original, but it was still good, and I liked Garfield. We learned when Peter stated the words he did while Dr. Strange was performing his spell it caused other people from different universes that knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man to come to theirs. Unfortunately, the villains were not done, and Spider-Man now had to go and find all of the other villains from different universes and lock them into the sanctum including the Green Goblin. That is when we find Electro and Sandman who are both from separate universes. It was kind of odd the way the Sandman was introduced and that this time around his body is completely sand instead his ideal body which can transform. I definitely didn’t understand the way Electro looked and how he came back looking handsome compared to his usual appearance. Not that I was complaining though 🤷🏾‍♀️!

It comes to light that all of them were brought to Tom Holland universe as Spider-Man before they died. When Peter tells Aunt May such, she believes Peter should help them after she met Osborn who came to her organization to seek help. As Uncle Ben from Maguire’s Spider-Man like to say, “with great power, there must also come great responsibility,” Aunt May stated the same to Hollands Spider-Man later on in the film. Instead of letting all the villains go back to their universes where they ultimately die though most figured out from fellow villains in the same universe that such happens, Peter wants to save them before their death takes place. He plans to find cures for each and every one of them which I find noble, but risky because doing such can affect the timeline in the other universes. Not to mention saving certain people that don’t want to be saved and are being controlled is dangerous.

That is why he and Dr. Strange get into a fight which was amazingly choreographed. I was confused due to the mirror dimension, but it was great to watch and how Peter was able to use math in order to outsmart him was 👍🏾! Unlike Peter, Dr. Strange believes death is their fate, which is true to an extent. He reconstructed the spell that was placed safely into a box and was about to send them all back. But, I understand Peter as well especially because he is a kid with an aunt that influenced him to save instead of settling with the bare minimum.

After beating Dr. Strange he takes the villains to Happy Hogan’s apartment who he is staying with due to the public outrage of him. There is a machine there that can assist him in finding cures for each villain tough the Lizard stayed in a van outside due to his appearance and his decline to being cured. Peter was able to cure Dr. Octopus who it was good to see go back to normal due to his sweet personality from Spider-Man 2. He was genuinely happy, but only if it would have been that easy for everyone else. Electro was close to being cured, but another issue had to arise. Instead of Norman being able to keep control the Green Goblin came back into control of him. In this movie the “Peter Tingle” was stronger than ever. He was able to sense the exact moment when Norman changed, and I knew because he was acting odd. Soon with his convincing words he is able to convince Electro and Sandman that nothing is wrong with them, and they don’t need to be cured. This ensues a fight where the Green Goblin beats the s**t out of Peter. To me Peter was holding back while fighting and I don’t know why. I can say Willem Dafoe still has it and was amazing transitioning from Norman to the Green Goblin in a matter of seconds. Then the moment comes that makes my eyes ball Aunt May gets killed trying to cure the Green Goblin and protect Peter. She was hit on purpose my Goblins’ glider which he did to provoke Peter and even before her death she told Peter to save them with the perfect quote like Uncle Ben, “with great power, there must also come great responsibility.” She was a gentle soul that didn’t deserve to die 😢. Of course, a movie needs that emotional period that stays within the viewers mind in the ongoing years.

While Peter is grieving the a**hole journalist J. Jonah Jameson basically blames Spider-Man for his aunts’ death. He is alone and already blaming himself due to the turmoil that just happened with the escaped villains causing more on the outside. This movie is real life because many people like to knock those down when they are already down.

The scene transitions to Ned and MJ who was assisting Peter this whole time and kept the box containing Dr. Strange spell. With Ned having Strange ring that can open portals he

does such to find Peter Parker. He does which scares his grandmother after Peter enters through the portal when seen walking an ally. The time finally comes ladies and gentlemen the Peter Parker in the ally is no other than: Andrew Garfield! When he revealed himself the theater screamed including myself and my brother. We didn’t believe the speculations because Garfield was so adamant that he wasn’t in the movie, but he is. It was so nice seeing him after how his reboot of Spider-Man was cancelled out of know where. After proving he is Spider-Man, but came from another universe Ned opens another portal looking for Peter Parker. It does find Peter-Parker, but the one and only Tobey Maguire, the G.O.A.T! When he

entered, I wasn’t that surprised, but I was still happy and unlike Garfield he was dressed normally. I wish they would have spaced their introductions out a little bit, but it is still cool how they are all in the same movie. Much like Garfield, Maguire was placed there due to the spell and looking for Holland.

