With Spider-Man’s identity now revealed, Peter asks Doctor Strange for help. When a spell goes wrong, dangerous foes from other worlds start to appear, forcing Peter to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.
At the end of “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” Peter Parker’s identity was revealed to the world by the duplicitous Mysterio, who also framed Spider-Man for the attack in London and for his own death. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” immediately picks up after these events and we find our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man (Tom Holland), his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya), and his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) now under the scrupulous eye of the media, as well as their families and friends. Spider-Man still has his fans but many people consider him Public Enemy #1 for Mysterio’s death. After the trio tries to get into MIT, they are all turned away because of the recent controversy in the news and because of their connection with Peter so he decides to visit Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) at the Sanctum Sanctorum in New York City, the residence and headquarters where Strange resides.
Once there, he pleads with Strange to cast a spell in the hopes that the world will forget his real identity so that he and his friends can go back to normal but while initially reluctant, he agrees to help him, remembering he assisted in the defeat of Thanos. While in the midst of casting the spell, Peter continues to alter it, not wanting MJ, Ned, or his aunt May (Marisa Tomei) to forget his identity but his constant revised requirements cause the spell to destabilize. Strange, who is of two minds about the whole episode, unsure if the spell worked or not, informs Peter that all is well but on his way home, he is attacked by Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), better known as the criminal mastermind Doctor Octopus, but when he discovers that Peter is not the Peter Parker he previously fought with, he realizes that he is in a different universe.
With the sudden appearance of other villains, including Lizard (Rhys Ifans), Electro (Jamie Foxx), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), and Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), Strange captures and places each of them in a holding cell in the basement of the Sanctum Sanctorum. He informs Peter that the spell opened up the Multiverse, parallel universes that coexist with one another, and pulled their guests from other timelines in which they fought alternate versions of Peter Parker. He manages to cast a new spell, one he says will return each of them to their own universe where they will meet their own individual fates but Peter is against the idea, stating that he wants to try and cure them before sending them back so as to give them a new chance at life. Strange refuses but Peter insists and both men quickly realize that the fight is not between them but with forces much bigger and more powerful than them. As they try to force their way into their reality, Peter and Strange work together to close the doorway they both opened, before it’s too late.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” is rousing entertainment and my personal favorite of Tom Holland’s three films to date. While I have not given away anything that wasn’t in the trailers, obviously, there is much more to the movie but to say anything else would be to spoil it for the fans. I liked Peter’s change in direction when it came to the villains, instead of wanting to destroy them, his Aunt May’s good-hearted and sympathetic nature has clearly rubbed off on him and his desire to give them a second chance once they return to their own timelines, instead of death, is welcomed, especially in a world filled with deceitful adversaries replete with ulterior motives. Peter knows he can’t stop trusting in other people just because of past betrayals and as a result, he becomes a much stronger and better person.
In the end, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” opens the door to more adventures and because the Multiverse has now officially been introduced as canon, anything and everything can happen because of it. It’s only a matter of time before we see the likes of the X-Men or The Fantastic Four appearing within the MCU and that thought is very exciting. The film is almost two and a half hours long but believe me, you won’t feel the time go by.
In Theaters Friday, December 17th
