Spiderman : No Way Home (Movie Review)

The MCU version of the Spiderman trilogy that began with the Spiderman; Homecoming introducing us to the boyish charms and effortlessly likeable Tom Holland version of the friendly neighborhood Spiderman, comes a full circle and ends on a high, with this new blockbuster Spiderman: No Way Home. Possibly coming the closest to inherit that hefty mantle left by Avengers: End Game,  carrying the flames of the MCU torch over the finish line with a lot of aplomb and cheer.  

It's everything that the trailer promised (I know, stratospheric!) and much more. Much, much more! It's so difficult not to step into spoiler territory with this one, without giving away the fun quotient, but I will try. The basic premise is the roadblocks and troubles in Peter Parker's life, after his 'secret' identity is revealed by a vengeful Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) in his dying moments. And now it's not just the paparazzi and the news channels like Daily Bugle (Jonah Jameson, played by the indomitable JK Simmons, in a criminally under-utilized role) , out baying for his blood, naming him the 'perpetrator' in the massacre that had resulted, from the climactic events of Spiderman: Far from Home. In fact, his best friends, MJ ( a charming Zendaya) and nerdy Ned (a winsome Jason Batalon) also get implicated and they all are the receiving end of unfair treatments, including 'dings' from their favorite universities, like MIT. Peter takes it upon himself to get this right and goes for help to, none other than, Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch in brilliant form as always!) - to help with a spell that can possibly make the world go back to how it was. Where they have all forgotten who Spiderman really was. 

But in the middle of casting this 'forgetting' spell, Peter interrupts Dr. Strange multiple times awkwardly with his requests and this causes something to go horribly wrong. That causes the whole universe to go full-tilt crazy. Literally. And with the borders between the multiple universes ( Or, yes The Multiverse!) opening up, Peter's hands are suddenly full up with just too many super-villains to handle. How does he manage to keep his friends, family and the current world safe from these marauding monsters, forms the rest of the plot. With some 'help' of course! (wink!) 

The first twenty minutes of the movie feels like the previous two Spiderman movies in this trilogy. Almost like a sitcom, with 'happy' gags and snappy dialogues. A small town teenager thrust into limelight, whose quite life gets topsy-turvy. Not to mention, his Aunt May and her 'boyfriend' Happy Hogan, the connection to Stark industries for Peter, having their relationship problems as well. But once the rogues gallery starts to fill up ( and the first to make his dramatic entrance is Doc Ock and what an entry! The one-on-one fight sequence between Peter and Doc sets the right tone for the mayhem that is about to erupt) things start to change tone. To darker, emotional and heftier stakes. 

The movie strikes the right tones between being a fan-favorite superhero movie and trying to set new horizons for a marvel-dictated tone, bringing in the right levels of nostalgia as well, for some of us who have grown up on the Sony-Pictures Spiderman trilogies/duology. Tom Holland's version goes through some of his biggest tests in this one, testing the limits of his friendships, familial ties and his own baffling sense of ego ( We finally get that one-liner we happen to associate with Spiderman, 'With Great Power, comes Great Responsibility' by none other than fan-favorite Marissa Tomei!) The pacing is just right as we deep dive into the zone of conflicts where some of the greatest villains of the Spider-verse have been locked up in a zoo and then set free, on a no-holds barred melee that becomes the focal point of that climactic fight. The battle-scenes are explosive ,eye-popping stuff with gravity defying stunts and set-pieces on a bridge and atop the statue of liberty being the crowning glory among them. 

In terms of performances, Tom Holland is as endearing as ever but we clearly see him grow up in this version. Beyond that version of a highly-energetic and slightly-irritating younger brother to Tony Stark to possibly step up and take over the 'heir' to the Stark industries. Indeed, we see broad hints of this for sure. Tom's emotional scenes are really heartfelt and  Benedict Cumberbatch is his charming assured self and his repartees and exchanges with Peter Parker is just plain delight. So are Zendaya and Jason. Zendaya's character MJ finally gets to do something other than just fall from heights and scream and it was such a relief to have the smart actress go about this. Jon Favreau is his usual goofy self with Happy's character, a sidelined but nevertheless crucial link to the rest of the MCU world and characters. When it comes to the villains, Alfred Molina and Willem Dafoe get the meatier roles, while the others are just side-shows. And they both make the best use of it, chewing through their scenes with ease and snarls and growls. Molina, especially in his portrayal of Doc Ock is a treat to watch. 

Definitely one of the biggest movies from the MCU, this one ranks perhaps as the 'best' Spiderman movie across all the eight ones. But the best one for me still is the animated version, Spiderman: Into Spiderverse, the Miles Morales story being such a brilliant groovy unbeatable vision of the multiverse. Despite the dumbed down explanations of what caused the doorways of the Multiverse to open ( And yes, we get to see a lot more of this in the upcoming Dr. Strange 2: Into the Madness of the Multiverse movie next year, Hooray!) the pairing of Holland/Zendaya as the earnest, boyish friendly neighborhood Spiderman and his smart, sassy love-interest works pretty well, being that soft warm glow of goodness at the center of this corny, nonsensical no-holds-barred free-for-all supervillain cage-fight that the movie devolves into. But for all that, a lot of nostalgic quips, some fan-favorite moments and an emotional heart-wrenching heft of a twist in the storyline helps this one stick the landing. It is as much a fan service to the past as it is, a nebulous bridge to the future of MCU movies. 

Up, up and away into the madness of multiverses and beyond!