The multiverse unleashed.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is officially in theaters! Now that the weekend has happened and you've hopefully gotten to the theater and seen No Way Home. If you haven't, I will say it again. This is a SPOILER-FILLED REVIEW. LEAVE IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FILM.
If you have, great! Navigate the links below if you want to hear my thoughts on a specific part of the movie. This is my first spoiler review for a new movie, so I'm going to do it in a walkthrough-like style. It's a pretty long review, so I'd suggest using the links.
The Opening / Daredevil / Peter and MJ / The Spell / The Villains / Doctor Strange vs. Spider-Man / Curing the Villains and Aunt May's Death / Ned's Powers / Tobey and Andrew / The Final Battle / Peter's Ultimate Lesson / The Second Spell / The Ending
General Thoughts
I said in my spoiler-free review that my thoughts may not be completely honest because of recency bias. And I was right.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is even better than I initially thought. After a few days of thought and realization, this movie is so, so good. I think, in my spoiler-free review, I was trying to outmatch my recency bias, and in doing so, I was more negative in my review than I actually felt. With that said, let's dive in to my SPOILER-FILLED thoughts on No Way Home.
The Opening
So I have to be honest: the opening scene might be my least favorite part of the movie. Along with the first after-credits, this is the only scene in the movie that had me truly frustrated. The post-credits of Far From Home were shocking and terrifying, and I felt like this scene didn't really capture that in a way I had wanted. There's immediate chaos, and then Peter picks up MJ and starts swinging.
And then No Way Home cuts this scene that should be intense and urgent and throws all of the MCU comedy into the mix. The MCU humor doesn't usually bother me, but in Shang-Chi and in this scene, I felt like they really threw it in places it didn't belong.
The scene continues as Peter and MJ swing to Peter's house, where Happy and May are breaking up. The part that follows is chaotic and still tries to be funny. May and Happy are being stupid while Peter is trying to tell them that the world knows he's Spider-Man, and I think the mix of that didn't work. They make sex jokes in this scene, Happy is just acting like a moron, and May is getting excited about meeting MJ. The blend of all of that with the horrifying and overwhelming realization that the world knows who Spider-Man is just didn't land right. And it's not what I wanted from this scene.
Daredevil
The first time my theater cheered was very early in the movie. After the police relentlessly interrogate Peter, MJ, Ned, and May, they meet with their lawyer. And it was none other than Matt Murdock.
A few weeks back, Kevin Feige confirmed that if Daredevil was to ever come back, it'd be Charlie Cox. But OH MY GOD. THIS WAS SO AWESOME.
I am currently in the middle of watching Daredevil. It's very good. And I love Charlie Cox in this role. He's so good. This part was only a cameo. But with this and the character we just got shown to in Hawkeye (I won't spoil for those who haven't seen the most recent episode), we are getting the Marvel Netflix shows inducted into the main MCU. That's really cool. And it was just so fun to see him on screen again.
Another important detail that I barely heard over the cheers was that Daredevil said none of the charges of Mysterio's murder are going to stick. Nobody really believes that he killed Mysterio, but there are conspiracies, J. Jonah Jameson, and the world knows his identity, which is the real problem.
Peter and MJ
One of the key parts of No Way Home was the relationship between Peter and MJ. And I thought it was great. Both Tom Holland and Zendaya felt so genuine in this movie. Their chemistry cannot match Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, but they are so good. They have such a strong, caring relationship. MJ is willing to do anything to help Peter out, and Peter wants her to help out, but also keeps her at a distance so she's out of harm's way.
And that's what makes the emotional parts of the movie great. They are so adorable together and such a charming teenage couple that you want to succeed. It makes the ending that much more heartbreaking. This beginning montage with the two of them is so cute and fun, but also has a sense of sadness because of their current situation.
And I'll just talk about this quickly: I like the motivation for Peter to go to Doctor Strange. I don't think he'd care if he didn't get into MIT, but he cares about MJ and Ned getting into MIT, and when they don't, that's what sends him over the edge. That's a reasonable motivation to insight the events of the film.
The Spell
So Peter goes to Doctor Strange to initially try to reverse time, but Strange reminds him that he doesn't have the Time Stone. There's also a few interesting lines of dialogue, like saying that Wong is technically the Sorcerer Supreme because Strange got blipped and Wong didn't. I don't know if that will matter later, but it's just interesting.
