Spider-Man is comfortably one of the most used superheroes in film history – but I’m here to tell you that No Way Home is his best-ever outing on the big screen, by some distance.
Boasting more surprises and Easter Eggs than you can possibly imagine, villains used expertly, a huge cast and emotional gut punches galore, Tom Holland’s third outing as the web-slinger is also one of the best non-Avengers Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films to date.
Indeed, I’ve never known an audience in any cinema to respond to a film quite like this before such was the level of surprise and intrigue throughout the 2.28hrs running time.
It goes without saying that this review won’t serve up any spoilers that weren’t revealed in the pre-release marketing, as No Way Home is absolutely best viewed without any prior knowledge of what is about to unfold.
Directed by Jon Watts, it picks up exactly where 2019’s Far From Home ended – with Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) revealing, via J Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons), that Spider-Man’s true identity is Peter Parker (Holland).
That instantly makes Peter, his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) massive celebrities, while also putting then in the firing line of the authorities.
With their collective actions in recent films threating their future, Peter makes the drastic move to contact Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and ask him to cast a spell to make everybody forget that he’s Spidey.
However, things don’t quite go to plan and the much-anticipated multiverse is partially cracked open – letting in a who’s who of Spider-Man’s villains from other past iterations of the character.
That’s right, you’ll have seen that Alfred Molina is back as Doc Ock, while Jamie Foxx reprises his role as Electro and, amazingly, Willem Dafoe returns as Green Goblin.
You can rest assured that other familiar faces are also in play, but enjoy the surprises for yourself.
With Strange and Spider-Man at odds at how best to deal with the multiversal event they’ve triggered, the stage is set for perhaps the best non-Avengers MCU film since Thor: Ragnarok.
No Way Home presses all of the buttons you want from a film. The story is strong, the characters are on great form and, while there are great hero moments and solid character development, it’s also a film that delivers surprisingly emotional moments, too.
Holland has already cemented himself as a great web-slinger, but this is his best performance yet.
Likewise, his chemistry with Zendaya continues to impress and they are perhaps now the definitive version of Peter and MJ.
Also impressing here is Cumberbatch, who plays a significantly bigger role in proceedings than you’d expect. Stay until the end credits for an incredible teaser for his next outing in next year’s Multiverse Of Madness, too.
However, it’s perhaps Dafoe’s performance that steals the show. He’s one of the most memorable MCU villains to date and it really was a delight to see him back in the role he nailed all the way back in 2002.
To be fair, all of the villains were on strong form – with Molina also slipping back into Otto Octavius’ shoes seamlessly.
With Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei and Benedict Wong also back as Happy Hogan, Aunt May and Wong respectively, there’s also great humour and meaningful family moments to enjoy in what is easily one of 2021’s best films.
Voice Verdict: 9.5/10 (reviewed at Boston Savoy)
+ Best Spider-Man film yet
+ Delivers huge surprises
+ Dafoe is a great villain
+ Both funny and emotional
+ Lots of action
SHOWTIMES
Boston Savoy (Thur Dec 23 to Weds Dec 29)
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (12A)
9.30am (Fri), 10am (Mon/Tue), 10.30am (Fri), 11.05pm (Thur/Sun), 11.15am (Mon), 12.45pm (Fri), 1pm (Thur/Sun/Mon), 2pm (Fri/Sun/Mon), 3pm (Thur/Fri), 3.15pm (Sun/Mon), 4pm (Fri), 4.30pm (Sun/Mon), 4.50pm (Thur), 5pm (Fri), 5.30pm (Sun/Mon), 6.20pm (Fri), 7pm (Thur), 7.10pm (Sun/Mon), 7.40pm (Fri), 8pm (Mon), 8.30pm (Fri)
WEST SIDE STORY (12A)
2.30pm (Mon), 4.45pm (Thur), 5.15pm (Fri), 7.45pm (Sun/Tue), 8pm (Thur)
ENCANTO (PG)
9.45am (Thur), 10.20am (Mon/Tue/Wed/Thu), 12.10pm (Thur)
CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG (PG)
10am (Thur/Fri/Mon/Tue), 12.20pm (Sun/Mon/Tue), 12.30pm (Thur/Fri), 2.40pm (Sun/Tue/Wed), 3pm (Thur/Fri)
A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS (PG)
12.20pm (Fri), 2.30pm (Thur)
THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS (15)
12.45pm (Sun/Mon/Tue/Wed), 2.45pm (Fri), 4pm (Sun/Mon/Tue), 5.15pm (Thur), 6pm (Fri), 7.30pm (Sun/Mon/Tue), 8pm (Thur)
HOME ALONE (PG)
5pm (Sun), 8.40pm (Sun)
THE KING’S MAN (15)
12.40pm (Fri), 5pm (Tue/Wed), 5.40pm (Mon), 8.40pm (Mon/Tue/Wed)
KIDS’ CLUB POLAR EXPRESS 3D (U)
10.15am (Thur/Fri)
KIDS’ CLUB HOME ALONE (PG)
9.45am (Fri)
KIDS’ CLUB
RON’S GONE WRONG (PG)
10.15am (Fri/Mon/Tue/Wed)
SUBTITLED PERFORMANCE
THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS (12A)
8.20pm
