Spider-Man: No Way Home isn’t the best Spider-Man movie, but it’s the most ambitious. Even though Spider-Man No Way Home came out 3 months ago, the conversation about the film is still quite strong. My goal was to be objective also a bit subjective, so I deliberately took some time to get over the hype and then talk about the movie without getting swayed by nostalgia which naturally influences my judgment. So I’m laying it all out there and telling you the problems I found after rewatching it a few times. But let me first vent out how good this film is and then we’ll talk about the negative side of the movie. This is my permanent take on Spiderman No Way Home, and it’s more like a mixed one.
The Biggest Perfections of Spider-Man: No Way Home:
I have to admit that Spider-Man: No Way Home is the best Spider-Man movie since Spider-Man 2, and it’s pure euphoria for not just Spider-Man fans, but also for comic-book fans all over the world. This film gives Spiderman fans everything they would desire and gives them a grand and spectacular theater experience that they’ll always remember. It is undoubtedly one of the most ambitious cinematic events in the history of comic book movies.
It is in fact Spider-Man No Way Home that brings together all three spidermen. What would it be like to see all the Spider-Men you’ve ever seen on the big screen together? There’s the childhood hero we grew up with and the charismatic hero we all admire, and then there’s the newbie hero who has yet to realize all of his utmost potential. It is indeed an extravaganza, a dream that we could never have imagined was coming true, even in our wildest dreams.
There are numerous memorable moments that we will be able to cherish and treasure “Oh boy yeah”.
- The introductions of the villains are well-made, nostalgic, and extremely euphoric.
- Doctor Strange versus Peter: Amazing.
- The whole Happy’s apartment scene; the Grisly and devious Green Goblin moment to the moment Peter standing before JJ Jameson’s screen is my favorite part of the film.
- There was a wonderful depiction of Spider-Sense moments, and I think it was my favorite portrayal.
- Returns of Andrew and Tobey, ofcourse yeah.
- Honestly, from this point onwards, every single moment is pure bliss. Seeing their conversion and supporting Tom Spiderman, all the spidermen working on a cure, and Tobey’s back problems, they’re a complete joy.
- Andrew gets his redemption. Hell yeah!
- Tobey stops Tom from killing the Green Goblin.
- The ending of No Way Home is my favorite Spiderman movie ending.
- That movie kept the spotlight on Tom Holland’s Spiderman all the way through.
It’s a huge cinematic event that I will never forget and is one of the best theatre experiences I have had since Endgame. Spider-Man No Way Home itself has so many scenes that are just so delightful, memorable, epic, heroic, poignant, and seeing three spidermen together is a treat.
The Ending of Spider-Man No Way Home:
By no means did I expect that No way home would end up like this, it is so visceral, emotional, and that swinging scene in New York City with the choir remixing his theme is freakishly amazing and tear-inducing. I was in pure awe and it’s chilling, and I feel like the school trilogy has come to a very satisfying conclusion.
The end of the movie marks a turning point for Spider-Man in the MCU and it is the moment where “Spider-Boy” turned into a true” SPIDER-MAN”. It is our Peter, who has restarted his life, sacrificed everything he has and has now become the real Peter Parker.
If I had to say, No Way home has one of the best endings in a Marvel movie, and the Best Ending in Spiderman film.
The Imperfections of Spider-Man: No Way Home :
Whether you agree or not, Spider-Man No Way Home has issues and inconsistencies that make it not the best Spiderman movie. One of the biggest problems with the movie is the script, which at times is overly clumsy and the fan service largely outweighs the narrative in the second half. I also had moments where I thought, “Well, that could have been handled better, that could have been more epic, I felt there were a lot of missed opportunities”.
Especially the first act seems rushed, making you want more and want to know how Peter is going to cope with all the implications of his trial, and more poignant confrontation scenes (assistance from Aunt May, Daredevil defending Peter in court, extensive interrogations with Peter’s friends, May, and Ned, and how Peter copes with all the protests and media attention). There’s just something overly condensed and surface-level about the first act. Not just in the first act, but if more scenes and character exploration had occurred, the narrative could have been more overarching rather than shallow. That’s one of the reasons why I don’t see any major character arcs for Lizard and Sandman beyond fan service. They were just there for the sake of being there.
It is also for these reasons that the film’s runtime should have been extended to more than 20-30 minutes to justify what the film is about and the number of characters it encompasses. It’s just my personal opinion that they could have made Peter’s situation feel more impactful and helped us empathize more with him.
In regards to visuals, CGI certainly appears to have been one of the things people were upset about after watching the film. I’d say the effects are rather half-baked. I don’t know what happened in post-production, but I’ve heard there were time constraints which might have affected the CGI.