Strange comes up with the idea to cast a spell that will make everyone forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. I think the first part of this scene is okay, because Strange implies that they have cast it before for dumber things. Wong gives it the green light, and Strange and Peter head downstairs.
I think the execution of this spell is a little clunky. Strange begins casting the spell and explaining it to Peter...as he is casting it. That's kind of reckless for the person that refused to let anyone else touch the Time Stone when he had it. It felt out of character.
This results in Peter not being able to shut up and causing Strange to screw up the spell. Like, clearly Peter talking was making the spell more dangerous, but he refused to stop talking and was just being selfish. This is a good setup for his arc, but not really a good setup for the multiverse chaos that ensues.
I think that makes the spell one of the bigger problems of the movie. The reason that the multiverse happened and we were able to get Tobey and Andrew in this film was because Peter Parker was being a little brat and trying to get everything he specifically wanted in Strange's spell.
What makes it even worse is the next line. After the spell is cast and screwed up and the multiverse crashes into the MCU, Doctor Strange asks Peter if he called MIT. Peter thinks over it a moment, and realizes he didn't. Strange then tells him that he should've just called before trying a dangerous spell that could break the universe. That's a really stupid addition that makes Doctor Strange and Peter Parker seem even more reckless and careless than before. As I'm writing this, I realize it's probably the biggest problem in this movie. If they tightened this up, I think that No Way Home could be the best MCU movie and even one of the top two or three superhero movies of all time. Unfortunately, this part really holds it back.
The Villains
After Strange encourages Peter to go and sort this MIT thing out, he visits the administrator as she's on a bridge on her way to the airport. She's clearly annoyed, but her situation is about to get a whole lot worse.
We've all seen this scene in the trailer, but a loud banging starts. There's some commotion farther down the bridge. Peter's spidey-sense starts tingling. And Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus explodes onto the scene.
The ensuing fight scene was very cool. There was clear CGI, but the choreography was fast and unique, so I enjoyed it. Also, it was just fun to see Tom Holland's Peter Parker square off against Molina's Doc Ock.
The MIT administrator starts to fall off the bridge. Peter saves her, but is attacked by Octavius under the bridge. Doctor Octopus rips off Peter's nanotech and absorbs it, but also realizes that Tom Holland's Peter Parker is not Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker. Since he's absorbed the nanotech, though, Peter can control Octavius' tentacles. It was a fun little segment as Spider-Man is controlling the tentacles and Octavius is trying to punch him, but isn't close enough. Peter uses the tentacles to save the administrator again, then wraps Octavius up in them.
A bomb suddenly goes off and Green Goblin appears. It cuts away right before Osborn attacks Spider-Man, and suddenly, we are in the basement of the Sanctum Sanctorum again. Doc Ock and Lizard are in individual cells, and Strange begins to chastise Peter for the spell. He explains that it tried to bring in every single person that knows Peter Parker is Spider-Man from every universe. He shut it down, but a few people slipped through.
I like that. It's a good explanation for why some of the characters from the Raimi and Webb-verse come in but others don't.
There's some fun banter from Octavius, Lizard, Strange, and Peter. Strange tells Peter that he needs to locate these variants and bring them to the Sanctum so that they can be sent back to their world. Doc Ock warns Peter about Norman Osborn, telling him that he went crazy and became the Green Goblin.
MJ and Ned meet Peter in the Sanctum Sanctorum as they locate a multiverse man. Thinking it's Green Goblin, Peter rushes out to the location. And surprise, surprise! It's not Green Goblin. It's Electro and Sandman. Electro attacks Peter, but then Sandman, who is on good terms with Spider-Man, helps Peter fight Electro. It's a relatively quick fight scene. Electro eventually calms down and Peter sends them to the Sanctum.
I also thought this was good. I think, for Electro to work in this movie, he had to act out of character from what he was in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. He was so bad and such a goof in that film, so I was fine with him being completely different in this movie. I also liked what they did with Sandman in the beginning. It was a continuation of his character from Spider-Man 3, and I really liked that.
Osborn is shown in an alleyway. He breaks away from his Green Goblin personality, shattering the mask, and walks into F.E.A.S.T. and meets Aunt May. May calls Peter and tells him that Green Goblin is with her. A frantic Peter runs to F.E.A.S.T., but is surprised when Osborn seems like a peaceful man.
Aunt May tells Peter that he needs to help these "multiverse men", not send them back to their respective universes. Peter sends Norman back to the Sanctum, where the villains are all at. This scene was super interesting, because we got to see the villains interact with each other. We've never seen Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus in the same movie, but it makes sense that they'd know each other. It makes sense that Lizard and Electro, who both worked at Oscorp, would know each other.
