Directed by Jon Watts
Written by Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers
Starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Marisa Tomei and spoilers
Rated PG-13 for sequences of action/violence, some language and brief suggestive comments
Runtime: 2 hours, 28 minutes
In theaters December 17

by Ryan Silberstein, Red Herring and Rosalie Kicks, The Old Sport

Ryan: Here we go again! Thanks to some intense legal negotiations between our Mouse-themed rulers and Sony, this is the third Tom Holland Spider-Man movie in 5 years, meaning we’ve gotten all of those before a Black Panther 2. And yeah, Spidey is probably the most popular superhero after Batman, but still, this had me coming in skeptical. The trailers felt messy, and I was worried that this movie was going to lose focus on Tom Holland’s Peter Parker as it expanded towards a Spider-Verse. I’m happy to report that both Rosalie and I had a great time watching it, and the film pulls through where it counts. 

However, since people are so sensitive, there’s really no point in writing any more than this without spoilers.

Warning: The rest of the article below this image contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home!

You have been warned! 

Kicks: Yes! You have be triple warned… so don’t you dare curse us.

Ryan: It’s weird that we’ve never got a ‘just the basics’ Spider-Man with this Peter Parker, as he was Iron Man’s mentee in Homecoming and was sent off to Europe in Far From Home, but at least No Way Home puts him back on his home New York turf. My biggest fear for No Way Home was that bringing in the villains and Spider-Men from the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire trilogy and the Marc Webb/Andrew Garfield duology was going to crowd out Tom Holland and take away the focus. So I am pleasantly relieved by the way all of this was handled, not so much in terms of plot mechanics (it’s magic!) but for the journey that Peter goes through emotionally.  Of course, the film also packs in plenty of humor and fun, especially getting a lot of mileage from Cumberbatch’s dry, bemused delivery. Spider-Man’s world is rooted in science and not magic, so these two characters work well as foils both in how they think as well as their personalities. 

Kicks: I completely agree. However, I must note that I made the decision to not watch any of the teasers or trailers for this flick and, therefore, was unaware of the possible Spidey mess. I went in cool as a cucumber with zero expectations and ended up leaving absolutely thrilled. This motion picture not only delivered the thrills but it was a reminder of what it feels like to have to fun at the movies. I was not even bothered by Dr. Strange! (Benedict Cucumber (aka Cumberbatch)). In fact No Way Home provides the practically perfect in every way amount of the eccentric ornery wizard. The interactions we witness between Peter Parker and Strange leave you wanting more. Much of the same could be said for Peters interactions with the numerous other characters that make an appearance. As Ryan said above, with the amount of players this flick was juggling, I was surprised that at no point did I feel Peter (Holland) lose control of the narrative.

Ryan: The common thread of this Spider-Man, from failing to hold together a Staten Island Ferry to almost killing his classmate with a drone controlled by glasses has been that he makes his own problems. He’s been trying to figure out how to be A Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man while going up against threats that are arguably out of his league. But he always approaches them with charm and an ”aww shucks” attitude that helps him own up to his mistakes. This film picks up from the end of Far From Home with Alex Jones-esque J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) exposing Spider-Man as Peter Parker and blaming him for the death of Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal, not actually in this movie). This puts Peter into an existential crisis and he and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) go into hiding to try to avoid all the attention. Being Spider-Man has ruined the college admissions plans of Peter, MJ (Zendaya), and Ned (Jacob Batalon). Peter seeks out Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for a magical solution which results in anyone who knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man being pulled into the MCU’s home dimension. 

After tangling with Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) and Electro (Jaime Foxx), there is a crucial moment where Peter decides to help these men rather than sending them back to their own universes/ timelines to meet their fate in death while battling Spider-Man. This choice is where the film really starts to thread the core Spider-Man ethos, “with great power comes great responsibility” into Tom Holland’s story even more than his previous appearances. This is where the film clicked for me. 

Kicks: Right on, Ryan! This element of the story was gold. There is too much death and destruction in the world, especially within the superhero narrative. It was refreshing to see a character take a step back and see the potential good in someone. Peter takes the responsibility as a citizen to help those that can’t help themselves. Death does not need to be the answer. People deserve a second chance. An urgent message that society should take note on.

To go back to Ryan’s earlier thoughts regarding the charm of our hero, I have to admit I am completely under this kid’s spell. He truly is The Amazing Spider-Man. Throughout this rendition of Spidey, I feel we have seen not just a true hero but an authentic human being, someone that has faults, a person that ultimately pays for the choices they make and in turn grows from this. This trilogy has done an exceptional job of showing what it is like to grow-up.

Ryan: Where Batman is fueled by a righteous crusade, Superman is a legitimate altruist, and Iron Man wants to look cool, Spider-Man’s core emotion is guilt. This especially comes into relief when all three versions of Peter Parker from the live action movies meet up. Tobey-Peter talks about how he could have prevented Uncle Ben’s murder and Andrew-Peter talks about not being able to save Gwen Stacy, comforting Tom-Peter in what feels like his darkest hour. Throughout his storied comics history, pretty much all Spider-Man stories have been driven by Peter Parker trying to do more. It will never be enough to make up for the people he has lost because of his life as Spider-Man. In No Way Home, it takes the form of trying to cure these villains displaced from other universes, no matter how dangerous they seem. That single choice pulls the entire film together for me, and I was surprised how deeply it affected me. 

Kicks: Yea, it is kinda crazy how many feels I got from a superhero flick. Biking home from the cinema last night, I realized how much I needed this flick in my life at this moment in time. I don’t fancy myself a clairvoyant but I would put money down it is probably the movie that you, my dear film pal, need in your life too. The past two years have been extremely NO. The two hour and twenty-eight minute runtime does have some difficult moments to bear, but in the end I left the theater filled with hope. There is always a choice, and sometimes a certain path may not be the easiest, but in the end it may be the most fulfilling.

*It should be noted that immediately following this flick, Rosalie Kicks purchased the Andrew Garfield duology with Ryan’s blessing and approval. She is now a Spidey fantatic and Ryan is process of providing reading recommendations.