Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021 | USA | 148 minutes | Jon Watts)
The holidays are traditionally a time for reflection, wish fulfillment, gluttony, and reliance on the tremendous power of nostalgia to paper over the messier parts of reuniting with friends and family after time spent apart. So it’s likely in that spirit that I came away from my viewing of Spider-Man: No Way Home in a jubilant fog of appreciation for what might be characterized as an over-stuffed buffet of fan service. Based on the rampant speculation in the lead-up to the film’s release, had this latest installment in the Spider-Man Cinematic Universe been nothing but a live-action version of that Spider-Man GIF, Dayenu. But it was so much more and I loved almost every minute of its excess.
What can I say? I love Spider-Man and there’s a lot of Spider-stuff in this one: web-slinging, capers, frustrations of secret identities, teen hijinks, you name it. Further, I’d argue that Jon Watts’s run with Tom Holland behind the Spidey mask has been far and away the strongest trio in an admittedly too-frequently rebooted franchise. It feels like he and Amy Pascal have nurtured it – improbably, given the weird Marvel–Sony joint custody arrangement – into the most important piece of the MCU. In any case, it’s the piece of the big superhero puzzle that most reliably has my Spider-senses tingling with real cases of the feels.
My fondness certainly lies, in part, with the choice to cast Tom Holland and Zendaya in the core roles of Peter Parker and MJ. Insane fitness regimen aside (Holland’s personal trainer must require one shirtless scene per film to show off his work), the charismatic pair (and offscreen item) still look young enough to be credible as teenagers. Combined with their skills as performers, this goes a long way to giving credibility to the big emotions and out-of-place anxieties at the heart of this teen-centric mythology. The crises of these stand-alone episodes are often smaller scale than the Fate of the Universe level events that motivate a full Avengers assembly, but the construction goes a long way toward making things like college admissions and a first love feel as big as a big purple alien gem collector who wants to disappear half of existence.
No Way Home picks up in the immediate aftermath of Far From Home’s mid-credits scene (what a concept). The relative normalcy of Peter and MJ’s idyllic swing through NYC in the wake of a summer trip ruined by Jake Gyllenhaal gone mad (relatable) is upended by a breaking news alert. J. Jonah Jameson, a role pseudo-reprised by J.K. Simmons, uses his strangely prominent DailyBugle.Net platform to reveal Spidey’s secret identity to the whole city. On top of that, the belligerent outrage peddler has a parting fraud from the fraudster Mephisto: before being killed by drones on a London bridge, he framed poor Peter for his murder and now the fabrication has been filtered through the fake news outrage machine. Yikes! So much for a cool summer.
The sudden crush of mass celebrity, coupled with a kind of flimsy claims of being a unrepentant murderer sends Peter and Aunt May into hiding in a high tech condo and complicates the usual hassles of back-to-school and college admissions for the whole Spidey gang. The admins are super-fan true believers, hordes of protestors and onlookers show up on the steps of the first day back, classmates try to cash in on fame, and elite universities are reluctant to court controversy (this is, after all, fantasy). You’d think that the Avengers would have a better legal team and propaganda firm, but the kids are mostly on their own and out of their depth.
Overwhelmed, Peter does what any kid would do, head to a local wizard to see if he can get a magical assist. Given the poster art, it feels like Not A Spoiler to reveal that this installation includes Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, never particularly convincing as a New Yorker), who’s now living an Odd Couple existence in with his suddenly busy Sorcerer Supreme buddy Wong (Benedict Wong) in a magical townhouse. The inclusion of Doctor Strange keeps thousands of visual effects artists fully employed with spellcraft and a chase sequences through a kaleidoscopic New York that puts Inception to shame. Although the execution of his childish wish sets up the major conflict of the film, it is probably the clunkiest part of the film. It feels wedged in, not to serve this story, but to maintain the connective tissue of the MCU which requires that consequences ripples across at least a half-dozen other films. If you have any doubt about this forecast, stick around after the credits for a trailer.
Alas, the fallout from the magic show is the opening of a metaphorical door to usher in a series of inspired special guest appearances. However, because we live in a world where microscopic casting rumors are breathlessly examined and subjected to microscopic analysis, yet anything resembling a spoiler is shunned like a discredited neighborhood hero accused of murder, I won’t mention a single one of them by name. Which is really a shame, because it would be nice to tell you how well these visitors do in embodying various flavors of confusion, regret, and hammy glee as the Spidey-gang encounters them trampling through their city and conspire to catch ‘em all. From quick cameos to substantial supporting roles, all the performers clearly relish being back in the picture not just for the fun of it, but also with with attention to their own legacy.
Watts consistently keeps the film grounded in teenage hijinks with nonstop quips and an ever-refreshing array of visual jokes that have a solid hit rate. The sight of the kids using an iPhone with FaceTime hot glued to a billion dollar Spider-suit to keep tabs on Peter while he’s out in the filed cracked me up. Recurring comments about the dangers of falling into vats of things somehow never got old. The humor and sense of inventiveness serve as a reminder that these are meant to be kids still have to go to school in the morning and have to appease worried parents or guardians. These are actors that can sell the thrill (or terror) of swinging through a city as well as they communicate the sentimentality of puppy-love and the pain and frustrations of personal tragedies.
The heart of the film is one of redemption, and the approach is admittedly facile and reductive. But this is a universe where people are more surprised by the existence of sorcery than a teenager having access to billions of dollars worth of advanced military-grade technology; so perhaps instant cures for what ails you aren’t so outlandish.
Per tradition, the conclusion builds to a CGI near-apocalypse in a cinematic location (again with a pretty funny visual gag). You’d think that if these superheroes had learned anything, it would be to avoid property damage, but when your M.O. is swinging from tall buildings you can’t really lure the bad guys to an abandoned field in the middle of nowhere. Still all of the actors do a remarkable job of connecting at a human scale even when they’re swimming in special effects while juggling technological and mystical MacGuffins.
For instance, among the bombast, Watts still finds room to honestly consider the loneliness of a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Holland handles the beats of tragedy, rage, and broken hearts that result from great sacrifice remarkably well. He’s been making me cry since he was a little kid stranded by a tsunami in the Impossible, so maybe my reaction is residual. He and Zendaya have real-world chemistry and her MJ is a perfect counterpoint to his wiry anxieties. With Jacob Batalon rounding out the trio and Marissa Tomei getting a bit more to do as Aunt May, Peter’s immediate social network remains a credible core gang of support. You’d think that adding a bunch of unspecified guest characters to the mix might dilute their well-calibrated chemistry, but there are so many genuinely nice moments that it rarely feels overcrowded.
I can see how someone would come away from this movie thinking that there’s way too much fan service and I wouldn’t even argue that their heart is even a half-size too small. Still, I’m an easy mark for this quippy and sentimental stuff and I can’t apologize for thinking that it’s the funniest and most emotionally effective outcropping of superhero island. Sure the story could’ve been tighter and less of a cog in a giant franchise machine (you could argue that nothing can compete with Into the Spider-Verse and you wouldn’t be wrong), but I still spent the entire running time in a state of near-constant delight and engagement. With so many choices that I genuinely loved, I can forgive the armature that the whole gooey mess is built around. If this is your cup of holiday nog, have a great time. This big expensive thing was built just for you (us).
In conclusion, here is a photo of me waiting through the credits for the extra scene(s):
Spider-Man: No Way Home arrives in theaters on December 17th. Images courtesy Columbia Pictures.