Spider-Man: No Way Home - A Satisfying Mess | Video Essay

this video is sponsored by squarespace who is peter parker across six movies three solo and three with the avengers sony marvel kevin feige john watts even spidey himself tom holland have been trying to uncover exactly who this version of peter parker is and how this tenure will define everyone's favorite wall crawler for a new generation it hasn't been an easy process and i haven't necessarily taken to it the way many of you watching probably have to make a comparison to james bond because you know would a film speak video really be a film speak video if we didn't mention bond tom is almost like the pierce brosnan of spider-man actors a quality performer who physically commits himself to the role and on the surface possesses every last trait you would associate with the character almost quintessential in a sense but whose movies have lost track of the essence of what makes a character like bond or peter parker the fully formed complex person we know them to be so much of holland's tenure has been eclipsed by being a part of the mcu tony stark completely overshadows both homecoming and far from home in the former as a mentor and in the latter as a ghost peter feels like he needs to live up to hell even spidey villains aren't strictly spidey villains in this interpretation they might be properties associated with spidey for example mysterio but they're very loose adaptations at best to again use him as an example mysterio hates stark and feels like a spurned inventor spider-man is basically just the guy thrust into stopping him and only becomes a target of mysterio's machinations after he gets in the way as a result there's been a lack of personal stakes in this spider-man's tenure in his first two films it feels like he's just tony's ward cleaning up his messes even the films themselves sometimes feel like re-toolings of earlier mcu films think about this vulture's bitterness about losing out on the chittari cleanup contract caused him to become an alien arms dealer mysterio's bitterness over perceived bastardization of his technology caused him to become well mysterio does that sound familiar because that's more or less the same motivation that obadiah stain had in the original iron man that further adds to the larger problem here they haven't let this spider-man be spider-man even in his own film he's always sharing real estate with separate characters when we get to no way home there seems to be some course correction don't get me wrong the film is not perfect the first half really struggles because of the same pitfalls packaged in a different way such as holland's peter being eclipsed by previous spider-man nostalgia and fan service like the world's most expensive spider-man fan film but the second half is a much better film it becomes very peter parker-focused in turn featuring some of the best spidey and peter moments ever put to film no way home gets so good that when you get to the end of it you feel like holland spidey has finally arrived like i said it's been a struggle sometimes to call holland spider-man spider-man but no way home has changed that a bit i like this movie i like it a lot and i think it has answered the question of who peter parker is but did we arrive at the answer too little too late well i hope not i want everyone to understand i love tom holland i think he's incredible casting for spider-man the same way i think pierce brosnan was incredible casting for james bond i just want the best for spider-man and for tom i just see the greatness that is so close to being within reach for the mcu spidey because there are moments where it has been reached i really think no way home could have been the best spider-man film if it just tweaked a few things before it arrived nonetheless it has arrived and with the second tom spidey trilogy supposedly on the way let's dive in taking a look at the things that worked the things that might not be working so well and maybe what the mcu can learn from spider-man no way home but first picture this the multiverse has opened up you're covering the chaos but you need somewhere to organize all your coverage and pictures of spider-man well squarespace has you covered squarespace is an all-in-one platform to build and expand your online presence with squarespace's award-winning designs you can build an awesome website for your brand and customize every last detail with their easy to use interface just like we did filmspeak might not be documenting the return of green goblin and doc ock but our site still looks great and is easy to browse thanks to squarespace's design interface every squarespace template includes a unique mobile design as well so that users can have the same great experience with your website regardless of the size or shape of the screen they're viewing it on and squarespace has marketing tools and analytics that can further help you get your multiverse apocalypse coverage to the masses so what are you waiting for swing on over to squarespace.com for a free trial when you're ready to unleash your shiny new site onto the world go to squarespace.com filmspeak to get 10 off your first purchase or just click the link in the description below and thank you so much to squarespace for