MOVIE OF THE WEEK (12/17/21): SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

"All right ... If I move too much more I just KNOW I'm gonna rip my spider-suit!" Peter Parker (Tom Holland) prepares to face what may be his toughest challenge yet in a scene from director Jon Watts' SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME. Credit: Matt Kennedy © 2021 CTMG. All rights reserved.

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE: 

 

DIRECTOR: Jon Watts

KEY CAST MEMBERS: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alfred Molina, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, J.K. Simmons ... And a couple other people who you really be excited/surprised to see.

WEB SITE: https://www.spidermannowayhome.movie/

THE BACK STORY: Peter Parker, having had his identity revealed to the world by the former Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) after his latest adventure, finds himself in a position he never wanted to be in: The most famous person in the world, half of which believes he committed a murder. Luckily for Peter, he still has his the support of his beloved Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), his best friend Ned (Jacob Balaton) and his girlfriend M.J. (Zendaya). But with J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) leading the charge to bring him down, he just wishes everyone in the world would forget who he is so he could focus on his goal of getting into M.I.T. with his friends.

And that's where Dr. Steven Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) comes into play.

Peter wants Dr. Strange to cast a spell to eliminate his name – along with the fact he is, well, you know, Spider-Man – from everyone's memory. Reluctantly and against the advice of Wong (Benedict Wong), Dr. Strange eventually concedes to help Peter out ... Only for Peter to keep changing the conditions of the spell. As you might expect, this ends up changing the spell forcing Dr. Strange to stop it before it gets out of hand.

It's not until Otto Octavius – a.k.a. Doctor Octopus a.k.a. Dock Ock – appears to hunt down Spider-Man  does Peter realize just how out of hand things have unfortunately become. For you see, while Doc Ock recognizes the suit, he doesn't recognize the teenager inside it – and for good reason: The spell has opened up the once thought to be mythical multiverse, allowing in anyone who ever knew who Spider-Man was to enter ...

... And the best enemies are old enemies as he's about to find out. 

THE REVIEW: With apologies to Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott, Spider-Man: Far From Home is proof that superheroes haven't ruined movies. In fact, in delivering the most emotional superhero movie since Avengers: Endgame, it does quite the opposite. No Way Home isn't a superhero movie with a story about good guys and bad guys; it's a movie about people with extraordinary powers trying to deal with the various aspect of humanity (responsibility, love, the perils of fame and power, the search for purpose and identity, etc.).

Holland once proves his mettle worthy of the Spider-Man suit with his performance as Parker, which is deepened by the turns of Zendaya, Batalon, Tomei ... And all the others that have either grown with his character or add depth to it with their presence. Holland's Peter may have started off the most immature of the bunch (purposefully), but by the film's end, he is by far it's most thoughtful, powerful and ready for the role as the possible emotional core to fill the void left by his predecessors' absence. 

Likewise, Zendaya and Balaton provide several fun moments while maintaining the emotional core of being Peter's main support system. Even Cumberbatch's presence as the hardened father figure that eventually has to come to love the son he never asked for (metaphorically speaking – this is NOT a spoiler that he's actually Peter's dad, Internet nerds!) adds to Parker's character.

Unfortunately, it's hard to say more without giving away spoilers in the film, which, depending on what you consider a spoiler, there are easily about a half-dozen depending on if you stick around for the ENTIRE closing credits. What can be said, however, is that director Jon Watts nearly two-and-a-half hour opus is the most emotionally connected (and heartstring tugging) entry into the Spider-Man film series to date – and possibly its best. While the framework of the multiverse may provide the canvas for a lot of things to come together, Watts attention to detail (coupled with his actors' dedication to their craft) create what is arguably one of the top five Marvel films to date while maintaining all the qualities that make Spider-Man unique. 

With a beloved preceding film legacy (even with its missteps) comes great responsibility ... And Spider-Man: No Way Home is a great film worth its weight in webs.

OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):