Spider-Man: No Way Home SPOILERS Review

I've never been a big Spider-Man fan.  My fondest memories of the web slinger is the 1990's Saturday morning cartoon.  My brother and I would settle in for TV watching that included Spider-Man, Batman, and X-Men.  My brother Patrick however is a HUGE Spider-Man fan.  Everything I know about Spider-Man comes from me reading his comic book collection when he wasn't home.  Like most big brothers, he didn't like me getting into his things.  As a whole I like the Tobey Maguire trilogy, but never really warmed up to the Andrew Garfield films.  I have, however, enjoyed Tom Holland's portrayal of Peter Parker.  So heading into his third film I was curious what was going to happen in No Way Home, and who was going to show up.  The correct answer for both of those questions was EVERYTHING!

This film picks up right where Far From Home ended.  Peter's identity is exposed to the whole world, and those closest to him are being hurt because of it.  Peter turns to Doctor Stephen Strange to help him make the world forget he is Spider-Man.  But when the spell goes wrong it brings in everyone from the multiverse who knows Peter Parker is Spider-Man, which included villains (and heroes) from all the Spider-Man films Sony has released in the last 20 years. It all comes down to a climactic battle at the Statue of Liberty with three Spidermen versus the Sinister Five.  Yes, FIVE.  When they were all captured my first thought was, "there has to be one more to make it the Sinister Six."  But there wasn't.

First off, my problem with this film is the same reasons I, and many other, geeked out so hard while watching it.  It's filled with cameos from all the previous Spider-Man films; and then some.  It had great references and the money shot of all three Spidermen, in costume, ready to battle. But, earlier I hopped on YouTube to rewatch the Matt Murdock scene.  I remember freaking out when he appeared and I just kept thinking, "Charlie Cox's Daredevil is in the MCU." And in the 80 seconds or so he was in the film I didn't process any dialogue or anything else in that scene.  I was in a daze and missed everything else being said.  I just kept wondering when the next cameo was coming instead of focusing on this Peter's emotional journey.

But, despite two other Spidey's in the film, the heart of it was still Tom Holland's Spider-Man.  It was his hopefulness of not giving up on the villains.  Trying to not just send them back to their deaths, but to try and help them.  The end of the film ended with Peter making everyone forget not Spider-man, but Peter Parker; even his friends.  The last scene with Peter and MJ killed me Peter was about to tell MJ who he was till he noticed the bandage above her eye and believed the best way to keep her safe was for him not to be in her life. This reminds me of a comic book storyline called Brand New Day.  After Civil War everyone knew who Spider-Man was, and this led to Aunt May being shot.  So, Peter made a deal with Mephisto (yes, that Mephisto) that he would save May's life if Peter would give up is life with Mary Jane. Thus, causing everyone to forget he was Spider-Man, never meeting or marrying MJ, and him living the bachelor life with his buddy Harry Osborn in their New York apartment. That's what the end of the film felt like to me; that it's a brand-new day for Spider-Man.  Peter has his own New York apartment, struggling to get by, and most important; sewing his own costume.  This is the basics of who Spider-Man is to me, and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Speaking of what's next, the mid-credit scene saw Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock getting the 411 on the MCU.  The bartender explaining it all is Ted Lasso's Cristo Fernandez. Football is life!!  Anyway, Eddie then gets zapped back to his reality thanks to Peter and the events of the film but leaves behind a piece of the symbiote.  And every comic book fan's immediate thought was not only "Black Costume Saga" but also, "Is the MCU gonna do their own Venom?"  Now, I'm still confused how Eddie ended up in the MCU.  We assume it's from the Strange spell, so then why would he get zapped to the MCU if he had no idea who Peter Parker was?  This feeds into the fan theory that Venom's hive mind with other symbiotes includes the one from Spider-Man 3, and Venom, not Eddie, knew Peter was Spider-Man, and why Eddie came to the MCU, and then returned to the Sonyverse. 