sponsoring this video alright let's get the negatives out of the way first spider-man no way home for as emotionally satisfying resonant and quintessentially spider-man of a film it becomes is a pretty clunky sporadic mess at first when we pick up with peter in crisis mode as the events are far from home loom large over his head and as the truth about his secret identity gets out peter is immediately faced with the spider-man dilemma of a man caught in the web of living a double life something which the previous two films only confronted on a surface level where the two halves have suddenly publicly merged into one this is only worsened by the fact that it all happens while surrounded by hundreds of people in the middle of times square peter is immediately confronted with fame notoriety a mixed public opinion with the media breathing down his neck every step of the way and it's not just peter who's thrust into the spotlight mj is also immediately confronted with the attention and baggage that comes with being the partner of spider-man in the blink of an eye peter mj and ned who have largely enjoyed the anonymity and close bond that came with keeping peter's secret have to deal with the pressures and pitfalls of stardom in the court of public opinion as they become the most famous people in the world a nice parallel i might add to the fame monster tom zendaya and jacob had to grapple with after they found themselves at the forefront of fame being the leads in a new spider-man franchise how does peter deal with this obstacle that's been hurled his way well he hasn't really broken the law done anything illegal the fbi homeland security whatever the hell government agency that arrests the crew ultimately has nothing on them as outlined by the one and only legal mastermind matthew murdoch yes folks charlie cox is back in action but for as great as it was to see the definitive daredevil back in the mcu the scene was so random in matter-of-fact without an ounce of care to set up who murdoch is for non-marvel netflix viewers not to mention how the hell he even got in the room with peter mae and happy is completely unclear he's just there to be there he isn't even really needed by peter since the government has no case against him so in essence daredevil's scene is rendered useless nothing more than another cute little look see we did it moment for feige inc and the fans and this is just example one of the god-awful gratuitous empty fan service and insincerity the first half of no way home expels when i say that the first half of this film feels like the world's most expensive spider-man fan film i genuinely mean it only that's kind of a major slap in the face to the fan films out there such as the brilliant spider-man lotus that are made and crafted with such genuine love and reverence for the character his legacy and his villains so you got out of this spider-man and framed for murder and the entirety of new york hates you and you got rejected from mit huh well naturally if you're peter parker you act completely irrational instead of trying to solve the problem like a normal person and plead his case to the admissions office peter immediately resorts to doctor strange and magic wanted to utilize the most dire extreme and irresponsible method for cleaning up his mess and yes it is his mess even if he didn't release beck's framing video peter doesn't understand how to take responsibility for his actions or really even for his powers and role as spider-man he just wants to sweep his dual identity under the rug instead so spidey cries to dr strange to help reverse his mess instead of just accepting and moving on peter wants to reverse time because of how it's affected his loved ones but there's also a tinge of selfishness there of him making decisions for others because he knows what's best strange pities peter but it's so rushed peter asks strange says no peter asks again strange concedes and says he's been through enough i mean if you're going to have strange be a pushover at least make him weigh the decision a bit more it's a strange interaction to say the least but then again a lot of strange's characterization in this film is a bit weird throughout strange admits he forgets peter's a kid which sort of explains his willingness to help peter with his problem but after it goes wrong strange also calls him out for trying to live a double life in not taking responsibility for his actions despite my issues with the whole setup of i don't know what to do i'm spider-man the public knows who i am so i'm gonna risk bursting the multiverse wide open i do at least like this part of the scene after all no way home is a film about choices about choosing to be a hero or choosing to be the villain even about giving people second chances even if it's hard to do and this part of the interaction between peter and doctor strange ties into that wonderfully i just think that it's a bit out of character for this version or really any version of peter parker to immediately resort to something so desperate and extreme maybe if this was holland's first spidey film and he was still a younger high school kid i could get behind that but this is a peter parker who is on his way to university who has had to grow massively as a person across six previous