Disclaimer: The following review contains massive spoilers for “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

Plot Summary

Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) changed Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) life when Mysterio revealed Parker’s secret identity to the world while framing Parker for his death in “Spider-Man Far From Home” (2019). “Spider-Man No Way Home” (2021) picks up where the previous film left off, seeing Parker having to deal with the consequences of living two different lives. In a last effort to set things right, he goes to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) who casts a spell to make the world forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. However, Parker messes up the spell and causes people who know Peter Parker is Spider-Man to come to this universe bringing other multiversal threats including Doctor Octavious (Alfred Molina), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and Electro (Jamie Foxx) 

What to Watch Before

The following list includes every movie necessary to fully understand the plot, however if you are short on time, I have ranked the moves on order of importance from most important to least important, in my opinion.

• “Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)”
• “Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)”
• “Spider-Man (2002)”
• “Spider-Man 2 (2004)”
• “Spider-Man 3 (2007)”
• “The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)”
• “The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)”
• “Avengers: Infinity War (2018)”
• “Avengers: Endgame (2019)”
• “Captain America: Civil War (2016)”
• “Doctor Strange (2016)”

Breakdown

The acting in “Spider-Man No Way Home” is a tier above the acting from Holland in “Spider-Man Homecoming”, “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018), “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)  and “Spider-Man Far From Home”. Holland adds a whole other layer to his performance that makes the audience cry with him. During Aunt May’s (Marisa Tomei) final scene, the pain Holland portrays feels so real, as if he was truly in pain. Holland’s chemistry with Zendaya (MJ) is another highlight of his performance.

Peter Parker (Tom Holland) during the final battle. © 2021 SONY PICTURES DIGITAL PRODUCTIONS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
MARVEL AND ALL RELATED CHARACTER NAMES: © & ™ 2021 MARVEL

Holland’s performance was not the only one that stood out. Alfred Molina (Doc Ock), Jamie Fox (Electro) and J.K. Simmons (J. Jonah Jameson) all were amazing, but one actor definitely stood out among the villains. Willem Dafoe’s performance as Green Goblin is one of the best villain portrayals in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Dafoe, who first played the role in “Spider-Man” (2002), was a fan favorite from the beginning and, coming into the MCU, he showed everyone that he deserved to be there with his amazing talents.

The Green Goblin (Willem Dafeo) on his glider ready to fight. © 2021 SONY PICTURES DIGITAL PRODUCTIONS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MARVEL AND ALL RELATED CHARACTER NAMES: © & ™ 2021 MARVEL

The other two performances that stood out were Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man) and Andrew Garfield (Spider-Man). The way Garfield and Maguire return as Spider-Man made it seem as if they had never left. The chemistry between Holland, Garfield, and Maguire is what sold having all three Spider-Men in one movie.

Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker and Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker working together to defeat the greatest threat they have faced. © 2021 SONY PICTURES DIGITAL PRODUCTIONS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MARVEL AND ALL RELATED CHARACTER NAMES: © & ™ 2021 MARVEL

The story did an excellent job at balancing the line of fan service and having a good plot by making the fan service plot-oriented. Bringing back fan favorites like Doc Ock and Green Goblin could have easily been too focused on the fan service, but it stayed centered on Holland’s Spider-Man and his story. Even when Garfield and Maguire made their return, the writers did an excellent job at not taking away from Holland’s mourning of Aunt May. At the same time we did get some closure from plot points for both Garfield’s and Maguire’s storylines that fans have been seeking since they were last seen.

Michael Giacchino has composed the score for the entire Spider-Man trilogy, but his work in “No Way Home” is unparalleled to his other scores. Fans and critics have agreed that this score is one of the reasons that the newest Spider-Man movie have performed and been received so well.

This film is a cinematic spectacle from beginning to end. The VFX (visual effects) and CGI (computer generated imagery) in this film is some of Marvel’s best work. From the web-swinging to the mirror dimension to the epic fight scenes, it all looked so realistic. What is even more impressive is some of Holland’s Spider-Man’s final battle suit was CGI, but it looked as if it was actually apart of the costume.

My Thoughts

Overall, “Spider-Man No Way Home” is one of the best Marvel movies of all time. It is a rollercoaster that fans never want to end. This has also been one of Marvel’s most ambitious projects, making five movies canon to the MCU that were not originally canon, bringing  back beloved characters. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” shows that director Jon Watts understands that “with great power, there must also come great responsibility.” I rate this film a 5 out of 5 film reels.

One Year Later

It has officially been one year since “Spider-Man: No Way Home” was released in theaters and Phase 4 of the MCU has come to an end. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” stands triumphant as the best Phase 4 film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)” coming in a close second. In September, a new extended version of No Way Home was released in theaters with an additional 11 minutes of footage with a new post credit scene and more Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), which is always a good thing. Overall the extended cut has some parts that work better than the original, but there are some things about the original cut that work better than the extended. I have seen both and love both, but the extended cut is a little more humorous at the beginning and I am glad that these were not in the original cut. I have digested this movie for a year now and my original thoughts stay the same with this movie being the best Spider-Man movie to date.

Image 1: (L-R) Peter Parker (Tom Holland), Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya) trying to find the multiversal threats. © 2021 SONY PICTURES DIGITAL PRODUCTIONS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MARVEL AND ALL RELATED CHARACTER NAMES: © & ™ 2021 MARVEL.
Image 2: (L-R) All three Spider-Men (Tobey Maguire, Tom Holland and Andrew Garfield) on the Statue of Liberty. © 2021 SONY PICTURES DIGITAL PRODUCTIONS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MARVEL AND ALL RELATED CHARACTER NAMES: © & ™ 2021 MARVEL.
Image 3: Spider-Man (Peter Parker) prepares to fight Electro (Jamie Fox). © 2021 SONY PICTURES DIGITAL PRODUCTIONS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MARVEL AND ALL RELATED CHARACTER NAMES: © & ™ 2021 MARVEL.
Image 4: (L-R) Electro (Jamie Fox), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and The Lizard (Rhys Ifans) try to take down the three Spider-Men. © 2021 SONY PICTURES DIGITAL PRODUCTIONS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MARVEL AND ALL RELATED CHARACTER NAMES: © & ™ 2021 MARVEL.
Image 5: Electro (Jamie Fox) and Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) in the final battle. © 2021 SONY PICTURES DIGITAL PRODUCTIONS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MARVEL AND ALL RELATED CHARACTER NAMES: © & ™ 2021 MARVEL.
Image 6: MJ (Zendaya) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) try to escape the press. © 2021 SONY PICTURES DIGITAL PRODUCTIONS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MARVEL AND ALL RELATED CHARACTER NAMES: © & ™ 2021 MARVEL.
Image 7: Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) fights Spider-Man. © 2021 SONY PICTURES DIGITAL PRODUCTIONS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MARVEL AND ALL RELATED CHARACTER NAMES: © & ™ 2021 MARVEL.
Image 8: Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) arrives to help MJ and Ned. © 2021 SONY PICTURES DIGITAL PRODUCTIONS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MARVEL AND ALL RELATED CHARACTER NAMES: © & ™ 2021 MARVEL.
Image 9: Electro (Jamie Fox) in his updated yellow electric powers. © 2021 SONY PICTURES DIGITAL PRODUCTIONS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MARVEL AND ALL RELATED CHARACTER NAMES: © & ™ 2021 MARVEL.