By Kimberly Grant
What do you get when you mix Marvel, Sony, DC Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Deadpool 2? A very ambitious Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Marvel and Sony Made a Spidey Baby
There’s been a long-standing battle between Marvel Studios and Sony (by way of Columbia Pictures) for control over the Spider-verse and Spider-Man’s soul. It looks like both power houses have called a stalemate and decided to share. Because of this happy union, they’ve made a beautiful Spider-Man baby with cameos galore; directed by Jon Watts. Incidentally, Watts is the only director to direct all three films in a Marvel Cinematic Universe trilogy.
In the story, written by Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, and Stan Lee (by way of the Marvel comic book) our neighborhood Spider-Man (played by Tom Holland) and his friends MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) are hopeful about getting into MIT. Unfortunately, Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) outing Spider-Man as Peter Parker and accusing him of murder explodes this trio’s chances at an ivy league school; or any college or university, for that matter.
These friends are out of options and innocent bystanders in the war against Spidey. With Peter Parker being dubbed “Spidey Menace”, he goes above and beyond to beg for his friends to get a second chance at a better education. While he’s pleading his friends’ case, Spider-Man is accosted by a blast from the past. This past leads Spider-Man on a quest to save humankind near and far. Included in the film are quite a number of cameos. I won’t tell you all of the cameos, because I don’t want to ruin the movie for you. But…..
The Anti-Monitor or Doctor Strange?
In the Crisis On Infinite Earths event from 2020, the big baddie was the Anti-Monitor who tried to destroy all of mankind. It took some paragons to stop him. In No Way Home Spider-Man has to stop Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) from putting mankind in jeopardy. Or, at least, long enough to save humankind before Doctor Strange makes things, well, strange. Either way, it is a pleasant surprise to watch a film that’s not predictable.
While I’m not a big fan of Doctor Strange, this film makes me change my thinking. McKenna and Sommers even clean up some missed opportunities in previous Spider-Man movies; Deadpool style. Deadpool ending Deadpool anyone?
Spoiler: This is a Marvel Movie
With so many cameos in No Way Home I thought to myself: “What? No Venom?” And, then I was pleasantly surprised. I found myself basking in delight from witnessing a great movie that erases the pain of watching Shang- Chi until the end. Then, Marvel served up a bonus trailer that had me on the edge of my seat.
Oh, yeah. No Way Home is the worth the watch…in the theater. It will entertain diehard Spidey fans, casual Spidey fans, and those who just want to see Spider-Man in spandex. You’ll also be pleasantly surprised by the unexpected. Happy watching!
Haven’t seen Netflix’s Red Notice yet? You can read my review here.
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