movies it suddenly feels like he's an impulsive child again the film in general is kind of like this twisted it's a wonderful life where peter first wishes for a different life and then ultimately wishes that he at least everyone around him had never been born and that latter realization and wish is incredibly well reasoned and mature the culmination of peter's character arc in the film i just think the movie backslides him into an initial level of immaturity and rashness in order to get there that doesn't quite mesh with where the character got to after his first two films but a lot of this doesn't mesh with who strange is either after the villains have started to run amok and peter begins to try and capture them all and bring them back to the sanctum santorum strange is a cynical man who is motivated by facts and reality hence why he fights to send the villains back to meet their end he recognizes it is ultimately a good thing and the apparent necessity of it it makes the world a better place in the long run at least in his eyes it's a bit of a weird character beat given that this is very much the thanos mentality sacrifice in order for the human race to sustain and live on i'm sorry but i don't recall doctor strange being this callous and dispassionate in infinity war and endgame yeah he's a man of science and a master of the mystic arts and a bit of a narcissist but the sheer fact that he puts all of his chips on one possible outcome going even as far as to sacrifice himself in infinity war so that thanos could be defeated showed that he is clearly capable of believing in miracles of fighting with feelings and emotions rather than making cold decisions based on facts yes he made the decision in infinity war based on a percentage but any mathematician would tell you the probability of the avengers succeeding an endgame especially without knowing which steps to take in order to attain success is highly unlikely you wouldn't be smart to bet on it speaking of math that's exactly how peter defeats strange and what is arguably a more compelling ideological divide than the airport battle in civil war actually i'd go as far as to say it's a more compelling ideological divide than the entirety of captain america's civil war but that's a conversation for a later time at least i felt these two men were steadfast in their convictions and were genuinely about to fight to the death even if strange's convictions contradict the very nature of what we know him to believe but i digress the fight between spidey and strange in the mirror dimension is one of the weightier ally skirmishes in the entire mcu it's a great sequence even if watts relies again on trippy kaleidoscope visuals in order to distract the audience from lackluster web slinging yep yeah you heard that right john watts still doesn't know how to shoot spider-man especially when it comes to web slinging compared to any of the previous versions of spider-man animated or live action in the amazing spider-man 2 for example i can feel the rush of air carrying peter throughout the city the dynamic movement of the camera the visceral reaction and excitement what's either relies on trippy visuals to distract audiences or he frames it in such an uninteresting way such as at the end of no way home where peter sews himself a new suit and we can't even get a proper look at it because one it's so dark out and two watts is shooting upwards basically at peter's crotch i'm glad we finally have such a vibrant and colorful suit something that's unafraid of displaying spidey's classic red and blue with a full spider but come on show that thing off proudly peter's earned it and so is the audience after sitting through this poor kid suffering for two and a half hours and after two previous films of uneasy messy meh give us a final swing that revels in holland finally becoming the spider-man we all wanted him to be i don't feel the personality or style infused into the dna of this trilogy as i do with the raimi trilogy or webb's duology say what you will about any of those films but at least i know i'm watching a mark webb movie or a sam raimi movie with the homecoming trilogy i just feel like i'm watching another run of the mill mcu movie the biggest problems in no way home arise however when the multiverse breaks and all of the spider-man villains of yesteryear come out of the woodwork right off the bat you've got doc ock bursting out of the ground immediately demanding his machine so we as the audience know that in spider-man 2 he left right as he was about to win he never stops to question the logic of the situation no how the hell did i get here nope he just proceeds with his villainous plan as if he was on this highway all along awk ripping off peter's suit and just magically gets nano technology on his arms i guess makes sense if you remember nanotech from the previous mcu movies but it's also incredibly lazy peter controls ox arms and then makes a joke out of it i don't know it's just such a messy scene that can't seem to get through it any faster as if in the hope that you won't notice the problems that way honestly poor alfred molina he has such gravitas and gives his all in every scene no matter how dumb his lines might be this is kind of true for all of the returning