It gets really interesting when Sandman mentions that both Green Goblin and Doc Ock end up dying while fighting Spider-Man. This sparks tension between the villains and Spider-Man. Doctor Strange comes in with the box that we've seen in the trailer. He's about to use it to send the villains back to their universes, but they get nervous, because they are worried they are going to die. Remembering what Aunt May said, Peter decides to try and save the villains and steals the box from Doctor Strange.
I really liked this part. The tension between the group was very intriguing, but I really think it's just fun that we get all of these characters in the same movie. Nobody would ever think that we would see Jamie Foxx as Electro and Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin in the same movie. But now, No Way Home exists, and we have that awesome thing.
Doctor Strange vs. Spider-Man
After Peter grabs the box, he rushes out of the Sanctum Sanctorum and tries to run off to God knows where with the box. Strange chases after him and ends up trapping him in the mirror dimension.
This scene was awesome. It was so cool to see Doctor Strange fight Spider-Man, especially with Doctor Strange's power set. I love the visuals in the mirror dimension. I think Jon Watts nailed it with the kaleidoscope imagery. The slight homage to Spider-Man 2 with the train was fun. And I love that Peter beats Strange using math.
Something that the previous Spider-Man movies (with the exception of The Amazing Spider-Man) don't really use is Peter Parker's brain. Yes, he talks about science-y stuff a lot with other characters, but his smarts aren't ever really put to use. Here, they absolutely are. Using geometry to beat Doctor Strange was fun. It was cool. I thought it was clever. And I think it is okay that they sideline Doctor Strange after this fight scene. He isn't needed in the next part of the movie, so trapping him in the mirror dimension is a good way to get rid of him for a bit.
Curing the Villains and Aunt May's Death
After he has successfully detained Doctor Strange, Peter returns to the Sanctum Sanctorum and offers the villains a chance of survival. They basically want to cure the villains of their powers so that they don't have to fight Spider-Man and eventually die.
This segment, while still good, didn't hit as well as the other parts of the movie did. It slowed down a little bit and got into the science jargon, which I am not a fan of. While it was still fun to see everyone interacting, I thought there were a few problems with this set of scenes.
First off, Peter relates the villains and just takes them to Happy's safehouse apartment that Peter and May are staying at. I don't think it really made complete sense that he'd trust these guys after they all admitted to doing crazy things and trying to kill Spider-Man. While it does serve Peter's arc in the long run, I still think it's too stupid of a decision. I'm a little conflicted, though, because I think the audience is supposed to think it's stupid. So I'm okay with it, but not ecstatic about it either.
Peter and Osborn begin developing a cure for the villains, specifically Doc Ock, Electro, and Green Goblin. This was a fun part, because you got to see the good guy come out of Green Goblin. It was fun to see him be a fatherly figure again to a Peter Parker. Once they develop the cure, they use it on Doctor Octopus, replacing the chip that was broken seventeen years ago in Spider-Man 2. And, finally, Otto Octavius is back and the tentacles stop messing with his mind.
However, after that, things start to go south.
During this scene, Electro had been talking to Sandman about how he wanted to stay in the MCU because of how much power was available to him. This was very in line with the power-hungry character from The Amazing Spider-Man 2. I appreciated that, and it made sense that he wasn't completely trusting.
J. Jonah Jameson begins closing in on Happy's apartment and you have this oncoming sense of dread as the scene slowly escalates. This was great atmosphere building from Jon Watts. He was making your spider-sense tingle in this scene, which was absolute genius. I really like the way that tension is built.
Peter begins to cure Electro, but the arc reactor that they put on him takes a little bit to download the cure. As this happens, his spider-sense tingles. Suddenly, he webs up Norman Osborn, who has been overtaken by his Green Goblin personality. As he taunts Peter, he convinces Sandman and Electro to betray Peter. Outside, Lizard escapes from his containment unit,
This is where I have a few problems. I love the Green Goblin switch. That was super cool. And I think it makes sense that Electro would rip off the cure and try to get more power. But Sandman and Lizard were chilling. They didn't have any reason to betray Peter. Especially not Sandman. I don't think their turns make sense. And that's why I wasn't a huge fan of their characters in this movie.
Anyways, Electro blasts Doctor Octopus out of the building and escapes with Sandman and Lizard. Green Goblin begins beating the crap out of Peter. Aunt May grabs the cure.