Also, there was a slight gripe with how Tobey and Andrew’s Spiderman came back. We’ve already seen portals in Endgame, so Tobey and Andrew are not feeling that imaginative. There was a sense of missed opportunity with their return, and that may have something to do with their lack of motif themes. Personally, I think they could have used more motif themes, and it would have evoked a stronger emotional response from the audience. Though they played the motif themes, they did so in a way that didn’t satisfy, again leaving you wanting more.
Brief Flaws:
- Occasionally clunky dialogue writing
- Not very good storytelling
- Overly reliant on fan service
- Mediocre CGI
- It’s so disappointing that they didn’t use the motif themes of Tobey and Andrew as much as I expected. It left me with a feeling of wanting more.
- If there had been more scenes and character exploration, the narrative could have been more overarching rather than superficial.
- Lizard and Sandman don’t appear to have any major character arcs beyond fan service. It’s as if they were present just for the sake of being present.
- A bit of a gripe regarding the way Tobey and Andrew’s spiderman came back since the concept of portals was already included in Endgame. These are my most of the flaws with the film.
Aside from these flaws, I’m convinced that No Way Home script also contained a significant amount of plotholes. The more you think about the film, the more plot holes you see, with questions like
- ” If the green goblin was rehabilitated, would this mean he would be alive and well when he returns to his universe?” It creates confusion. If we follow the events of No Way Home, Green Goblin never dies (if that is the case, Dr. Octavius couldn’t have happened).
- “What’s with these points in time that they were picked out of their universes?”For Andrew, Gwen’s death has likely been some years ago. As for Lizard, it would be probably just before he created havoc in the city. This is where it gets tricky. Both come from the same universe, but they come from completely different points in time.
- “How does each character’s redemption play out in the film, what does it mean?” Yea, Peter is compassionate enough to save them from dying, and he wants to rehabilitate them so they can have a second chance. But what’s the point of saving them if they are going to be dead anyway in their universes? also, didn’t they get redemption for their character arcs in their movies?
Confusing Character Arcs of Spider-Man Villians:
Lizard: He was cured in the ending of the TASM and he actually saved spiderman with his bare human hand before he was incarcerated, which implies, from screenwriting point of view, that he got redemption for his character arc.
Goblin: In the same way as Osborn, his point of time is unknown, so assuming he doesn’t have to die, this triggers a chain reaction, causing Tobey’s universe to change. Hell, Harry’s (goblin’s) character is irrelevant, Norman Osborn still lives, and dang, pretty much everything changes.
Electro: I don’t get what’s going on with his character. Jamie Foxx is out of character, it’s not Electro, it’s someone else that could absorb electricity. While other villains retained much of their physical and personal traits, Electro shifted in the MCU, he’s not the same person, his hair shows up, his personality changes, his innocence disappears, and he has a mustache. It’s so weird they gave pretexts like (I feel way more powerful, I’m different, Data absorption) What’s the logic behind that?. I don’t get why the whole electro character change really makes sense when other villains stayed the same. In many ways, MCU’s Electro strikes me more like Jamie Foxx in Baby Driver (which was in fact the inspiration for Jamie).
Sandman: Taking a look at his lines, it seems that he was taken out of his universe after Spiderman 3. There isn’t much of him in the movie, except for some fight scenes. No idea why he decided to fight spider-man at the end when he already got redemption in Spider-Man 3. It makes no sense. But I don’t get the timeline because Tobey is older, and years have passed.
Dr. Octavius: In the original film Spider-Man 2, he paid his life price to redeem himself for his character. However, Marvel undo these events and reiterated the redemption storyline. Let’s briefly talk about this; While Tom Spiderman freed him from Ai control, since he was taken out of his universe seconds before he drowned in water, that fusion must still be there, right? What’s going on over there? What’s up with Spiderman and Mj when Doc ock vanished? Even if fusion was destroyed, he might end up in prison after he reappears in his universe. So what’s the point of freeing him?
Geez, there’s a lot more to say. As I said “The more you think about the movie, the more plotholes appear in your head” so let’s end this here.
Read: All Spider-Man Movies Ranked ( Including No Way Home )
The Epilogue:
As I conclude, I will say that Spider-Man might be the biggest Spider-Man film of all time, might be the most memorable comic book film. However, deep down, it suffers from plot holes and flaws to a greater extent. Beyond that, and if you put them aside, Spider-Man No Way Home is certainly one of the most celebrated films of all time. Those memories, the time, the excitement surrounding the film will never be forgotten. Spider-Man No Way Home is indeed a celebration, a time of pure euphoria, with a lot of memorable moments.
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