villains though they're easter eggs packaged to sell nostalgia when we first meet them they're solely there for audiences to finger point and go remember that guy in the other movie and he like you know flipped his tail shoot shoot some sparks out of his fingers or you know maybe he had some pumpkin pie oh yeah i remember him yeah it's the legacy sequel curse rearing its ugly head yet again and it's the mcu with all of its forced humor rearing its head too only this time they're mocking the genuine heartfelt emotional and compelling arcs of these iconic villains and the previous films they were in oh look he said the power of the sun in the palm of my hand or you know i'm something of a scientist myself yeah that line might have become iconic but it's not because it was iconic in its own right that's the film winking at an internet meme when you're self-aware to the point of playing into meme culture maybe you should take a step back and think of the larger story character and emotional ramifications of the whole thing rather than aren't you excited on top of that all of these villains just appear and are tracked down so fast because strange gives spidey a magic toy that changes his suit for the 18th time again strange is a plot device and nothing else and it's a shame really because there's an interesting dynamic at play between him and peter a shared ego and inability to take responsibility for their own actions a desire to have it all the first half of this movie should have leaned into that more and i'm not saying they don't i think they do a good job on the whole but it definitely left a lot to be desired that would have been a much more interesting deeper first half rather than fan service the movie for a lot of this first half to work you kind of just have to roll with a lot of the things that are happening which is not what i want to do in a spider-man movie but back to the villains norman and really willem dafoe is the best thing about this part of the film he's actually sympathetic for a good chunk of it because you can see he's a man trying to escape himself trying to rid himself of the darkness that lurks below the surface the goblin the poison gas brought about in raymie's original spider-man movie norman destroying the goblin mask in the film was his first step at trying to change his fate his first step towards redemption and a second chance he wants to change himself but the goblin won't let him norman has become permanently encased in the mask psychologically the goblin has gotten completely under his skin this is who he really is underneath when he destroys the mask he's really destroying the face of norman the goblin is who leaves that alley not necessarily norman osborn and he's done hiding done pretending that norman is the man and the goblin is the mask when it's the other way around and has been since long before the multiverse threw him into this situation the goblin may have tricked norman into thinking that he has free will but he's lurking below being observant taking in and studying the enemy and when the goblin allows norman to come to the forefront we see him desperately looking for help acknowledging the darkness inside him acknowledging that sometimes the goblin takes over and that he's lost in this world he's actually even more sympathetic because he has nowhere to go nothing to ground him nothing to bring out his humanity his son his home bernard his company he founded him built from the ground up all of it all of it not only doesn't exist in this universe it has never existed and all that he wants upon realizing this is to be free of his pain peter is laser focused though on following strange's plan to return them all to their respective universes regardless of whatever fate awaits them there it takes mae stepping in telling peter to exercise compassion and empathy words that will stick with peter from this point forth that grounds him convinces him to try things a different way it's the whole idea of second chances of giving these misguided monsters a chance at redemption giving them an opportunity to decide their fate for themselves even if they choose to be bad as the goblin does at least the choice rests in their hands and their hands alone that's what no way home is about about second chances which is probably poetic that the second half of this movie redeems the first half it's about what we make of these second chances how we use them to better ourselves and the people around us it all starts with a little empathy this along with the earlier moment where strange calls out peter for wanting to live a double life is the first sign that things will in fact get better in this film there's a pretty distinct difference in how both norman osborne and otto octavius carry themselves across their respective raimi films and even in no way home norman has the hubris of a man who knows he's the smartest man in the room and uses it to get what he wants the whole reason he became the goblin in the first place was because he couldn't fathom the fact that he failed that an invention of his own making could possibly go wrong even before the accident he was a neglectful and judgmental father to harry placing the blame on harry's failings otto on the other hand is a selfless humanitarian