This scene was brutal. As soon as Osborn begins beating Peter up, you feel the weight of the scene. It's hard to watch Peter get tossed around like this.
As Green Goblin relentlessly beats him, Aunt May attempts to stab him with the cure, but it doesn't work, because Osborn made it and rigged it. He then calls his glider, and it aggressively slams into May.
As soon as I saw that, I knew she was toast. I thought it killed her immediately, but she stays alive. Osborn then throws a bomb and leaves.
At first, May seems okay. She's walking around, clearly injured, but okay. A worried Peter thinks he did the wrong thing by trying to save them, but May convinces him he was right. She said that he caused this mess in the first place and it's his job to clean it up. And then we get "With great power comes great responsibility.".
What No Way Home did was genius. It was the final chapter in the beginning of the classic Spider-Man story. Since Homecoming, we've been wondering where Uncle Ben was. And she's been right there the whole time. Aunt May is Tom Holland's Uncle Ben. She's the person that he loses and motivates him on his journey. That was awesome.
Aunt May then collapses and my heart sinks as Peter tearfully tries to get help. But nothing can be done. And Aunt May dies.
Ned's Powers
I just want to take a second real quick to talk about Ned's powers. When Ned and MJ meet Doctor Strange, Ned mentions something about magic running in his family. When Doctor Strange is put in the mirror dimension, he loses his sling ring and Ned gets it. This causes Ned to be able to conjure Doctor Strange portals.
And this, along with the spell, is my least favorite element of the movie. The first half of the movie Doctor Strange is about Stephen Strange taking months to learn magic. And Ned can just do it. Out of nowhere. Flawlessly. It's stupid. I hate it. It's really only used to introduce the two reasons we came to see No Way Home, but I still don't like it.
Tobey and Andrew
As much as I hate Ned's spontaneous powers...it made for one hell of a scene.
A news broadcast is shown at Ned's house as MJ and Ned sit there, wallowing in grief because of Aunt May's death. Oh, I forgot to mention that MJ has the box. Peter gave it to her and told her to press the button and send the villains back to their universes if anything goes wrong or if she doesn't hear from him.
As MJ is about to press the button, Ned conjures up a portal. MJ suggests trying to find Peter with the portal, so he says the words "Find Peter Parker.".
A portal opens in a dark alleyway. Spider-Man is in that alleyway. But as soon as I saw that Spider-Man, I said "That is not Tom Holland.".
Gasps spread through the theater as the skinny, big-eyed Spider-Man leapt through Ned's portal. And Andrew Garfield, the man who denied the rumors of his appearance in this movie, is in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!
I love this part so much. My theater erupted into cheers as a funny scene where Andrew tries to prove that he's Spider-Man ensues.
And then Ned tries again to find Peter Parker. And as soon as Andrew was on screen, the question of "Where's Tobey?" entered my mind. Another portal opens behind ned, and Tobey Maguire steps out.
The original Spider-Man, who hung up the web-shooters fourteen years ago, is back. My theater just went bananas.
This moment is unlike any I've ever experienced. Yes, Endgame was super cool with all of the fan service and great moments at the end. But, dude. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield are in a Spider-Man movie that stars Tom Holland?!?!? That is so cool!!!
This moment was just special. It solidifies the MCU as the single greatest movie franchise of all time. Sorry, Star Wars fans. I love that franchise, but the MCU is just on a different level.
The Final Battle
Ned, MJ, Peter, and Peter go to find Peter. Tom Holland weeps in MJ and Ned's arms for a little bit before introducing him to his two variants. Andrew and Tobey offer their condolences for May. Tom rejects them, saying he doesn't know what they are going through, but Tobey says they do. He talks about losing Uncle Ben and the anger and pain that followed. Tom says May talked about "With great power...", and Tobey responds with "...comes great responsibility.". Andrew then talks about how he lost Gwen and felt like it was his fault. This creates a bond between the three of them that was easily the best part of the movie. Tom decides to fight in May's honor.
The three of them go to a science lab to begin developing cures for the remaining villains. There is some banter in here that is just golden. I've talked about the interactions between the villains and stuff, but the interactions between the three Spider-Men is just amazing. They talk about their loved ones and their different powers. There's a really funny moment where Tobey shoots the webs out of his wrist, and Tom and Andrew recoil in disgust, because they have to make their own web shooters. This scene was just so much fun. I love getting more time with Tobey and Andrew.
