Spider-Man: No Way Home

I'm tired of Marvel movies, I'm bored of them, and Phase 4 is really going downhill, but here I let the pleasant nostalgia beat me down willingly and happily. Tobey and Willem Dafoe, hats off to you, always a pleasure to see you, Raimi knew how to do things. (15.07.2022)

There are very few movies I wouldn’t mind arriving late to so I could actually appreciate them. Spider-Man: No Way Home is really great, unfortunately it's only great after an hour, when everything starts to come together, kicks into high gear, and Jon Watts delivers not only fanservice and very solid action, but also very effective emotions. Everyone on the screen is enjoying it and they can rightly pat themselves on the back for making fantastic popcorn entertainment without getting lost in grand ambitions. But then there's that first hour, for which the screenwriters, the director, Tom Holland, and maybe everyone who could have prevented it from looking the way it does, deserve a good slap. Peter Parker in Holland's portrayal is still a kid, or rather a teenager. That's what the series is built on, I get it and actually enjoy it, but he was never an idiot. Here he is. Parker behaves like an irresponsible jerk, but it's no longer funny, playful, or entertaining. His incompetence and stupidity far exceed everything I'm willing to tolerate in an action blockbuster, and I set the bar really high. And actually, it ruined the whole movie for me to a large extent, because in all the following scenes I was thinking that it looks great, but I would actually be pleased if Parker got buried under a skyscraper, because I don't know if I want to cheer and root for such a dumb moron and a happy ending. Two hours after the end of the screening, I can honestly say that I belong to the satisfied ones. However, if I ever watch it again, I will definitely start from the halfway point. (15.12.2021)

A solid popcorn flick and a decent Spiderman movie about Peter's transformation from a teenage boy to a man, but it fails completely in two aspects. Paradoxically, in those on which it should build and stand: the use of old friends and in the fan service. At a time when the spider-universe has offered such gems as Into the Spiderverse (this is how you work with the possibilities of "many worlds"), Life Story (this is what real fan-service looks like), and the Insomniac reimagination (this is how you work with serious themes in Spidey's rendition), to come up with something that brilliantly scatters all the available LEGO bricks on the floor, but doesn't assemble them into anything other than exactly what you'd expect, is a bummer. There is plenty of time and space, but there is not even a hint of an attempt at anything more than "XY takes off his mask, his musical motif plays, his catchphrase comes on, the audience freaks out"; no idea, no playfulness, nothing beyond a few seconds of nostalgia. That's not fan service worthy of as many aces up your sleeve as there are. And there are plenty! They could (and should) have got out so much out of it. Well, they did, but it didn’t work. And as a result, it’s nothing but a solid pop-corn flick and a decent Spiderman movie. (16.12.2021)

The best Spider-Man and a solid Marvel movie, but still does not reach the level of Endgame. I'm sorry I didn't see it in the cinema and it's strange to write about a movie after so long when almost everyone has seen it (not my style), so just briefly. The opening with the reveal of Spiderman's Identity is quite overwhelming and powerful, the emotions work and I could easily see the whole movie in a similar vein, but once Dr. Strange intervenes, nothing will ever be the same thanks to the Multiverse. The return of the old villains from the nostalgia side is a pleasure (on the other hand quite a shame, as I like the new villains), and so is the the return of the older Spider-Men (after 5 months of spoilers I guess no one will complain). It has great pace, a nice atmosphere, the humour works in places and the action is solid, although there is not much of it, but it doesn't really matter. All the fatality, atmosphere and visual play, along with the emotions and the excellent Holland and the diabolical Defoe work, and even though I was expecting a stronger impact at the core, it's still a solid film and comic book adaptation that will offend few. I won't resist watching it again. Story 4/5, Action 4/5, Humor 3/5, Violence 0/5, Fun 5/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 2/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 5/5. 8.5/10. (16.03.2022)