who cares not about nobel prizes fame or fortune he's dedicated his life to helping the human race have a better more sustainable future than when he entered the world he's surrounded by people who love him and who he cares for in turn he has empathy for his fellow man thus why he's haunted and tortured by their suffering and refuses to let them die in vain he's confident but never arrogant by contrast norman exploits may's kindness and peter's desire to be both selfless and selfish otto even at his most demented even when under complete control of the tentacles would never do either consequently he's the only one of the villains to accept his issues being solved and we get to see him become a hero and fight alongside the spider-man in the finale even though he was already redeemed at the end of spider-man 2 now otto has a second chance at life to use his gift for the good of mankind which once again norman would probably never do even at his most compassionate now as far as something norman would do is concerned how the hell do you kill off aunt may may is such an integral part of peter's life a voice of reason and a confidant who imparts valuable wisdom onto him the moments in which mei does do this carry so much weight and as evidenced by her teaching peter about second chances it's a strong theme at the core of this film i only wish we got to spend more time between her and peter not just in no way home but in the entire homecoming trilogy and explore that relationship a little more these films spent so much time beating us over the head with the whole hot aunt may thing rather than actually doing interesting things with the character the whole idea of her running the shelter and giving to the less fortunate is great it's something that i loved about the spider-man ps4 video game that i was thrilled was brought over into the films why wasn't that given more focus i wanted to see and feel how mei's charity work and core beliefs affected peter how those things influenced him yes they addressed that in this film but it was long overdue it almost feels like an afterthought there was a lot more that could have been mined we see may start the non-profit in far from home but we just see spidey make an appearance as a hype man for it and really nothing more even here where the impact may has on peter is explored more than it ever was in the previous two films they rushed through it because the film was already juggling so much so back to the goblin in the room they killed aunt may look her death in the way in which it's handled is incredibly emotional and gut wrenching i'd be lying if i didn't shed one spidey tear during that entire scene mae is a fighter and she continued to be until the very end always putting peter before herself but now we'll never see peter get the opportunity to return the favor like he does in the amazing spider-man and sam raimi films the biggest problem with how may has been handled in the homecoming trilogy is the way in which she's very much a melding of aunt may and uncle ben and while it's nice to finally hear someone say the magic words to this version of peter with great power comes great responsibility actively avoiding uncle ben like the plague is not only disheartening it's a disservice to the character and what he means in the larger spider-man cannon you might feel like the uncle ben's story has been done to death no pun intended and i'm glad the mcu didn't subject us to yet another portrayal of his actual death but he's one of the most important characters in the history of origin stories yet this series has been borderline afraid of uncle ben instead replacing him the very catalyst for peter becoming spider-man with tony stark and then with may stark being a mentor is one thing but him taking the place of uncle ben is just gross peter is so indifferent to ben who apparently did exist in the mcu and all of his importance is transferred to tony and may as a result mae becomes a sacrificial lamb robbing peter of the most vital person in his inner circle his philosophical sounding ground a character that acts like the glue of any spider-man story assuring us that we are home no matter how far away spider-man may end up from his how do they even make more of these films going forward without aunt may again not taking away from the emotional impact in the moment of may's death the way it grabs you in a vacuum it just becomes a questionable narrative choice as you begin to think about the trilogy at large the silver lining is pretty much everything in no way home that follows this moment beginning when ned accidentally opened the doctor strange portal into an alleyway another issue that just kind of happens um and ned has magic sure why not we'll roll with it you want to know why because my boys are back the stupid smile on my face when toby maguire and andrew garfield arrived on screen could not have been any bigger we all knew this was coming and yet it moved me to tears when andrew garfield arrives he arrives as spider-man as the mask he's a bit older a bit more grizzled similar to when defoe and molina arrive garfield arrives as this definitive presence a guy who down to his very core understands spider-man and the grief and struggle peter has gone through this is a peter who's