They develop all the cures and head to the Statue of Liberty to fight the villains. Before the villains arrive, they talk about all the other villains they've fought. Tobey talks about a black alien goop that he had to fight (Venom), and Andrew, thinking that's super cool, talks about a screaming guy in a metal rhino costume that he fought (Rhino). Tom, bouncing off of Tobey, talks about the purple guy with a cool rock collection that he fought (Thanos). It's just this banter that is so much fun. I adore the dialogue between the three of them. It's a part of the movie that I couldn't talk about in my spoiler-free review, but it's so awesome.
Electro, Lizard, and Sandman arrive and begin to fight the Spider-Men. At first, the three villains have the upper hand, because none of the Spider-Men can really work together. As Sandman engulfs the Statue of Liberty in his sand, the three Spider-Men reconvene and talk about working as a team. Tom tells them he knows how to. Another really funny moment comes as he says "I don't want to brag, but in my universe, I'm part of the Avengers!". Tobey responds with "The Avengers?! That's great!! What is that??". I absolutely loved that moment.
But they talk about a plan and then they run off in this triangle that was just so awesome. The three of them swing together and then land on top of the Statue of Liberty in unison. That part just brought on a huge yell from everyone in the audience. It's so, so great to see the three of them work together as Spider-Men. It's a moment unlike any other, and it was just perfect.
Meanwhile, Ned is having trouble closing the portal to the Statue of Liberty, and Lizard attacks them, so they are now in the middle of this battle.
As Tobey is being drowned in sand, Andrew tosses him the cure, and Sandman is cured. Andrew then cures Lizard, and they now just have to get Electro.
Electro basically traps Tobey and Andrew while Tom is off trying to make sure Ned and MJ are safe. Doctor Octopus climbs on top of the Statue of Liberty and begins choking Tobey and Andrew. He then grabs the Electro cure and sticks it on Electro. He drops Tobey and Andrew and makes sure Electro is fully cured. This part...oh, I love it. It makes sense that Doc Ock would be good. That's what he was at the end of Spider-Man 2. I love redemptive villains, and they played their cards in a very cool way with Doc Ock's arc.
Andrew talks to Electro after he's been cured. He apologizes for upsetting him, and Electro accepts the apology. There's an awesome moment where Electro says "I really thought you were gonna be black, though.". Andrew says "Sorry, man.". Electro then says, "Nah, man, it's fine. There's gotta be a black Spider-Man out there somewhere.". This callout to Miles Morales was so cool. I absolutely loved it. I loved this finale so much. Everything about it was perfect. But I just wanted to shout that line out.
Ned lets Doctor Strange out of the mirror dimension. As Strange is about to send them back home, Green Goblin shoots out out of nowhere and breaks the box, causing the spell to be unleashed and the multiverse to crack open.
This causes the Statue of Liberty to come crashing down. MJ falls Gwen Stacy-style, and Tom dives to save her, but is knocked off course by Green Goblin.
As soon as this shot was in the trailer, we all knew that Andrew Garfield was going to be the one to save MJ. And he does. And there are more cheers from the people in the theater. It's such a great completion of his character arc. He couldn't save Gwen, but he can save MJ from the same fate. Ohhh. I love this movie so much.
Peter's Ultimate Lesson
When Green Goblin knocks him out of the way of catching MJ, the two of them land on a broken piece of the Statue of Liberty. Green Goblin taunts Peter (Tom) about May's death. An enraged Peter decides to kill Green Goblin.
They fight for a bit and Peter eventually gains the upper hand. He begins to brutally punch Green Goblin time after time after time. It cuts to MJ and Ned watching, then Tobey and Andrew. Peter knocks Green Goblin down and grabs his glider to finish Osborn once and for all.
He lifts the glider over his head and forces it down to stab Green Goblin, but Tobey leaps in and stops him. He holds onto the glider as Tom continues to try and push it down.
After further thought, I realized that this moment is a completion of Tobey's arc. Andrew catching MJ completes his arc. Tobey stopping Tom from killing completes his arc. In Spider-Man, Tobey is so angry and vengeful about Uncle Ben's death that he tracks down the thief who shot him and throws the thief out the window, killing him. In No Way Home, he had told Tom that when he killed the thief, it didn't make him feel any better. So Tobey stops Tom from making the same mistake he did here.
While Tobey is trying to stop Tom, Green Goblin stabs him. This was the scariest part of the movie. Tobey falls down and you think to yourself for a moment "Is Tobey Maguire going to die?". Andrew swoops in and stabs Green Goblin with his cure, restoring Norman Osborn and eliminating the Goblin persona.
