Spider-Man: No Way Home

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)