I didn't expect that the emotional wringer Avengers: Endgame gave me would be repeated – let alone that it would happen just two years later and out of the blue. This is not just a journey back home, but also a way to repay long-standing debts to loyal fans, whether it hurts or warms them the most. The first act is still a classic attraction of the pure MCU formula, a hyperactive arcade that some love and some hate. But once it gets serious and Doctor Strange enters the story, everything gets better, purer, and more epic. At a certain point, I became an emotional bundle of joy, thinking constantly the same thing in musical or dialog reminiscences. It's such a great feeling to be a part of this right now. A Christmas gift, the finale of a trilogy, a crossroads of the spider fandom, confirmation of Tom Holland's growing talent, and last but not least, a blockbuster that somehow manages to stand on its own. (20.12.2021)

In the context of the comic-book movies made so far, Spider-Man: No Way Home is a miraculous phenomenon. Unlike other superhero movies, it doesn’t conform to the dad ethos of aging fanboys, but instead exclusively targets millennials and younger viewers. What’s more, it even adopts their values and, on top of that, confronts them with the essentially evil and instructively corrosive black-and-white duality of older films. Like today’s (or any) younger generation, the Spider-Man of No Way Home is rashly hyperactive, naïve and idealistic. Besides its hypermedia nature and the motif of friendship, a more fundamental shift is manifested in the transformation of Spider-Man’s values and message. Though there is the inevitable facetiously adult proclamation “with great power comes great responsibility”, Holland’s Spider-Man does not have to give up his youthful view of the world within the coming-of-age story arc. Rather, his view permeates the whole film and underscores the central motif of its narrative, which is the effort not to fight the bad guys, but to find ways to help them. (08.01.2022)

Loser Parker heads for happiness and for the good of everybody else. A grand finale with all the trimmings. Bringing magic into Spider-Man means lots of impressive scenes with villains we know and love, but the high point is jumping around in the mirror dimension. Arrivals from older series pump nostalgia into your veins, making fans’ dreams come true, and they all seem much better than in their original appearances. Demonic Dafoe’s acting is on a higher level even than first time round and his Goblin as Parker’s trainer is the biggest trump card. No Way Home is full-on to bursting (it really features almost everybody you can think of) and sometimes it seems a shame that the movie isn’t any longer, despite the fact that in some places it drags on rather slowly. This lure to watch the sequel to Dr. Strange, who screwed up badly last time, heightens expectations to the limits of our universe and maybe even beyond. (17.12.2021)

Hectic, whiny, Spider Man soap opera. Or when you don't know what to do with the story, make a hodgepodge with time planes and multiverses, everything goes better afterwards because it can basically be about anything – and you have unlimited space for action set-pieces. I don't understand the enthusiastic reactions because it's a grueling 150 minutes. A fine return of friends and some tried and true bad guys, but in real time there's absolutely nothing going on. (27.03.2022)

Objectively, I should probably say that No Way Home is the weakest of the new Spider-Man movies, but subjectively, there are so many great moments that I rate it as I do without even blinking. Spider-fans will be in seventh heaven at times, Jon Watts and Tom Holland have simply done it and concluded the trilogy with the promise of great things to come. Of the non-spoilers, I have to single out Michael Giacchino's music and literally every scene in which Spidey meets Doctor Strange. (16.12.2021)

One of the most overrated films of recent years, rivalled in this respect perhaps only by Joker and Bohemian Rhapsody. It does have a fine idea about the weight of the superhero's fate and its impact on family and love life, but otherwise it's a surreal and far-fetched borefest. One big bag of synthetic fan-service that brings back old favourite characters from other movie worlds in a childish plot that, while it sort of fits Peter's character development, mostly just makes the otherwise normal characters look like morons and treats the returnees like they're in a Saturday Night Live sketch. A great scene in the mirror dimension, an initially unpredictable lead-in, and a few heartwarming moments for the most hardcore fans (no one else can really like it) don't redeem the lack of adult humor and any emotional believability – except for Peter, who actually repeatedly acts contrary to how a protector of our planet and dimension should behave (and the impossibly imbecilic Strange, perhaps played by Cumberbatch this time online from vacation, puts the crown on that), all the characters are flat and uninteresting. Parker's relationship with MJ suffers as well, but partly because of the unconvincing Zendaya, who can only pretend to be ironic with various subtle variations. If it was just fun and full of eye-candy, I would put all these 'little things' behind me, but not even that. For the first time, the world of the MCU is starting to look really stupid and illogical, and it's driving me crazy that a film with such a pandering concept is dominating financially at a time when truly inspiring and rewarding titles from directorial mavericks are making a splash in theaters. I'd give it a 2*, but that probably wouldn't be entirely fair given some of the even worse Marvel movies I've given 3* to - though those were at least funnier and snappier. (15.01.2022)

