Spider-Man: No Way Home

Directed by Jon Watts, Spider-Man: No Way Home details the chaos that unfolds after Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) creates a spell designed to make the world forget that Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is Spider-Man. Filmmaker Watts, armed with Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers’ screenplay, delivers a typically erratic Marvel movie that ultimately does fare better than most of its comic-book brethren, as the movie boasts an appealingly larger-than-life narrative that essentially (and effectively) merges the various Spider-Man universes – which paves the way for irresistible appearances by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield and a litany of familiar, villainous faces (including Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus and Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin). It is, as such, generally easy enough to overlook the picture’s decidedly hit-and-miss atmosphere and distressing lack of momentum, and there’s little doubt, as well, that Spider-Man: No Way Home, though suffused with a handful of genuinely exciting action sequences (eg the initial appearance of Doctor Octopus), fares best in its quieter, character-based scenes and interludes. (The movie, impressively enough, actually boasts several heartfelt encounters that pack a far more pronounced emotional punch than one might’ve anticipated.) And although the protracted, over-the-top climax is perhaps just a little on the overwhelming side, Spider-Man: No Way Home has long-since cemented its place as the most satisfying Spidey adventure since the Sam Raimi era.

*** out of ****