returned to new york city as spider-man to protect innocents from danger at all cost only he's not necessarily your friendly neighborhood spider-man anymore the fallout from the amazing spider-man 2 looms large over this peter yes he's been able to move on and understand his responsibility as spider-man but to the point of almost losing the good-hearted peter parker inside of him remember spider-man is a balancing act it's about a guy living a double life and trying to find a way for the two halves of his whole to coexist with one another andrews peter has pretty much lost himself to spider-man becoming almost batman-esque because the immense personal loss he's endured however despite all of that he understands that it's not healthy in that if he can save toms peter from succumbing to a similar fate he might be able to save himself in the process he tells tom in one of the most beautiful moments in the film that at some point i stopped pulling my punches i got angry and bitter i don't want that for you andrew is a peter who has yet to achieve a balance of peter parker and spider-man in his life he's jaded and cynical yet he sees this young kid in tom's peter an alternate version of who he could be an opportunity for a second chance and that youthful spirit and innocence helps him to believe again arguably my favorite moment in the entire film is when toms peter and mj are having a moment together and andrew just glances at them wistfully reminiscing about his time with gwen about the future they could have had together and wanting that future for tom yet come to the sad conclusion that love and companionship isn't in the cards for people like him or like toby's peter toby on the other hand doesn't believe in that toby is this kind old mentor pure wholesome and good of heart he shows up in street clothes with the suit underneath an implication that he has found after years of struggle a balance between peter parker and spider-man that works his trilogy of films gave him closure and he understands what it takes to be spider-man and protect peter toby is able to use his experiences sacrifices and lessons learned to actually teach andrew that he can be peter and spider-man that he can find love after gwen and have a life he just has to look for it just like in the comics gwen was a passionate fiery first love but mj whoever and wherever she may be in andrew's world will be the one to save him will be the one to make him believe in love again and will be the one to pull his peter's side out of the shadows that kind of emotion of having andrews peter believe in second chances again of having him believe that a life still exists for him outside the darkness of the mask is profound storytelling and one of the best peter parker moments ever most importantly from this point of the film onwards the promise of no way home and of tom holland's spider-man arrived and is there to stay for the rest of the run time the three spideys bantering having conversations is never played as insincerely as the villain introductions in the first half of the film i was absolutely floored at how emotional genuine and sincere a word i never thought i'd associate with mcu spidey the interactions between tom toby and andrew were it's not simply empty nostalgia for nostalgia's sake it's necessary tom needed the lessons and guidance from his older selves in order to believe again in order to become the hero he was always meant to be we've talked a bit about how in each of the homecoming trilogy films peter needs an ally to help pick him back up whether it's iron man nick fury happy hogan whoever in no way home that idea is still there with his counterpart spider-man but it miraculously works because it's still himself really peter is picking himself back up guided by the wisdom of the alternate versions of himself the ones who have suffered a similar fate be it gwen both uncle ben's or even harry their shared loss allows them to connect to empathize and allow toms peter to use the lessons aunt may taught him to guide him just as andrew used gwen's words at the end of the amazing spider-man 2 and toby used uncle ben's words throughout his trilogy loss cannot make them bitter and rage fueled it has to motivate them it has to inspire them it has to mean something far more than simply getting revenge they have to take the meaning of their lost loved ones lives and turn it into a symbol to inspire hope in others to give others that second chance i also might add that so much of this climax is devoid of music which adds to the emotional weight of the scenes for once it felt like during this climax watson company wisely held back and focused on creating a compelling conclusion with quieter conversations rather than bombastic action and visuals such a brilliant exercise of restraint where they could have easily littered things with meme references in gags and sick visuals like they did at the beginning of this film again i'll never understand how they threw those villains under the bus in such a bizarre way lizard doesn't even feel like lizard he feels like a cartoon with some weird dub over him elektro makes a bit more sense because he looks different in this new world and has the confidence that a new environment would offer him he's not blue anymore