Peter Parker Faces the Music
After Spider-Man: Far From Home ended in a cliffhanger, I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next. Of course, as often happens, the details got fuzzy, and I didn’t go back and rewatch that movie before going to the theaters to watch Spider-Man: No Way Home. But it wasn’t long before I was caught up in the story again.
This movie starts exactly where the last one ended. Peter Parker (Tom Holland) has just been outed as Spider-Man, someone who is public enemy number one thanks to how his actions from the last movie are being spun. His actions are also causing problems for his family and friends, so he tries to come up with a way to solve things. He turns to Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help, but when the spell gets out of hand, Peter finds himself facing consequences beyond what he could possibly have imagined. Will he find a way to fix it?
I’m being vague in an effort to avoid spoilers. Probably needlessly vague because much of what I’m trying to avoid was leaked during production, and if you truly cared about seeing it unspoiled, odds are you would have seen it by now. (I will be hinting at stuff later in the review, however.)
Of course, the other reason to avoid talking more specifics is because it gets into my biggest complaint with this film. It tries to do too much, and as a result, it feels too long. I knew this movie was two and a half hours going in, and it felt it. There are a few too many plot points in this film in an effort to give all of the cast something to do. Thanks to the big idea of the movie, that’s a lot of characters to work into the movie. Focusing on one or two characters could have cut out some of those scenes and truly helped get the movie streamlined.
I was surprised at my reaction since I know the movie has been getting lots of praise. And I certainly do understand where most of the fans praising the movie are coming from. In many ways, this is a love letter to fans who have stuck with the movie franchise for decades. And I loved that. It was great to get updates. But again, it felt like other things were drawn out so we could get to those moments.
And I absolutely loved the theme of second chances and redemption. This hit home for me since I know I am horrible about giving people chances to redeem themselves. And I feel like society as a whole is falling into this trap right now as well. It was great to see that displayed so powerfully on the screen. I also appreciated the reminder about the dangers of the mob mentality.
The acting and special effects are flawless. No surprise to anyone who has been following the Avengers movies for any length of time. With Dr. Strange in the film, it obviously sets up his standalone movie.
Speaking of which, there is one mid-credits scene and then, after the credits, we get the preview for the new Dr. Strange movie. I’m not a fan of the character, but I am anxious to see this film, mainly thanks to WandaVision. Yes, the Marvel shows are working to pull me further into the franchise.
And, yes, the film does have humor and action as well as character moments.
With how this movie ends, we’d better get another Spider-Man movie, and soon. It wasn’t nearly as bad as cliffhanger as the previous film, but I do want to know what happens next to Peter Parker.
There was much to enjoy about the film. Even now, hours after having left the theater, I’m not quite sure why this film didn’t resonate with me as much as it did others. I guess it just comes down to the uneven pacing. One less storyline to balance would have helped make Spider-Man: No Way Home better.
I need to watch the whole three-film story arc. I sort of gave up after the first few Spiderman reboots as they felt all the same to me, but I've heard good things about this last actor who plays him.
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