I’m going to try to be as non-spoilery as possible here. Just know that this is the Spider-Man movie you’ve been waiting twenty years to see. I can’t imagine any Spider-Man fan walking away disappointed from this one as it gives you enough Spider-Man action for three movies. For my money, it is the best MCU flick of all time and is just as good, if not better than the Raimi sequels. If it isn’t the best Spider-Man movie ever made, it’s certainly the most fun.
This movie does what Into the Spider-Verse flirted with, but didn’t quite accomplish. It embraces the legacy of Spider-Man and takes the previous installments of the past franchises and melds them perfectly together. The previews already showed you footage of the Spider-villains from the Raimi and Webb series crossing over through the multiverse and into the MCU. That’s really the tip of the iceberg. I don’t want to spoil what happens in the second half of the film, but what I can tell you is that what you think is probably going to happen happens and it’s just as good, if not better than you’d expect.
In the last film, Mysterio blew the whistle on Spider-Man and told the world he’s really Peter Parker (Tom Holland). This makes his life a living hell, and in perfect Peter fashion, he tries to fix things and only winds up making it worse for himself. He asks Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to cast a spell to make everyone forget his alter ego, but when he tampers with the incantation, it causes a rift in the multiverse and everyone who’s ever known Spider-Man’s true identity crosses over.
If there is one minor quibble it’s that it takes a while to get going. I have a feeling director Jon Watts is really invested in the Peter/MJ/Ned triumvirate and wants to continue their storyline. All that is fine, but their friendship scenes early on get the movie off to a slow start. Once the action gets going though, it never stops, and their banter and interactions with Peter throughout his trials are sweet, so it’s easy to overlook the pokier scenes early in the film.
Once Strange casts his spell, buckle up. There’s a whole lot of Spider-action here as Spider-Man battles foes with familiar faces (although not to him). During the most chaotic of action sequences, one thing stands out: Tom Holland is a terrific Spider-Man. He holds the movie together whenever it threatens to veer off path, and the empathy he shows to even the most dastardly of villains is touching. Like the best Spider-Man movies, Peter gets kicked down and still manages to find the will to keep fighting back. This movie really has an emotional core that Far From Home lacked and that Homecoming hinted at. I’m not saying I got choked up or anything, but okay, it choked me up.
And the parts I can’t talk about? They will leave you cheering, applauding, and pumping your fist triumphantly. In short, this Spider-Man is amazing.
Marvel Cinematic Universe Scorecard:
Spider-Man: No Way Home: ****
Avengers: Age of Ultron: ****
The Incredible Hulk: ****
Iron Man: ****
Thor: Ragnarok: ****
Avengers: Endgame: ****
Ant-Man and the Wasp: ****
Spider-Man: Homecoming: ****
Iron Man 3: ****
Captain America: Civil War: *** ½
Ant-Man: *** ½
Guardians of the Galaxy: *** ½
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: *** ½
Avengers: Infinity War: *** ½
Black Panther: *** ½
The Avengers: ***
Captain America: The First Avenger: ***
Captain America: The Winter Soldier: ***
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: ***
Captain Marvel: ***
Spider-Man: Far from Home: ***
Thor: ***
Thor: The Dark World: ***
Iron Man 2: ***
Doctor Strange: ** ½
Black Widow: ** ½
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