The wait is finally over. The supposed biggest Marvel film since Avengers: Endgame is upon us. Is it worth the wait? Well, obviously it is. The wild speculation online of who or what will show up in this film is what has driven a lot of this hype. Fret no more, dear reader, this review will not tell you about any appearances by certain actors that do or do not occur. This will only tell you the basic truth that the film is indeed very good.
It's difficult to fully explain why Spider-Man: No Way Home is good without delving into spoiler territory. The shocks and surprises start pretty soon after the film starts and don't really cease until the end of the credits. It's a commendation to the marketing of the film that a lot of what happens in the course of the story is no where to be seen in those infamously bad trailers.
What makes this film great though is that it's one of the most emotional films the Marvel Cinematic Universe has produced. The story has severe lows for Tom Holland's Peter Parker and it's a testament to the man's acting that a lot of the scenes here he really steals. His Spider-Man is pushed to his absolute limit and this is demonstrated fantastically in his performance. The end of the story too, leaves the character in a place that will be very exciting for the confirmed future trilogy of films that he'll star in.
Zendaya seems to have brought along some tips off her time with Denis Villeneuve as her MJ is a far more dynamic and interesting character in this outing. Before she was quite one note, but now she has more of an emotional range and has improved chemistry with her co-stars.
Of course the main attraction for this instalment of the Home trilogy is the return of some familiar villains. Unfortunately, the way these characters are written feels a bit stale and sometimes can seem like they're played more for laughs than actual story. All of the multi-versal villains talk to each other like Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin did in that episode of Family Guy where they crossed over. It felt a lot like the writers were just excited to have all these characters at the same time and made them talk in exposition about their various timelines. They are still all great villains but they're never as good as they were in their original outings. Exciting as it was to see them all, it did feel a bit like there were too many villains again in a Spider-Man film…however, this film is the best attempt at that error.
In short, Spider-Man: No Way Home is another Marvel film that feels like it was made by the fans, for the fans. The only problem is, that sometimes it feels like the fans writing are the sort that write fan-fiction on their blogs, rather than screenwriters with a love for the characters. Nevertheless, it's by no means a disappointment.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is in cinemas from December 15
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