I’ve got to admit, Spider-Man: No Way Home was not my most important film to check off my list of 2021 films. Social media was spoiling the movie years before it came out, it felt like a nostalgic cash grab, and I wasn’t a fan of the storyline that they were rumoured to carry out in the third MCU Spider-Man movie. I was only going to see the film because if I didn’t watch the movie then I was definitely going to get it spoilt for me in the first week of its release.
I wasn’t there on opening night, but I did get to the cinema on December 16th, sitting there with my popcorn, hot dog and large drink. The thought of a Marvel movie excited me, but I was still a bit wary of if this movie was going to be any good or not. Spider-Man has a curse where every overcrowded movie that he’s in underperforms critically. However, when the adverts ended and the cinema lights went dark, the IMAX screen was about to tell a story that would blow my mind.
Straight off the bat, Spider-Man: Far From Home is definitively the best live-action Spider-Man film. The movie does a really good job of honouring the cinematic past, present and future of Spider-Man, interweaving different aspects of the character that puts smiles on peoples faces. There are appearances from characters that don’t overshadow the story but will make your jaw drop.
Tom Holland steps up his game when it comes to his version of Spider-Man, bringing his A-Game with everything he does as his version of Peter Parker. When he smiles it’s heartwarming, when he cries it’s heartbreaking, when he punches it’s brutal. If you didn’t like Tom’s divisive version of the character then you definitely will with this movie, Holland earns the right to put on the red and blue suit more than any other actor that has come before him, proving to every audience that will witness this movie that he is Spider-Man.
The side characters such as Doctor Strange, Ned, and MJ have much more to do in this story, it’s not just them figuring out that Peter is Spider-Man, you really see that Parker’s support group is the glue that holds him to the world that he holds so dear.
When that gets compromised and his secret identity puts his friends in jeopardy, you really see how that affects Peter. His sacrifices are all because of the love he has for the people he holds close. Holland’s Spider-Man fights not because he has to, but because he needs to, his love is the thing that propels his actions as a superhero.
This is a spoiler review so I’m not going to go into detail about the plot but what I can tell you is the ending sets up Spider-Man to be a real gem when it comes to his future in the MCU. The whole trilogy acts a sort of origin to Holland’s Spider-Man, a story that is only just the beginning for everyone’s favourite webbed Avenger.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is a powerful story with a lot of heart and respect for the last 20 years of the character. If you’re in the mood for a winter blockbuster that blows your mind then you are definitely going to want to watch this movie.
Reel Comics 
Leave a comment