he's a pretty attractive looking powerful black man something that he wasn't able to be in his previous world but the part that bothered me the most about the villains all coming together was how they never all felt like the original versions of themselves they all felt like this weird alternate saturday morning cartoon of these characters and honestly i know there's a scooby-doo gag in the film that i still don't quite understand but i'll tell you what reminded me of scooby-doo the villains when they're all locked up they acted like these weird caricature scooby-doo monsters and i for the life of me can't understand why the filmmakers were so afraid to be as genuine with that first half as they were with the second but i digress let's get back on track here once all of the villains are defeated or cured we get these incredible moments with each of the spider-men and their villains and i'm sure you can already guess which conversation was my favorite electro when max is powered down and otto gets his hero moment andrew goes over to max to check in on him and max who as we mentioned is already powered down accepts the olive branch the two have this remarkable conversation where we learn more about max's reverence and respect for spider-man he's from queens he's helped a lot of poor low-income families in need and served as a beacon of hope for them a beacon of hope for max himself he had never seen his face before though and he tells peter he has a nice face he was just really hoping he'd be black that he could see himself in the hero who meant so much to him and his community andrew apologizes genuinely as the two yearn and believe that there has to be a black spider-man in some universe out there little do they know as we met his uncle that miles morales exists and with his existence the possibility that we may one day see his spider-man i understand that this scene was partially played out as a joke but i thought it was so genuine and beautiful and what's so beautiful about it is the idea that the mask can be anyone it can represent different things in different communities for different people yes andrew had to make the choice to be the hero at the end of the amazing spider-man 2 and his dna was encoded to the radioactive spiders at oscorp but that doesn't mean there aren't other ways for other spider-men to exist miles morales in the amazing spider-man verse could and probably does exist in andrew seeing firsthand the power of representation that spider-man has is one of the most incredible moments ever put in a spider-man movie it's also having me chomping at the bit for an amazing spider-man 3. i know i'm harping a lot on andrew garfield here and perhaps a lot of it has to do with the fact that i'm biased towards his portrayal of the character and his films and especially what they did with him in this film but on the topic of second chances andrew gets a second chance to save the love of peter parker so much of his journey throughout this film is making sure tom doesn't make the same mistakes as him that he can live a better life in theory that scene i'm about to discuss shouldn't work for me because i could easily think it's cheap and doesn't necessarily mean anything to andrews peter who's just met the people he's working with but in this case nah nah no way no way that scene rules andrew saving mj soares when mj falls from the scaffolding by having tom dive in first only failing when the goblin smacks him off course it creates something with more impact than just having andrew dive off from the start instead andrew sprints into action fully aware of the fate mj faces should he fail and gets his second chance when he saves her which sells this moment even further is how andrew starts to cry he succeeded where he previously failed he got his second chance and made it count so that this younger alternate version of himself can live with love and yes i may have shed a tier or two when this happened while the moment isn't as profound as say maybe electro and andrews peter toby gets the sweetest moment of the adversaries becoming friends again with dr octavius octavius admires him all grown up learning to use his intelligence for the betterment of mankind so for the two of them to get to share a moment of triumph together was incredibly wholesome and fulfilling and showed a lot of heart on the side of the filmmakers it also just reaffirmed how much that relationship not only meant to peter but how much hobie awakened the good inside of him and that moment while it's so small and while it's not as flashy as say some of the stuff that happens with andrew it is one of the more emotional moments in the film and it just brought me so much joy when otto says it's good to see you dear boy and peter returns the acknowledgement and then otto says you're all grown up how are you the two of them are finally able to have that sincere adult conversation that they weren't necessarily able to have during the course of spider-man 2. otto was definitely more of a mentor figure and again someone who meant a lot to peter and vice versa but they were never able to share time as equals able to impact each other as older heroes and so them getting to share this wistful what could have been had otto not died at the end of