They do find him in the one place he finds comfort after speculation from both Garfield and Tobey. With anger and hurt in his heart Tobey and Garfield explain the loss they have endured to Holland. Garfield losing his true love Gwen Stacy and Tobey Maguire losing his uncle Ben. They both let the anger control them with Tobey even watching the man that killed his uncle Ben in the first part of the Spider-Man Trilogy die. They made Holland realize killing the Green Goblin will not stop the hurt and will make it worse. Instead, they convince him to continue with his journey of curing the villains with them all helping. The scene creating the cures was amazing especially when the meme became real of the three Peter Parkers being confused. I loved that scene and the moment they began to get ready for battle against the villains they are bonding like brothers. Discussing enemies they have faced, ways in which their webs are different, and back problems. It’s like for a moment they forget a handful of enemies are trying to kill them.

When the battle begins it is nothing, but action and at first it is hard to communicate, but they agree to call each other Peter 1 (Holland), Peter 2 (Maguire), and Peter 3 (Garfield). It was such a surreal moment when all three of the Spider-Man’s pose their signature move next to each other. I loved it even more when Garfield tells Holland and Maguire that he loves them ☺️! That was one of the sweetest moments, but of course there is still a battle ensuing. They manage to cure all with the help of MJ and Ned as well who still has the box which the villains want, to reframe from returning to their universes. As I said all the original actors for each villain from prior Spider-Man movies featuring Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield returned. They did amazing recapturing the essence of each of the villains again that they once played. When Electro was cured with the help of Dr. Octopus, I like that Garfield who knew him prior to his transition told him he is somebody. He doesn’t need power to matter and that was sweet, and he really needed to hear that. Add on to the fact when Electro said he thought Spider-Man was going to be black was hilarious and basically said there has to be black Spider-Man somewhere: Miles Morales. I love Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and if they make a live action version of Miles Morales story that would be epic!

Now Ned and MJ are in the location with the villains and Spider-Man’s due to Ned being unable to close a portal he opened. Eventually Dr. Strange is present after hanging over the Grand Canyon for 12 hours due to Holland. He is surprised that Holland was able to form a plan and cure the villains and much to his surprise Ned was able to open a portal. Will Ned become a sorcerer 😲? Eventually after good teamwork all the villains are cured except for the Green Goblin who comes in with a bang. His signature line, “can the Spider-Man come out to play” was so satisfying to hear again in the film. He manages to take the box from Dr. Strange who has it in possession now, but is captured by Dr. Octopus with Dr. Strange managing to take the box back. Unknown to them that was the plan and Green Goblin puts his bombs into the box blowing it along with the spell inside of it. The Statue of Liberty, which the whole battle takes place on, blows as well shaking and causing the people on it to fall. At first, I thought Dr. Strange was dead due to the blast, but he wasn’t.

This causes MJ to fall off the platform after Ned tries to catch her. Tom Holland sees such and right away jumps down and becomes close to saving her, but is caught and flown away by the Green Goblins glider. When seeing this scene on the trailer I bit my nails because

when I saw this scene, I thought of no one other than Green Stacy on The Amazing Spider-Man. Guess what? Andre Garfield yells a silent, “No.” He then jumps down and saves MJ causing the theater to erupt and feel for him due to him being unable to save Gwen in his film. I never blamed him for such because it wasn’t his fault, he was battling a villain and trying to save the love of his life at the same time. Unfortunately, he never stopped blaming himself for her death and knowing the love of his life is gone. He literally received his redemption and due to such he begins to cry. This scene was amazingly done without sound and in slow motion making me examine the emotions transpiring between both MJ and Garfield. I still think about this moment with a smile on my face because of how magnificent it was ♥️.

