It’s no big secret I was not a fan of the last Spider-Man movie in the MCU, Spider-Man: Far From Home. I didn’t like the set up with Tony giving Peter, a teenager, a weapon. I didn’t like the villain motivation being another grudge against Tony Stark and I really didn’t like the attempts at humor like Peter getting caught getting undressed by a woman and then using the weapon to almost kill a schoolmate he thought might expose him. Also the illusions made no sense practically when you think about it. It was bad. Very bad.
So my expectations were not high for the sequel No Way Home. Now I have seen the film and it is a definite improvement from the last film. However,all the ways I liked it better would be considered spoilers. All the things I didn’t like would also be considered spoilers. This makes this review difficult to write. I seriously can’t think of a movie harder to talk about without spoilers than this film.
What I will say is that at its core Spider-Man: No Way Home is a movie about friendship. It’s about schoolmate friendships, mentor/mentee friendships, friends you have nothing in common with, friends who are very similar, and friends that are your parental figures/family. Some friends you chose and some are chosen for you but that all has value.
The biggest downside to the film is a problem I’ve had with Disney for a long time. They are presenting a perfect world where nobody is evil or bad and everyone can be redeemed or ”cured” of their sociopathic or evil tendencies. That’s just not reality. I know it’s a superhero movie but one of the best things about superhero movies and comics is their ability to teach children the difference between good and evil, right and wrong. Now everything is either doom and gloom over at DC or no villains exist at Disney. I don’t love that. It is supposed to make everything more nuanced but it instead makes everything bland and devoid of personality.
There also is a lot of time in this movie with people in rooms talking. Sometimes that works, other times it feels over-rehearsed and careful when it is supposed to be natural and conversational. It does also lean on nostalgia a bit but I enjoyed that aspect.
It will be interesting to see what people think of Spider-man: No Way Home. It’s an unusual entry in the MCU but going in with low expectations I enjoyed it and appreciated Peter Parker and all his friends.
7 out of 10
Smile Worthy
There is a mid-credits and post-credit scene so stick around!
I totally agree with you that the “nuances” we see these days where there are no villains gets annoying and boring very easily!
I’m confused by the remark, “They are presenting a perfect world where nobody is evil or bad and everyone can be redeemed or ”cured” of their sociopathic or evil tendencies. That’s just not reality.”
Yet when reviewing Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, you mention how “Luke is so convinced there is good in his father and I think that is part of what makes him such a likable character. He’s not only the hero but he believes in people. He see’s the good in [the] villain. That’s very admirable.”
In my opinion, I find both of these statements contradictory. How can you say Luke seeing the good in a villain is admirable, yet claim it not a reality when Peter Parker/Spider-Man attempts to redeem/cure a villain?
That’s fair but I think the problem is all we have been getting is either villain reveals or redemption stories from Disney for a long time. At a certain point they all start to feel the same and I miss the deliciously evil villains again. It becomes predictable and boring when every character is written the same way. Also Vader was a real villain until the end so that was fun and the interesting character work was from the part of Luke. Peter in this film is sure from the start that all the villains can be “cured” so the arc isn’t the same. Good question though. Thanks