Review: Spider-Man: No Way Home is a nostalgic all-out brawl

Marvel is here with its final cinematic offering of the year: Spider-Man: No Way Home, wrapped and tucked under the Christmas tree with a tag reading, “Do Not Open Till Dec 16.” I got to take a peek under the wrapping though, and without ruining the surprise for you, I can tell you all about it. So gather round the fireplace as I tell you about the man in the red suit.

So let’s just get right into it, because the movie sure does. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a running start. We begin with the post-credits scene from the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home where Mysterio reveals Peter Parker’s identity. There’s conflict right off the bat, which is one of the benefits of having an episodic movie franchise. Character introductions? Keep up old man, you should already know all this.

The movie pulls it off. It’s jarring at first, but not confusing. Any non-Marvel fan who might wander in will understand, or at least get taken with the fast tempo of the opening to the point where they don’t worry about the gaps in their knowledge.

Then we get an action montage of Spider-Man frantically carrying MJ around the city. If there’s one thing Marvel Studios can do really well, it’s action montages. The action in this movie, especially the fights, are consistently fun to watch. They’re quick, there’s interactions with the environment;, and one fight even has some trippy visuals; lots of eye candy to be sure.

The band is back together (and bigger than ever) in Spider-Man: No Way Home

The fights are made even better because we actually care about the characters involved, even the villains, which are drawn from the franchise’s past. William Defoe, Alfred Molina, and Jamie Foxx are wonderful in their old roles as the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus and Electro. Although I’m still a bit uncomfortable with the whole concept of “digital youthification” (*haunting flashbacks of Ghostbusters: Afterlife*), I have to admit, it doesn’t look bad or fake here. The actors’ expressions still come through crystal clear, along with their great voices.

The Green Goblin and Doc Ock are iconic villains from the first two Spider-Man movies from Sam Raimi. As for Electro, my personal theory is that Marvel put him in here to make amends with Jamie Foxx and anyone else who saw the Amazing Spider-Man 2. They did right by Electro this time.

There are other former villains in there too, but they don’t get as much attention. Apologies to big fans of Sandman and the Lizard, but they seem here just so the movie can have a full villain lineup. I’d have preferred the movie focus on the three villains it actually intended to develop rather than cramming in another two just for the sake of nostalgia.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is funny…or at least it wants to be

A big negative for me was the humor in the movie. It’s Marvel Humor, what can you say about it? The jokes aren’t cringeworthy (most of the time), but they’re not good enough to come as often as they do; it seems that no scene can pass without a quip, and since the jokes are more miss than hit for me, it took me out of the movie.

That said, everyone in the theater around me seemed to get a good tickle out of every line Jacob Batalon (Ned) said, but I just found it repetitive. It’s not him as an actor either, because he does sometimes get me to laugh; it’s the jokes. They’re always about saying something awkward or off-topic, and every character has to contribute to the growing pile. At some points the plot even takes a full pause so characters can ad lib, and then I get a little annoyed.

That said, J.K. Simmons as an Alex Jones-flavored J. Jonah Jameson peddling vitamin supplements will never not make me laugh. Some jokes do work, but man, would it kill them to have some restraint and cut a couple? You don’t have to use every line you pitch.

That’s the long and short of it. Overall, there is no denying that Spider-Man: No Way Home is a very fun movie. If you’re looking for superhero action, you have your plan for this weekend. And if you’re a Marvel fan, you probably don’t need a review to tell you to go see it. But, in case you did, you should.

Grade: B

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