We come to realize that the blowing of the spell has corrupted everything and now the universes are spilling over. Dr. Strange is trying to contain such and struggling. Though we soon get to the battle that we have been waiting for which is the second round between both the Green Goblin and Holland. Remember when I said the Green Goblin beat the s**t out of Peter in the apartment? During this round the role was vice versa with Peter beating the holy s**t out of the Green Goblin. I have never seen him fight like this before and was surprised he had it in him. Ned, MJ, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire look on from a distance in horror. Peter then picks up the glider and is seconds from killing the Green Goblin in retaliation for Aunt May. To stop him from becoming like himself Tobey Maguire stops Holland causing them to have a stare down and share a message through their eyes. This was an important message because in true society you can seek revenge, but it won’t bring the person you love most back. To add on, you might feel worse and have comparisons with those who commit such heinous acts. Not to mention that is what the Green Goblin wanted most which was for Peter to lose himself. Thank God he didn’t, but this didn’t stop the Green Goblin who stabs Maguire in the back. He didn’t die of course, but the Green Goblin begins taunting Holland over May’s death. For a second, I thought he was going to kill him for sure, but instead he cured him which resulted in Norman controlling his own body. Now we go to Dr. Strange who is still trying to contain the spell, but failing. Now every person from different universes that know Peter Parker is Spider-Man is coming to Holland’s universe. The barrier has been broken and it is scarier than ever. Due to such Peter makes the ultimate sacrifice which is to erase his identity in the entire world. That means those that he loves will not know him at all. Dr. Strange has to complete the spell, but is hesitant because he doesn’t know if Peter is sure of what he is asking. Though he surely is and wants him to do such to protect the universe.

With a little time left before he has to say goodbye to Ned and MJ, Holland says goodbye to Garfield and Maguire who are going back to their universe. They share a beautiful hug, and he says thank you for the help. It was like saying goodbye to your brothers though they are the same people from different universes 🤣. With sadness in his eyes, he has to tell MJ and Ned that they will not remember him which causes the tears amongst the three of them and the theater. It was emotional because they built this life that is now going to be taken away due to a mistake. MJ finally tells Peter that she loves him without him saying it back, but promising to find both MJ and Ned. When the spell is complete, we watch the villains and other Spider-Man’s go back to their universes. To me it’s a goodbye for now and see ya later! Holland who is now the only Peter in his universe and fly's away with tears in his eyes before Ned and MJ forget.

Now Peter is alone and does find MJ and Ned who he smiles at while watching them, but comes to realize he can’t interfere in their lives now that they are going to MIT. He does talk to MJ, but not for long sharing a talking point with her she states all the time. He then goes to Aunt May's grave where Happy comes up, but doesn’t know who Peter is of course due to the spell. Now he has his over apartment and strives to earn his GED. This scene made me cry because he is just alone without anyone now. As a smart kid I hated that he has to get his GED now and can’t fulfill his dream of going to MIT. It’s not fair, but it’s the sacrifice he made, and I know it will pay off at the end. The movie closes out with Spider-Man having a new authentic suit that replicates that of the comic book and he is now on his way to fight crime.

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 THE END 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

This movie was beyond excellent, and I was so happy to see the moments shared between the villains and the previous Spider-Man’s. Such as Dr. Octopus and Tobey Maguire who

really didn’t receive a closure. I am excited about the in-depth understanding of the multiverse which I am still confused about to a certain extent, but looking forward to learn about it. Also, from what I know Tom Holland’s contract is over, but many viewers such as myself want to see him comeback. He is great as Spider-Man, and I don’t feel like his reign as Spider-Man is over especially after that ending in the mid-credits scene. All I can say is that Venom is coming! I do hope Holland does comeback even after a lengthy break I don’t believe his time is over.

Now the movie was filled with comedy, emotion, and more. The visuals and dark undertones were present when needed, but I can say the movie was cluttered with multiple villains present. Not to mention you had three Spider-Man’s in one movie. Though I feel like it was

organized in a spectacular order which makes viewers understand the sequence of the movie. I can say I wouldn’t change a thing about this movie and this was my top favorite film of 2021! Looking forward to the future 🙋🏾‍♀️!