A One Mann’s Movies review of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (2021).
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Sorry for the long silence folks: a self-imposed Covid lockdown to protect Christmas has meant it’s been almost a month without cinema trips. There’s a lot to catch up on!
Plot Summary:
At the end of “Spider-Man: Far From Home” we left Peter Parker (Tom Holland) back in New York being publically exposed as a villain by broadcaster J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. SImmons). With his life turned upside down, and with it the life and prospects of M.J. (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon), Peter seeks a bit of magical help from Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). But a bit of corrupted magic can have extremely unwanted consequences within the multiverse.
Certification:
Talent:
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Benedict Cumberbatch, J.K. Simmons and (and a whole host of other spoilerish names!).
Directed by: Jon Watts.
Written by: Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. (Based on the Marvel comic book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko).
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” Review:
Positives:
- The Spider-Man, and particularly the latest Holland Spider-Man, movies have always hit the sweet-spot of appealing to both fans and die-hard Marvel geeks. And this one is no exception. A rip-roaring superhero adventure that’s brimming with both action, heart and comedy.
- There are some great references to both previous (and future!) Spider-Man and Marvel movies in here: spoilers are no doubt all over the internet, which I managed to *largely* avoid (thanks – sarcastically – Ali Plumb of BBC Radio 1 for one of your Facebook posts). It is really worth seeing this fresh from spoilers if you can.
- The ensemble cast all do a great job. Tom Holland in particular really has to act in this one, and I thought he was teriffic.
- Michael Giacchino’s music is bombastically brilliant.
Negatives:
- Angourie Rice is a fabulous young actress, and I was really pleased to see her appear in this. But then she is given nothing but a comedy cameo…. a great shame!
- I thought the pace went completely out of the film for about 10 minutes in the middle. (But contrary to that, my daughter-in-law – and Marvel geek – Bronwyn really liked this dialogue-heavy section).
Monkeys?
There are two monkeys at the end of the movie. One featuring our favourite symbiote mid-credits: continuing a pretty random monkey from “Venom: Let There Be Carnage“. The second one, at the end of the movie, is more of a trailer for the upcoming “Doctor Strange 2”.
Summary Thoughts on “Spider-Man: No Way Home”
A wonderfully entertaining Christmas blockbuster that is just the shot in the arm (no, not that sort) that the movie business needed. At the time of writing, with the movie only out for 2 weeks, it’s made close to $1.2 billion dollars at the box office: a staggering performance.
Great fun, and highly recommended.
Trailer for “Spider-Man: No Way Home”
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt-2cxAiPJk. (This is the teaser trailer, which has some spoilers but not as many as the final trailer.)
