No Way Home, directed by John Watts, was an epic culmination of decades of lore, years of buildup, and decades of hype. The film is the definition of fan service, the crowd exploding to the spectacle of our Spider-Men from the past – Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire, battling their villainous counterparts. But you know what, I’m a fan, so that works.

No Way Home is not just the best Spider-Man Movie, but in my perspective, one of best superhero movies of all time. This film perfectly completed all three of each Spider-Man’s character arcs: Holland, Garfield and McGuire’s.

Holland’s Spider-Man has never quite hit the mark for me. I never was fully on board with the juxtaposition of a ‘friendly neighborhood Spider-Man’ who is an avenger level superhero and a high schooler. I found that it didn’t work. However, that problem was finally solved by making that the central theme of the movie; As the Green Goblin said, “Peter. You’re struggling to have everything you want while the world tries to make you choose.”

Garfield’s Spider-Man character was improved. Instead of cracking jokes at any possible moment like he used to, he focused on bonding with his counterparts in a familial way. Garfield said they were like brothers. Beyond that, redemption is the word for Garfield’s Spider-Man. His saving of MJ’s fall at the last second from the Statue of Liberty in the final battle was one of the highlights of the film. The weight of his tears that trickled out after saving MJ serves as a testament to Garfield’s amazing talent.

Maguire’s Spider-Man outgrew his whiny melodramatic self to become this mature, wise mentor to both Andrew and Tom. His moments with a “cured” Doc Ock were as rewarding and beautiful as Doc Ock’s last moments in Spider-Man 2.

While this film might be the most amazing Spider-Man movie yet, I still had some frustrations with it. From poor dialogue to awkward performances from all of the cast, the biggest problems were in Benedict Cumberbatch and Zendaya’s characters

Cumberbatch’s performance as Dr. Strange left me cringing and disappointed. His acting felt forced and unnatural; I couldn’t take it seriously. And he was shown an outrageous number of times in the trailer relative to his actual time on screen. 

Zendaya’s performance was equally cringeful, especially in relation to Peter. Despite their real life relationship, their moments were so overly awkward, it’s hard to believe they actually date. Honestly, the only moments she excels in is the final ending when she doesn’t recognize Peter at all.

However, great performances outweighed weaker ones. The greatest performance was by Willem Dafoe. Green Goblin was the hidden gem of this film. Willem Dafoe does an even better job embodying the sadistic, deranged psychopath 20 years later after Spider-Man first premiered. His manipulation of Tom Holland and Aunt May reminded us just how terribly cruel the Green Goblin is and how far removed he is from the Norman Osborne part of his character.

SCALE

1 – Painful to watch

1.5 – Terrible

2 – Not good

2.5 – Alright…

3 – Good

3.5 – Great

4- Awesome

4.5 – I love it!

5- The best

Overall: 4 /5

Story: 3.5/5

Performances: 2/5

Visuals: 4.5/5

Soul: 3/5