It’s become a popular question to ask directors if they are/want to direct a superhero movie. This is in no small part due to the prominence/dominance they’ve taken since Marvel cemented its cinematic universe with the release of Avengers in 2012. It’s been a little over a decade since Iron Man (2008), and the cinematic landscape has changed vastly. Superhero movies existed before, but it was then we truly entered the age of the superhero movie. Spider-Man: No Way Home is the latest.
This film marked the third titular Sony feature for Tom Holland’s web-slinger; he appeared in other team-ups under the Disney/Marvel banner. This film was a culmination of the journey that began for him in his first film. Tom Holland starred as a high school iteration of Peter Parker, who despite what world-ending challenges he faced in the other films, still managed to hold on to boyhood optimism and innocence. This cap to the Watts/Holland trilogy of films provided character closures in a way the Raimi/Maguire entry did not, and the Webb/Garfield entry never got a chance to attempt.
If you’ve found this review, you’ve probably been spoiled already about all the “surprise” appearances in the film. I’m not going to touch upon any of them if you somehow managed to avoid them. While knowing some in advance didn’t ruin my enjoyment, the narrative wasn’t contingent on the surprise, it’s still better to have a chance to view a film as the filmmakers intended. However, I will address the appearance of a character that was always publicly announced for the film: Doctor Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch). Doctor Strange serves as a catalyst for the events that unfold in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and, based on the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer, the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home likely trigger the events of that film. I bring this up is because originally Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was supposed to come out first! I have to give a major shout to the writers of both projects, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers for Spider-Man: No Way Home and Jade Halley Bartlett and Michael Waldron for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (and anyone else at Marvel tasked with the job of story continuity with their projects, especially as production and releases got affected by Covid-19). It’s not an easy undertaking making stories realign, and as it currently stands, I would be hard-pressed to guess that the Doctor Strange movie was intended to precede this entry, though perhaps come May and its release I will revisit this statement.
The film was made for long-time Spider-Man fans, replete with references and callbacks. However, as Marvel has proven capable of doing, they make it accessible so that if all you come into the film know is the Tom Holland Spider-Man, you won’t find yourself lost or unable to enjoy the film.
In a superhero movie, the visual effects take a spotlight, and this was no exception. They were particularly on display in a sequence between Spider-Man and Doctor Strange in the “Mirror Dimension” that gave off Inception vibes as the world kaleidoscoped around.
This film marks the end of the “Home” trilogy and sets Peter Parker on a new path, one that promises the next time we see Spider-Man, he will be changed. What this means for the other supporting cast we’ve come to know going forward remains less clear, much like most of our journey’s post-high school, which is where he is now.
For your next dose of Spider-Man, assuming he doesn’t swing into Multiverse of Madness, will be Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) in theatres next October, the sequel to the wonderful animated entry Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.