Disfruté del nuevo Spider-Man en el cine, disfruté del regreso de viejos amigos, y me alegró igualmente que algunos personajes, de los que prácticamente no esperaba más que un cameo, tuvieran sorprendentemente bastante espacio. Sin embargo, esta película refleja maravillosamente las palabras de Martin Scorsese sobre cómo el universo Marvel realmente ES como un parque de atracciones. Esta película, a pesar de toda su ostentación, no tiene más profundidad que un coche hueco que circula por vías fijas, alrededor del cual aparecen maniquíes de personajes conocidos que juegan con las emociones del espectador. Y aunque estoy dispuesto hasta cierto punto a seguir el paseo para fans sin pretensiones, lo que no voy a consentir es que el detonante de todo el asunto sea que nuestros dos «superhéroes» centrales actúen como los mayores idiotas de la galaxia, algo que nadie cuestiona ni una sola vez durante el resto de la película, y ambos personajes apenas se arrepienten. Sí, entiendo que la película necesitaba un argumento, pero aquí todo (incluido el desenlace) depende de una muleta de guionista tras otra. Y luego está el incómodo humor adolescente de nuevo, ja, ja, ja… De nuevo, la disfruté en el cine, pero ¿"la 19ª mejor película"? Amigos, os bastó realmente poco para estar tan contentos. (23.12.2021)

(Spoiler alert!) After the success of the animated and Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the intertwining realities and different versions of "Spidey" make their way into live-action form, which is actually the biggest attraction for going to see the latest Marvel movie. With a plethora of spoilers and set photos floating around the internet, there's basically no major plot twist in the third Spider-Man - save for one rather unexpected death. Still, it was amazing, even pleasantly nostalgic, to watch the characters from the previous "spider movies" without it ending up feeling like one giant scripted mess. My only criticisms would perhaps be the occasionally jarringly rendered interaction between the Spider-Men and the blatant play on emotions - though in the scene referring to Gwen, I ate it up hook, line and sinker. Acting-wise, it was the seasoned Alfred Molina and Willem Dafoe are the ones who do the best job. The end-credits scene was a bit weaker this time. (16.12.2021)

The best possible combo of a spectacular blockbuster, a nostalgic reminiscence of days gone by, and the predictable but still considerable emotions. Adding to that almost remarkable consistency is a great script that, despite the fragmentation of the plot, holds together most of the time in an exemplary way (by Marvel blockbuster standards). It didn't tug at my heartstrings as much as I imagined, but the tug on the nostalgia string is so strong in places that I simply can't give it less than 5 stars (just barely, but still). One of the films of the year! (16.12.2021)

The Wikipedia definition of fan service: 1. “material in a work of fiction or in a fictional series that is intentionally added to please the audience”; 2. Spider-Man: No Way Home.  There are many things to nitpick about this, and yes, Into the Spider-Verse still remains the best Spider-Man movie, but I don't want to be a buzzkill about this one. The reason why people go to the movies should be, above all, to be entertained. I really enjoyed the fact that the makers of this film knew exactly what their fans wanted, and they decided to give them tons of it. Aside from the fun and nostalgia, the emotional and serious scenes work here, too. Most importantly, it’s pure popcorn fun that brought much-needed relief to distressed movie theaters this year. And it deserves credit for that. (04.01.2022)