(If you haven’t watched Spider-Man: No Way Home, then I suggest that you don’t read any further, as this review contains major spoilers.)
Written by Harriz Azry Hendry Sung
Edited by Vadim Audy
Ever seen the viral meme with the three Spider-‘Men’ cluelessly pointing at one another? Yeah – that’s technically No Way Home in a nutshell. The sixth-highest grossing movie had surpassed “Jurassic World” and “The Lion King” with a mind-blowing figure of $1.69 billion at the global box office. Marvel Superfans have been going haywire over the release of this movie, and who could blame them, after being bombarded with shock after shock?
It is likely that everyone has seen Spider-Man: No Way Home by now, and should be aware of the tricks that the movie has up their sleeve. It is no surprise that Marvel has done it once again, bringing the audience to the edge of their very seats as not only do they bring back the effortlessly-talented Tom Holland, but they also threw in the two originals: Andrew Garfield and Tobey McGuire! It’s indeed a webslinger to have all three of the actors who have starred as Spider-Man for the last 20 years; it’s almost like a family reunion.
This narrative would not have set in motion if it weren’t for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man’s indecisive thinking as he attempted to be specific with Doctor Strange’s ‘Runes of Kauf-Kaul’ spell, which apparently wipes the minds of everyone in the world and causes them to forget Spider-Man’s identity. Unfortunately for him, not only was he not specific enough, but it also tore a hole in the universe, which would lead to a catastrophic tragedy, as Doctor Strange had mentioned. And that ‘catastrophic tragedy’ just happened to be the infamous multiverse, where individuals from other universes who knew Spider-Man’s true identity were brought into theirs. It really did seem as if Spider-Man requested for the spell out of good will for his friends, and while that’s considerate, it would have been way more ethical to plead his case with MIT. Great job, Peter.
The entirety of the storyline had a cliché-sounding, yet heart-warming outline: everyone deserves a second chance. Villain or not, Aunt May has made it clear that no one deserves to live a life of evil. In fact, despite this being made clear in the midst of the movie, it has always been the narrative of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Curing the insanity and the corruption in those villains was a way for Peter to give them a second shot in their society, and of course doing so would come with a gazillion obstacles, such as Osborn’s mischievous and disobedient personality, along with the one-and-only Green Goblin. Yes, the villain that was first introduced back in July 1964 has surfaced in No Way Home to torment Peter’s life…again. However, it was eerily refreshing to see all the villains from different universes who have made the lives of Spider-Men a living nightmare to come together as one; like I said, a family reunion. From Doctor Octavius to Electro to Sandman, every villain in the movie clearly has a grudge against one of the Peter Parkers, and it reminds the audience to do some catching up on the previous Marvel films.
There were several heart-breaking scenes which completely obliterated the hearts of many, such as the death of Aunt May. Her last moments were unquestionably agonizing to watch as she let go of her final breath in front of the person that she had raised her entire life. It does however reel in a nostalgic feeling as the three Spider-Men share their tearful moments as one special person from each of their lives had been taken away from them, they all leave a similar message: “With great power, comes great responsibility.” There were other breath-taking moments that had the audience gasping, for instance when MJ fell from the Statue of Liberty, and was thankfully saved by Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man, and whilst everyone cheered on for that fantastic save, it does ring a bell to a certain scene from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, when Peter, who was played by Andrew Garfield, failed to save Gwen Stacy as she fell to her tragic death.
The ending was definitely food for thought. In order to protect the multiverse, Peter made a final request to Doctor Strange to erase everyone’s memories of Peter Parker, and to live life where no one remembered him. Not even MJ or his closest friends. Now that Peter lives in an apartment as he pays rent, who knows what would happen next? It felt like a hit of a reset button, however this may potentially open doors to new storyboards as everything can now start fresh once again for Spider-Man.
