Reflection to Insight

Hey guys! Sorry it’s been a minute since I last dropped a post, but I’m back now with something new for you all. Quite some time ago in my very first post, I had told you that one thing I wanted to upload on my blog was movie reviews. Due to Covid, up until now I hadn’t done this. Also, I didn’t want to try and review every movie that came out, but more so the main ones that really stood out to me as special. Today, I have a review for you that focuses on a very special film indeed. Spiderman No Way Home. I realize that the movie just came out this weekend, and many haven’t had a chance to see it yet. So I will give you a break down of the movie in two sections. The first will be my honest thoughts without any spoilers. Down underneath that, I will have the second part which gives my honest thoughts relating to some spoilers. Before that second section comes, I will give you a warning so you know when to stop reading if you haven’t seen the movie yet. So with all that being said, let’s go ahead and hop into the review.

Characters

One of the beautiful things about this movie is the growth and connection we see the characters portraying on screen. This is filled with emotional themes, and that is in large part due to the performance the actors gave. Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon poured their hearts and souls into this movie. I continued to feel the strong bond the three shared, and the romantic chemistry between Tom and Zendaya. During the movie I believed that they really cared for one another. I felt that they represented a very real and relatable sense of what true relationship can look like. Especially when life hits its darkest moments.

I have to applaud Tom Holland because he did such a fantastic job of playing both Spider Man and Peter Parker in this film. I have always enjoyed Tom as an actor since his first appearance in Civil War. He does a really great job of bringing the character to life, in a fresh way that we haven’t seen before. It is very much his own spin, and his performances have always been on point in my opinion.

With that said, I must honestly say that I haven’t always enjoyed the direction the script writers and movie directors have taken with his character. Both Homecoming and Far From Home are great movies, and I do enjoy them. But in these past stories, especially in Far From Home, I wasn’t always pleased with how over shadowed the character of Spider Man felt. Because he is in the MCU, and everything is connected within the universe in a very succinct way, Spider Man never feels like he is on his own. It always feels like he is involved with the Avengers, and everything about his life ties back to Tony Stark. On the one hand it’s so awesome to see, but on the other I believe it sometimes takes away from his character. Spider Man doesn’t have room to just be his own hero. He can’t just be a friendly neighborhood Spider Man, because his life is always so filled with the cosmic events of the entire MCU. Shield, Tony Stark, and the Avengers have a very strong hold on his life. And for a while, I have wanted to see him freed of this. In No Way Home, I believe they did free him. They gave him the space to spread his wings and grow.

From beginning to end, there is a noticeable shift in the persona of Peter Parker. He is more mature, more thoughtful, and honestly a little more war torn. This movie really took his character through the ringer. There were real consequences he had to deal with. Consequences I didn’t actually think the MCU would give him. But nonetheless he found himself face to face with some very difficult issues. This movie showed us a Peter Parker that wasn’t obsessing about the Avengers. It gave us a Peter that wasn’t relying or focused intently on Tony Stark. It gave us a Peter that had his own problems to deal with. Problems that came close to breaking him, and problems that helped him to see a deeper responsibility that comes with being Spider Man. A responsibility that more often than not can feel like a curse instead of a blessing. I love the direction they took Peter Parker in for this movie. As I said above, Tom did such a great job in his performance of this character. They grew Spider Man up. He has made that transition from being a boy, to a man.

Movie Plot

From beginning to end, it also isn’t just the characters that feel different. It’s the very plot and tone of the movie itself that have changed. There is a more down to earth sensation this film gives you. And as I sat in my seat, I realized that this work felt so different from Homecoming and Far From Home in the very aura it exhibits. It felt as though director John Watts tweaked the entire nature of what was previously done, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The one thing I will warn you of is that the plot feels like it’s moving pretty fast at times. It might feel hard to catch your breath. On the one hand this bothered me, but ultimately I’m content with it. In the moments where they needed to slow down, they did. There were many scenes that weren’t rushed, and I was very pleased about that.

I will note that this is a darker movie. It is definitely the darkest Spider Man movie of the MCU. There were narrative decisions that were very heavy. Moments that were highly emotional. A lot of the action in the movie didn’t just feel like a cool stylized scene. It wasn’t just flashy and eye catching like Spider Man so often is with all his fancy web swinging. A great deal of it was gritty and aggressive. It was often just raw, brutal violence. Sometimes it seemed like a flat out beat down of one character with another. It rose the stakes, and made me feel extremely concerned for the welfare of the characters at times. I was surprised that this was done in the story, because again, it sets it apart from the past movies we had received. But truly I think it enhanced the film and drove the plot in a strong way. I’m glad they upped the antes.

