"Spider-Man: No Way Home" is an impressive installment

Photo Courtesy of CNBC

“Spider-Man: No Way Home,” the latest in a long line of films featuring the friendly neighborhood hero, is a movie 19 years in the making and well worth the wait. Featuring an impressively star-studded cast even by Marvel standards, the film begins immediately after the events of the previous “Spider-Man: Far From Home” and pits Peter Parker against the public after his secret identity is revealed to the world. 

Tom Holland and Zendaya return as the titular wall-crawler and his spitfire girlfriend, MJ. Now a couple offscreen as well as off, their chemistry is more evident than in previous installments of the franchise.

Jacob Batalon (Ned Leeds), Marisa Tomei (Aunt May), Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange) reprise their roles as friends of Spider-Man from past Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies.

However, the biggest draws are not the characters from the MCU, but the characters from outside it. Actors Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe and Jamie Foxx all make eagerly anticipated returns as their characters Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin and Electro from the Sam Raimi and Marc Webb iterations of Spider-Man. Dafoe in particular stands out, seeming to have stepped right out of the very first Spider-Man movie from 2002. His dual portrayal of the mentally ill Norman Osborne and his villainous alter ego is tragic and terrifying at the same time and proves to be more than a match for Holland’s Spidey.

Although set photos of Andrew Garfield in the iconic red and blue spandex leaked back in September, his and Tobey Maguire’s returns as Spider-Man to the big screen years after the ends of their respective franchises are no less thrilling. 

The film perfectly captures the essence of Spider-Man by honoring what’s come before while also telling a new story. It’s packed with nonstop quips and self-aware references to the character’s onscreen history, but also never ceases to be deeply touching. In a subversion of past depictions, Tomei’s May is the one to deliver the iconic line, “With great power, there must also come great responsibility,” to Peter before heartbreakingly succumbing to her wounds inflicted by Green Goblin.

Afterwards, Maguire and Garfield’s Peter Parkers comfort Holland. They all talk about the tremendous losses they’ve faced in their careers as Spider-Man, and in that moment it’s clear that all three actors are the definitive web-slinger. The emotion is palpable in the delivery of every line, especially when Garfield talks about how eventually he “stopped pulling [his] punches” after the death of his girlfriend Gwen Stacy. Throughout the film they play off each other brilliantly, pointing out the differences among the three Peter Parkers’ lives while simultaneously showing that at their cores they are all very much the same person.

What the movie does best is satisfyingly resolve relationships and plot points from the past two Spider-Man series that weren’t fully explored before being cancelled while also serving as a return to form for the character. Maguire’s Parker says that he “made it work” with his MJ, closing out the “will they, won’t they?” of his trilogy, and in a sequence reminiscent of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s” climax, Garfield’s Spider-Man saves MJ from falling and is finally able to move beyond his failure to prevent Gwen’s death.

At the climax, Holland’s Parker is forced to make the ultimate sacrifice. To stop more villains from crossing over into their universe, he tells Doctor Strange to cast a spell that will make everyone (including Ned and MJ) forget him. Afterwards, he strikes out on his own in a dilapidated Midtown apartment fighting small-time criminals in a home sewn costume nearly identical to the one from “Amazing Fantasy #15,” Spider-Man’s first comic book appearance.

Peter Parker is and has been the most relatable superhero for generations of fans because he faces true adversity despite his powers. Although he can swing from webs and climb up walls, he still struggles to make rent and keep the people he cares about from getting hurt. He is constantly hanging on by a thread but continues moving forward because he knows that’s what he has to do. In a time where so many are struggling to keep going, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” tells an inspiring human story that everyone needs to see.