Andrew and Tom go to Tobey, who says he's been stabbed before and is fine. I was very relieved, because I do not think killing off Tobey Maguire serves the story in a positive way at all. It also made for a funny moment, because you really do think he's going to die, but then he just brushes it off.
After that, the attention turns to the purple cracks in the sky as thousands of variants threaten to enter the MCU.
The Second Spell
Peter (Tom) swings up to the top of the Statue of Liberty where Doctor Strange is desperately trying to hold back the multiverse.
I like this part as a little follow-up to the final battle. It really acts as the resolution to Peter's arc in No Way Home and in this trilogy in general.
As Strange tries to keep them back, Peter tells him he should cast the spell to make everyone, including MJ and Ned, forget that he is Spider-Man. What this means is that people will remember there's a Spider-Man, but nobody knows who Peter Parker is. So it's as if the Peter Parker side of him never existed.
Strange agrees, and tells Peter to go say his goodbyes. He gives Tobey and Andrew one last Spider-hug, which was just a great moment to end with them. Then he goes to MJ and Ned.
He tells them what's going to happen, and they react how you'd expect. It's a very emotional scene, even as Peter does his handshake with Ned one last time. The real gut-punch comes when Peter talks to MJ as she tearfully begs him not to do this. Peter promises to come and find her. They kiss, then Peter leaves as Strange casts the spell. Tobey, Andrew, Green Goblin, Electro, Doc Ock, Sandman, and Lizard all disappear in a flash of bright yellow light.
As I said before, I love this. At first, I wasn't sure, because it doesn't satisfy like the ending of Endgame does. But upon further thought, you realize it's not supposed to. Endgame was the last movie of the Infinity Saga. It was like the series finale. No Way Home is like the season finale. It has a great ending that resolves a lot of the plot lines set up throughout the first season of Spider-Man's journey, but there's obviously going to be more to come.
The Ending
We cut to the snowy streets of New York as Peter practices his meeting with MJ at the coffee shop that she works at. He enters and sees her and introduces himself. As he's about to tell her everything, he sees the band-aid on her forehead and realizes that she almost died because of him. Instead of telling her about their past, he simply asks for a coffee.
Ned walks in and Peter sees that both MJ and Ned got into MIT. He grabs his coffee and leaves, realizing that they are better off without him.
This is another huge step on his journey to becoming the classic Spider-Man. No Way Home teaches him that with great power comes great responsibility. And this is him taking that to heart. Tobey Maguire kept Mary Jane at a distance, never telling her that he loved her because she would be in too much danger. Andrew Garfield told Gwen Stacy that he was Spider-Man, then ended up losing her in the second film. Him hiding his identity from the people he loves is something that has always been part of the character, and I'm so happy that this was what they decided to do with Tom Holland in No Way Home.
So Peter leaves, alone. He then visits Aunt May's grave and finds Happy standing next to him. Happy, who has also forgotten that Peter was Spider-Man, talks to him about what May stood for and how she'd want to carry on that legacy. This inspires Peter to continue fighting crime without people knowing who he is.
This final part was just so cool. Peter rents a small, crappy apartment by himself and dons a new and improved Spider-Man suit. We don't get a great look at it, but it's clearly the classic blue-and-red suit without any of the insane Stark technology that he's had throughout his time in the MCU. This was symbolic of him becoming the classic Spider-Man from the comics. Now that he is that character, he wears the iconic suit that Tobey and Andrew wore. It's a great final element that caps No Way Home off perfectly.
I have an entire post on the after-credits, so check that out if you want my thoughts on those.
Final Thoughts
So, as I said before, I like this movie more the more I think about it. Besides getting cool action and Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire, we get a complete character arc for Tom Holland's Spider-Man as he becomes the Spider-Man that now knows with great power comes great responsibility.
I already gave my score in my spoiler-free review, so check that out for my ratings.
"Spider-Man: No Way Home"
Directed by Jon Watts
Rated PG-13 for superhero violence and action, language, disturbing themes and images
Released on December 17, 2021
2 hours and 28 minutes
Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Zendaya as Michelle "MJ" Jones-Watson
Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds
Marisa Tomei as May Parker
Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange
Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin
Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon/Electro
Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus
Thomas Haden Church as Flint Marko/Sandman
Rhys Ifans as Curt Connors/Lizard
Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil
Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock/Venom