Even though there are dark moments, there are heartfelt ones as well. The friendship we see between Peter and his friends is touching. The romantic bond between Peter and MJ is tangible and sweet. There was quite a bit of humor throughout the film which helped to alleviate some tension. But to me it didn’t feel like too much. There seemed to be a good balance of serious tension and laughable fun. Even though Spider Man faces trial after trial, there is still a glimmer of hope. There is still a powerful sense of pressing on, and trusting that things will get better even though in the moment they feel absolutely wretched. At the end of the day, that’s who Spider Man is. He’s the kind hearted hero that stands against the tidal wave of pain, and chooses to do the right thing in spite of that pain. He gives people hope and inspiration to persevere. No Way Home gave that to us. And I’m so thrilled and grateful for that. The entire team of people working on this project knocked it out of the park.

SPOILER ALERT!!! THIS IS THE END OF THE NON-SPOILER SECTION. DOWN BELOW I GO INTO SPOILER TERRITORY, SO BE WARNED!

Alright, so I’m sure that many of you heard various rumors that were thrown around. Some relating to plot, and others relating to character appearances. One such rumor was that both of the previous Spider Men, played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, would pop up for a time in the movie. I can indeed confirm to you that both of them do appear, and it is absolutely amazing!! Many people who heard this rumor were concerned that the two appearing would overshadow Tom, and it wouldn’t feel like his film. I was happy to see that this was not the case. The two Spider Men didn’t show up until the last quarter or so of the film. I think the timing was perfect. They weren’t in the movie too long, or too little. We got time to really sit with them, while still getting the character development of Tom Holland’s version. The interaction between the three was one of my favorite things about the movie. In the story it seemed like Tobey, Andrew, and Tom were relating over the fact that they were Spider Man. But I think the chemistry worked because in real life, the three related over the privilege and opportunity of playing Spiderman. Together they had a lot of fun, humor, and heartfelt moments. Some which grew the characters too. And it was so stunning to watch. This is something that will go down in movie history for sure.

One of the saddest and most impactful things in the movie, was the death of Aunt May at the hands of Green Goblin. This very well might have been the biggest loss Peter faced in the film. This incident pushed him to the brink of losing all hope, and really he did when I think about it. But through the love of his friends, and the encouragement of Andrew and Tobey, he found his confidence again. What I admire so much is that the filmmakers took their time with this scene. May’s death was not rushed, and the parting words she gave to Peter were so powerful, but also sorrowful. It ended up being his Aunt who feeds him the ever famous “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility” line. And I think this was a very creative choice. It has always been Uncle Ben who tells Peter this in past iterations. But this time around things were different. And honestly I think it’s a nice change. But the scars of this tough event still remained through the rest of the film. And it left Peter in a fairly bitter place even when he regains his confidence. He told his fellow Spider Men that he wanted to kill the Goblin for what he did to May. And that’s exactly what he tried to do.

In the movie’s finale, we get another battle between him and Green Goblin. But the thing I love about this moment, is that Tom’s Spider Man looses all control. He begins to drill his enemy with blow after blow, not letting up. He is full of rage and only cares about dealing it out to Goblin in that moment. However, before Tom can finish his enemy off, Tobey steps in and stops him. The older Spider Man looks him in the eye with a gaze that says he understands. He knows the pain of loss. He knows the anger that comes with it. But killing the enemy isn’t the way. It’s wrong. This gaze holds both care and accountability, and Tom realizes he needs to listen. He decides to show mercy to Goblin, even though it’s impossibly difficult. This was another moment where I saw just how much this film sets itself apart. Tom’s Peter was truly pushed beyond measure in this tale. He had to make some tough calls for the greater good, that left him in a painful place. But even at the end, there is still hope. He rebuilds and starts anew.

There are more spoilers I could go into, and so many more things I love about this movie. But I realize the review is already decently long, so I’m going to wrap things here. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post! I plan to do movie reviews in the future for any films that stick out to me. Spider Man No Way Home is a roller coaster. There are many highs and lows in the film. So many things that will send your mind spiraling in wonder. I hope you did enjoy or will enjoy the experience, and had or have an absolute blast with it. I’ll talk to you all later!