Spider-Man: No Way Home has made its way to theaters just in time for the holidays and we’re here with our review! Normally, we just provide a SPOILER WARNING at the beginning of a review and then dig in. But, this movie is filled with potential spoilers that you don’t want to know if you can help it. Despite the movie being delayed for a year and so many rumors being leaked about who was in it, the packed theater crowd still gasped and applauded at least 3 times during the movie, when certain reveals occurred. So, I highly recommend you go see the movie first before reading this review. Even so, I’m going to save the big spoilers for the very end, so you can skim a bit, but possibly still keep a secret or two from yourself. Read on at your own risk!
What if Everyone Knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man?
The movie really picks up right where Spider-Man: Far From Home left off, with the Daily Bugle revealing Spider-Man’s true identity to the world. Now, Peter and his friends and family have to deal with the implications. First, we have an issue with Mysterio framing Spider-Man for his murder. Peter and his friends are quickly rounded up by the FBI for questioning. This could have gone pretty badly, but it actually gets resolved pretty quickly. Apparently, Peter has a pretty good lawyer, one that viewers just might recognize.
But, after the legal issues are largely resolved, it leaves Peter and his squad dealing with a lot of fallout. A solid half the world thinks he is a villain who killed Mysterio. The other half still consider him a hero. This messy situation leads to Pater, MJ, and Ned all being rejected from MIT, their dream school. As Peter realizes the mess that his friends and family are in, because of him, he decided he needs to do something about it.
A Spell to Erase People’s Memories - What Could go Wrong?
Peter’s solution is to visit Dr. Strange and ask him if he could go back in time and fix it so people don’t know his secret identity. The good Doctor explains that time travel is off the table since the Time Stone was destroyed and/or returned to its alternate timeline. But, there is a spell that can erase people’s memories and he and Wong have even used it before to erase the memories of an apparently epic sorcerer’s party.
As Dr. Strange begins the spell, Peter realizes that there are some people he doesn’t want to forget his identity, Aunt May, MJ, Ned, etc. Each time he adds a name, the spell gets more unstable. Eventually Dr. Strange stops the spell, saying it is so unstable it could do irreparable harm to the universe. He does lay into Peter for not even trying to call MIT and appeal their admission denial before calling for a spell that affects the entire world.
Villains Galore!
As Peter heads to meet an admissions official from MIT, he is attacked by a villain that Spider-Man movie fans know well - Doctor Octopuss. He is able to defeat Doc Oc by having his nanotech suit take control of the tentacles. At about the same time, they are attacked by The Green Goblin. These reveals aren’t too ‘spoilery’ since they are in the trailers. But, the rumors of other villains from past Spider-Man movies is confirmed when we get Electro, Lizard, and Sandman all showing up as well.
Dr. Strange comes back into the story, explaining that the spell was loose for too long and now people from other universes who knew Spider-Man’s secret identity are being pulled into the latest current MCU universe. Peter is tasked with rounding them all up to Dr. Strange can send them all back to where they came from. But, Peter learns that they were all about to die in their realities when they were pulled into this one. He decides that instead of sending them back to their fates, that he can try to save them. It’s a great sentiment, but we all know it won’t be that easy. Quick note - it is fantastic to see all these old Spider-Man villains again, all played by their original actors. They are all fantastic.
He begins working on cures for each one. This is really the first time we get to see how smart Peter is in this version of his character. He is initially able to fix a software glitch in Doc Oc’s tentacles, bringing back the old Otto Octavius. But, things go badly when he tries to cure the Green Goblin, who doesn’t want to be cured at all (at least not the Goblin personality). This leads to a tragic battle, where Peter learns a lesson that past versions learned much earlier in their stories.
Now for the BIG SPOILERS-SPOILERS-SPOILERS!
A Spider-Man Reunion
Yes, the rumors were true - we get to meet the previous versions of Spider-Man, played by Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire as they team up with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in the final third of the movie. And, it is glorious. The dialog at numerous times is hilarious, heartfelt, and just a Spider-Man fan’s dream. The movie is worth it just to enjoy these three characters meeting, learning about each other, and sharing their experiences. It provides amazing closure to the previous Spider-Man characters and their stories n utterly unexpected ways. The trio team up to eventually cure all the villains in spectacular fashion. It is utterly crowd-pleasing and so well-executed.
A Lead-in to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
At the end, the spell is about to tear the multiverse apart and Spider-Man makes the sacrifice that he knows is the way to fix the mess he created. He asks Dr. Strange to revert to the original spell, where EVERYONE forgets Spider-Man’s identity. This saves the multiverse, but now Peter is utterly alone in the world. No one knows he is Spider-Man and in fact, the spell has the effect of making everyone forget Peter Parker entirely. But, apparently, the damage to the multiverse has been done as a post-credit scene with Dr. Strange shows. It is actually a trailer for the next Dr. Strange movie and it looks epic.
Watch it or Not?
Not even a question. Watch it!!!! This is now my favorite Spider-Man movie of all time. I utterly loved it. So much fun, meaningful to the MCU in a lot of ways. It manages to be hilarious, heartfelt, and heartbreaking. Kudos to everyone involved in making the film. It should go down as one of the best MCU movies as well.
