No Way Home Review

WARNING: SPOILERS 

by Akshat Agarwal

I don’t think I hate a movie quite as much as I hate NWH, just because I can only watch it for the first time once. 

I’m not exaggerating when I say that it is literally the best Marvel movie ever and honestly one of the best movies of all time. 

Before I get into the nitty-gritty, let’s check which predictions were right and which one’s weren’t.

Also, I will be distinguishing the multiple Spider-Men (yes, there were multiple) by using their actors’ names.

1) ANDREW AND TOBEY

 

Right off the bat, I was very wrong about these two. They are very much in the movie and it is way more than 20 minutes of screen time. 

I honestly cannot think of another time when I was this happy to be wrong.

From the minute these guys enter, the movie excellently blends these characters’ stories together. Tobey and Andrew both portray the best parts of their Spider-Men and their interactions with each other and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is equal parts consistent and witty. One of the best jokes in the whole movie was how Tobey had natural webbing while Andrew and Tom relied on mechanical shooters. 

I also like how they finally decided to give Andrew catharsis by allowing him to save MJ. Tobey serving as a guiding figure for Tom Holland and encouraging him not to kill the Green Goblin was just another master stroke of character development.

Overall the three Spider-Men had amazing interactions and it truly makes me happy that I was wrong about them.

2) THE SINISTER SIX

My other major theory about how they would keep it a Sinister Five turned out correct. That puts me at 50%, which I’d say is pretty good.

Dock Ock’s character in this was just amazing. They did a great job with his redemption and consistency of character and Alfred Molina had another great performance with the character. 

Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin was interesting. They made it seem like a battle between two people, the sane and rational Norman Osborn who has a tendency for liking Peter Parkers and the Green Goblin who prefers Spider-Men. The Green Goblin is the scariest villain Tom has faced thus far. Imagine being smacked around by a 60 year old man. Now imagine you could lift well over 10 tons and you were being smacked around by a 60 year old man. 

The scariest part of the Green Goblin is his genius. As we all now, Norman Osborn is "something of a scientist” himself and the Green Goblin is no less intelligent. He nearly brings Tom to the brink of killing him for the death of Aunt May (more about that later) but it is the challenge of the Green Goblin that forces Tom to grow as a hero. 

Jamie Fox’s Electro was another great villain arc. Many may remember that he was a mild mannered Dr. Max Dillon, a huge Spider-Man fan, before his ridiculous accident (falling into a vat of electric eels was really the best they could come up with, I guess) and Andrew did spend much time trying to help Dillon become normal again. It was nice to see that finally happen in this movie. Additionally, the teaser for a “black Spider-Man” did not go unnoticed.

Thomas Haden Church’s Sandman and Rhys Ifans Lizard didn’t get as much focus, but the actors did have good performances and definitely posed some challenges for the Spider-Men.

I also do count it as a win even though I gave possible sixth villains, because my main assertion was that there were only 5.

3) CHARLIE COX

This is another place where I was right. Charlie Cox’s appearance as Matt Murdock, however brief, was very entertaining. We also know that this Matt Murdock is Daredevil because we get to see him use radar sense to stop a brick thrown at Spider-Man. 

Overall, it was a fun cameo and it hints at even more exciting possibilities in the future.

4) SPIDER-MAN GETS MAGIC!

This wasn’t really a prediction but I did think the magical web shooter was cool. I was hoping he’d get more magic but I guess he ends up disliking magic anyways, so its for the best. 

5) AUNT MAY

Aunt May was one of the highlights of the film. I’m sure many fans noticed the absence of Uncle Ben or any mention of him, and this movie really shows us why: Aunt May is Tom Holland’s Uncle Ben. She even delivers the iconic “Great Power-Great Responsibility” phrase (with a few variations). Aunt May had a great story arc and it was sad to see her go, but it definitely added depth to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.

6) THE ENDING

The ending was certainly something. The disastrous mind-wipe spell that Tom Holland botched started pulling in people from multiverses that knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man, so to send them back, Tom Holland had Dr. Strange to complete the spell properly. While it succeeded, we saw that the whole world forgot Peter Parker existed including Ned and MJ. Instead of approaching them and reintroducing himself, Peter sees that they both got into MIT and are happy, so he decides to leave them be. It was ultimately a very heart-wrenching ending but also a bold move on the part of Marvel. 

As the banter made clear, while both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were more solo heroes who had to face a steep learning curve and homemade equipment, Peter always benefitted from the guidance of Tony Stark and Happy Hogan as well as Stark tech. Now, he doesn’t have that access. 

Tom is left in a dingy apartment, using a costume with bright blues that he stitched himself. Additionally, we can see he’s studying to get a GED. Tom is truly alone as he embarks on the next chapter of his Spider-Man career. 

It is definitely very exciting to see and its a drastic return to roots on the part of Marvel. I really hope that we get to see the friendly neighborhood aspect of Spider-Man that Tom Holland must now embrace in future movies. He is confirmed for at least one more Marvel project. 

I would say that you should watch this movie at your own risk because your mind will be blown. Thank you for reading, guys!

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