Saturday, December 18, 2021

Spider-Man: No Way Home

10/10

(NOTE: I'm not including any spoilers per se. I will be talking about stuff that's already in the trailer. However, if you haven't seen the trailer, I won't deny that this may be one of those films where it may be beneficial if you watched it completely clean. Also, I will be briefly mentioning the outcome of the last Spider-Man movie if you don't want to know about it.)

In this, Peter Parker (played by Tom Holland), wants the world to forget he's Spider-Man. He turns to Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to cast a spell to make everyone forget. The spell goes wrong and a transdimensional crisis occurs.

Wonderful script. Very creative, surprisingly heartfelt and dramatic (this is definitely the darkest of the MCU SM trilogy), while successfully blending in the comedy without taking away from the serious aspects. If you felt the Tom Holland SM strayed too far from the traditional concept of the hero struggling in a world against him, this is more of a return to form. (Though, I understand if you didn't want that and felt the concept overused). The ending hits home, I mean man oh man does it leave an impression. However, it might not be the ending everyone wanted.

Running at two hours and twenty-eight minutes, the length does raise its head during the last act. However, I can't decide what should've been cut. That's how good all the material is. Also, there are some plot points and character choices that don't make complete sense if you stop to think about them.

Excellent character work. Director Jon Watts and the script does an excellent job with even minor cast members. (The world feels really populated.) Parker, MJ (Zendaya), and Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) are the perfect trio in this. (The latter two are utilized a lot more in this than the last two films.) They work so well off of each other and each brings something to the table. The more knowledgeable Dr. Strange works really with the more inexperienced, younger Peter Parker. (It's also just fun in general seeing the main three dealing with the world of magic in general.)

The idea to bring in the Spider-Man villains from the last two SP franchises was an idea of genius. (We would think this movie would feel repetitive given that Into the Spider-Verse did the multiverse not too long ago, but this feels surprisingly fresh.) First, we finally get to see the Sinister Six brought to screen. (Well, it's five here. Good enough for me; there's already a lot of characters in this, anyway. To be honest, they didn't need Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church) and the Lizard (Rhys Ifans) in this.) Second, we get the privilege of seeing the talented Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, and Jamie Foxx act alongside each other. The writers realized the weak points of Foxx's Electro from Amazing Spider-Man 2, who was a fairly  cliched nerdy guy who goes bad trope, and managed to strengthen the character's dialogue. The creators of this realized that the majority of SP villains started as good people who had something horrible happen to them, and they use this fact to bring something important to the table. 

The effects look great with the usual MCU budget. Action scenes are really well done. The fact that there are so many villains with so many different powers leads to a lot of impressive moments. 

Highly recommended. Definitely the best of the Holland trilogy, one of the best Spider-Man movies in general, and the best MCU movie of the year. This is just one of those films that pull you in and are highly entertaining.

No comments:

Post a Comment