By: Jocelyn Olmos
WARNING: Article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home. Do not read if you wish to not be spoiled.
One of the most anticipated Marvel films of the year was released last December. This film had many theories behind it. This film is Spider-Man: No Way Home. The film was released on Friday December 17, 2021 and had many familiar faces starring in it. Of course there was Tom Holland playing Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Alongside him were his fellow co-stars Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds and Zendaya as MJ. Benedict Cumberbatch was also a big character in this film as the cunning Doctor Strange, Jon Favreu as “Happy” Hogan, and Marisa Tomei as Aunt May. Now if you thought that those actors and actresses were familiar then get ready for this next list. William Defoe as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, Alfred Molina as Dr.Otto Octavius, Jamie Foxx as Electro, Thomas Haden Church as Sandman, and Rhys Ifans as The Lizard. And for the most theorized and expected actors to be in this film, Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man “Peter 2” and Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man “Peter 3”. The setting of this movie takes place immediately after the last moments of Spider-Man: Far From Home in Queens, New York in the year 2024. Spider-Man: No Way Home is an action and adventure film.
The plot of the whole film is Peter’s identity just got revealed to the whole world that he is Spider-Man. In the first few minutes of the movie Peter tries to balance both his lives of Peter Parker and Spider-Man like the other movies but this time the whole world knows who he is. In Spider-Man: Far From Home Mysterio reveals Spider-Man’s identity and says that all the destruction that happened Spider-Man: Far From Home was Peter’s fault. Peter and his friends struggle to get into MIT because everyone sees Peter as a villain. Peter then goes to Doctor Strange for help. He asks Doctor Strange if there is a way to make everyone in the world forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Doctor Strange creates a spell that is able to have everyone forget that Peter is Spider-Man, however Peter keeps tampering with the spell asking if certain people can still remember that he is Spider-Man such as Ned, MJ, Aunt May, etc. Doctor Strange is not able to control this spell because of how much he and Peter have tampered with it so he has to keep it protected. Although Doctor Strange did not perform the spell there were still casualties. Villains from different Spider-Man movies came into Peter’s Universe. These villains are Green Goblin, Doc Oct, Sandman, The Lizard, and Electro. Peter and his friends try to figure out a way to take these villains back to their original universes without them dying while fighting against Spider-Man a.k.a making them good people. In all of this Ned figures out that he has powers like Doctor Strange and is able to open portals. There is a phenomenal scene in the film where Ned and MJ are trying to find Peter so Ned attempts to open a portal to find him. He opens a portal and does find Peter… except it’s not their Peter or Tom Holland Peter, it’s Andrew Garfield Peter Parker in the Spider-Man suit. They then try to open another portal to try and find their Peter but instead open a portal to Tobey Marguire Peter Parker. Ned and MJ then take the other two Peter Parker’s to their Peter Parker and they create an alliance to get all the villains and the Peter Parker’s home. There’s the plot and yes even in the movie trying to get one Peter’s attention is just as confusing.
This movie was one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year because of the theory that the two past spider-men were going to be in it. Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland were all in this film together playing their own Peter Parker and Spider-Man. The fact that all three Spider-Men were together was one of my favorite aspects of the film. Not only Marvel and Sony did what all their fans wanted by having them all together but they didn’t just put the three together for one cool fighting sequence and say it was golden. They gave the audience interaction of all three Spider-Men. The three worked together to find cures for all the villains, they bonded over their webbing situations, helped each other out with back problems, and did the iconic Spider-Man pointing at each other meme. And on top of all of that they gave us a fighting scene that was epic but also made some audience members emotional. It was the perfect mix of action and ardent.
My overall reflection and review for the film is that it was definitely one of the most memorable that anyone can see. You have everyone you could wish in it and it is written and played in the best way possible. This movie is definitely one you need to see, especially if you grew up watching the MCU or the Spider-Man movies this would make you feel like your kid again watching your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.