I believe No Way Home is love letter to everyone who has been watching Spider-Man films for the last 20 yrs.  It remembers the past but set up so much for the future of the character, and also raises so many questions like; did they bring Tom Hardy's Venom over just to leave the symbiote piece behind?  Does Zendaya's MJ ever get back with Peter or is this the actresses' way out of the franchise?  And what's up with Morbius?  We know he's in the same universe as Venom, but that Spider-Man mural is in the background in the trailer and so is Michael Keaton.  Also, Keaton's Vulture no longer knows who Spider-Man is according to the rules.  If Jon Watts and crew got a non-loving Spider-Man guy like me to get excited about the possibilities, I can't wait to see what he does with Fantastic Four!

My Top 5 Out Of Character Comic Book Movie Moments

The work "trainwreck" can be used to describe more than one movie currently playing in theaters.  Fox's Fantastic Four is now surrounded with drama as it's director lashes out at the studio on social media and it becomes a box office flop; barely making half of it's projected opening weekend numbers.  My thoughts on the film aside, I did find it odd that while the movie had Johnny Storm in it, a.k.a. The Human Torch, there was actually no sign of the character anywhere in Michael B. Jordan's performance.  

This isn't the first time film makers have taken liberties with comic book heroes to serve their movie.  But to change a character completely is almost as bad as calling your film an X-Men movie, but not having any trace of an actual X-Men root anywhere in the movie *cough*Brett Ratner*cough*.  I for one don't mind changing a character trait for another adaptation so long as it doesn't change what the original character stands for.  So after a little thinking I've got my top 5 moments in comic book movies that totally went against their character archetype.   

5) THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

Peter Parker Stops His Bully From Bullying Someone Else

I always thought Tobey Maguire was the perfect Spider-Man casting.  He was shorter than the average male, wasn't too handsome, and overall looked like a nerd.  However, Andrew Garfield was the same height and stature as his bully; Flash Thompson.  In one scene, Peter stops Flash from picking on another fellow nerd.  Now, post-spider powers, Parker may have had the confidence to stand up to Flash, but pre-spider powers Peter would have seen the incident, thank God it wasn't him, and kept walking.  Peter Parker had no self-esteem before he become Spider-Man.  But after getting bitten he became a cocky little punk whenever he was slinging webs.

4)  FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER

Mr. Fantatic Busts A Move On The Dance Floor

For Reed's bachelor party Johnny decides to throw him a massive shindig complete with a fully stocked bar, dance floor, and lots of girls.  This of course is not Reed's scene at all.  Mr. Fantastic can barely lift his head from his microscope to talk to his wife.  He'd be sitting in the corner by himself at his own party; let alone nowhere near the dance floor.  This moment makes no sense and makes me truly believe the people behind this film didn't know the FF at all.

3)  BATMAN AND ROBIN

Batman Attends A Public Event

There is no much wrong with this film that goes against Batman myth I could go on "forever" about it.  But the moment that makes the least amount of sense is when Batman tries to lay a trap for Mr. Freeze.  He offers the Wayne diamonds up as bait, and Batman and Robin as security.  Batman didn't even show up to Superman's funeral!  He is only seen by those he's saved and savaged.  His power is him being purely myth to the general public, not at a charity event like he's an NFL player from the Make A Wish foundation.  This moment was followed by the Bat-credit card.  Oh Joel Schumacher, what did you do!

2) MAN OF STEEL

Jonathan Kent Tells His Son To Let People Die

"Maybe."  It was the word I shuttered at as I heard Kevin Costner say it in the trailer for Man of Steel.  I was hoping it was an editing trick for the trailer to spark more interest that this would not be the boy scout version of Superman.  However, as I watched the film, it indeed was in the movie. "What was I supposed to do?  Just let them die?"  "Maybe."  Oh come on!  Clark gets his moral compass from Jonathan and Martha Kent, and Pa Kent would never have told his son to let a school bus full of children die just to protect his own secret.  That moment goes against everything Pa Kent and Superman stand for.  Damn you David Goyer and Zach Snyder!  Now I'm reminded why I'm trying not to get my hopes up for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.

1)  X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE

Deadpool Has His Mouth Sewn Shut

His nick name is The Merc With A Mouth.  For about ten glorious minutes we got to see Ryan Reynolds bring to life the foul mouth, fast talking, Wade Wilson.  It was the only good ten minutes in the film.  The next time we see the character he has his mouth sewn shut and sporting all kinds of mutant powers.  Most of Deadpool's charm lyes in his wit and speech.  Luckily this atrocity seems to be rectified based on the latest Deadpool trailer.  The film is set to come out next year and looks to find Reynolds back as Wade Wilson doing what both of them were meant to do; never shutting up.

My Favorite Comic Book Film Chemistry

This weekend I, like many others in this country, went to go see The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in theaters.  I'm not a big Spider-Man fan, and I really didn't like The Amazing Spider-Man as compared to the previous Sam Raimi films.  As far as rating AS2 I give it a C-.  It had a lot of flaws in it, but the most redeeming quality was the love story between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy.  The real-life actors are actually dating and you can see the chemistry between them on screen that really helped with their performances.

This got me thinking about on-screen chemistry.  I think it can make or break a film, specifically in the superhero/comic book genre.  I couldn't think of many couples that are good, but the ones that did worked seemed to sizzle on screen.  And some of them aren't even love interests.

5) Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone  (The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2)

Like I mentioned above, these two saved The Amazing Spider-Man 2 from being a complete waste of time and talent. The scenes between them seemed very genuine.  If I didn't know that they were already a real-life couple I would definitely be on board for them hooking up.

Not to spoil anything, but if you've seen the movie or read the Spider-Man comics you know Peter and Gwen's relationship does not end well.  I knew from Gwen's graduation speech at the beginning of the film she was not going to make it out alive.  The whole film built to that moment and when it came Garfield's performance was the best I've ever seen him.  You felt his sadness and felt like he didn't have to dig too deep to imagine the pain of losing his Emma Stone.  Without their chemistry in the 3rd film I don't know how the franchise will thrive.

4) James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class)

It takes a lot of skill for actors to try and portray a life-long friendship.  Especially one that is as complicated as Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr.  But it might be even harder to portray that friendship at the beginning; knowing how it'll end.  McAvoy and Fassbender are already good actors, but together they are great.  

My favorite scenes in First Class were the moments when it was just the two of them.  Their yin and yang view points played perfectly on-screen.  I've never been more interested in watching two people play chess.  I'm can't wait for that chemistry to continue in the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past.

3) Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie (Captain America: The Winter Solider)

Every once and a while you get a bromance that you know will last a lifetime, or at least 3 or 4 films until the actors contracts are up.  Evans and Mackie just seem to click from the film's first scene.  I even choose this relationship over Evans and Scarlett Johansson's, and those two have worked on multiple films together.  

In the film, both of their characters had lost their wing man, and by the end they each knew, along with the audience, that they had found a new one.  Both Steve and Sam have a strong sense of duty and bravery.  These guys are like two peas in a pod, and it plays off perfectly thanks to the actors playing them.  I can't wait for a third Captain America film to see Cap and Falcon back in action together!

2) Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen (X-Men, X2, & X3)

I'm not sure how well these two knew each other before they signed on to play mortal enemies/best friends in X-Men, but ever since their real-life bromance has become legendary.  From their first scene on-screen together back in 2000 you could feel the energy between them.  They're both classically trained actors and it takes such an actor to play characters worthy of Shakespeare. 

Now you can see them all over social media hanging out.  It makes me wish I could hang out with them too.  Professionally, they been in several plays together and they're both coming back to reprise their roles as Xavier and Magneto in X-Men: Days of Future Past.  I think this is a bromance will stand the test of time.

 1) Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man 1, 2, & 3)

Downey as Tony Stark is one of the greatest casting choices in the history of film!  He makes the audience love that character and steals every scene he is in.  This can make it difficult to find a good counter-part to Stark, but when the people at Marvel Studio saw Downey and Paltrow test screen together they must have shed tears of joy.   

Pepper Potts never let's Tony get away with anything and always has a come-back to combat Tony's boyish charms.  Their rapore is thee highlight of the Iron Man franchise, and their one scene together in The Avengers is one my favorites.  These two definitely need to work together again soon.