spider-man 2 is not only doing the raimi films justice and ock and peter in that respective film justice it is giving them that second chance that they so rightfully deserved the climactic showdown between toms peter and goblin is one of the most emotionally visceral and brutal fight sequences out of the entire mcu the stakes have never been higher as it's essentially a battle for peter's soul peter could very well kill him and he pulls off some of his fanciest fight moves yet and lord knows he wants to he comes this close and before tom thrusts norman's glider into his foil similar to andrew with mj toby springs into action to hold him back to prevent him from killing his aunt's killer and living with the same curse he had to all those years ago to remind tom's peter that it's not what may would have wanted that if he goes down this path there's no coming back that despite his wickedness norman is a sad insecure and afraid man who needs that second chance even if he was reluctant to take it at first and poetically toby also gets a second chance to right the wrongs of his past by putting himself in harm's way to save the soul of his younger self while simultaneously healing past wounds with his best friend harry by being the person to ensure norman isn't impaled by his glider this time just like harry did for pete in spider-man 3. in a reverse of the events of the graveyard fight in raymie's original spider-man toby's peter jumps in the way rather than out of it despite everything norman did taking the life of aunt may breaking the multiverse and leaving peter strange in the rest of our heroes with an impossible situation tom's peter guided by the words of his older selves still decides to be the bigger person and save norman's life and while both andrew and toby were able to impart valuable life lessons onto young tom tom has the added benefit of being on a team he understands the value of teamwork and that it's okay to ask for help andrew and toby always flew solo for the most part they never learned to work as members of a team somehow no way home managed to take the part i've liked least about tom hall and spider-man films his marriage to the mcu and turn it into something meaningful a valuable tool that makes his peter distinct from the others and yeah seeing all three spider-man team up and fight their iconic rogues gallery is as exciting as you hope it would be it's rewarding and triumphant the ultimate christmas present but with every christmas we get the post-holiday hangover the post-seasonal depression and melancholy tom holland's peter parker is now faced with another choice one that will come to define how he lives the rest of his life the multiverse is on the brink of caving in strange can't fight it any longer thanks to green goblin's stupid antics the space-time continuum rests on the shoulders of one peter parker he can either let the multiverse collide and go on living with his friends and loved ones knowing who he is or he can make the tough choice and rid the world of their knowledge not only that peter parker is spider-man but that he exists at all everyone including mj and ned will become complete strangers to him being the good-natured and selfless individual we know peter to be he of course opts to sacrifice a life with mj and ned with happy with all of the resources and privileges afforded to him due to his work with the avengers in order to save not just his world but all worlds strange recognizes this as he asks peter to call him stephen again he's earned his total respect that's the power of spider-man the dilemma the curse the idea that when spider-man wins peter parker loses and after six adventures in the mcu the real peter parker has finally arrived stripped of his resources of stark's inheritance a real middle class average citizen with a beat up old apartment in a suit hand crafted from his aunt's sewing machine tom holland's spider-man has finally become relatable and real just how we like him as he swings through the concrete jungle-filled melancholy of his life the life he left behind the life he could have had and the life ahead of him on a snowy christmas eve the end of one journey and the beginning of another so spider-man no way home it's actually pretty good i know i had a lot of complaints to rattle off about this movie but ultimately it does big stick energy the landing in a massive way this movie really captures the fundamentals of peter parker by the end of it he can't catch a break it's the nature of the character that everything goes the most wrong when he tries to be peter parker and spider-man it's why the second half of no way home works because it actually addresses that peter has to be able to make sacrifices either for spider-man or peter he can't have it all the homecoming trilogy as it is largely ignored that central tenet of the character until the back half and particularly the ending of no way home when they made homecoming sony was basically like a kid in a candy store they could finally play with all of the mcu toys and went full tilt into doing so to the point where even when tony stark wasn't on screen you felt his presence looming over peter you felt his shadow and spider-man wasn't allowed to be spider-man it was constantly about trying to have spidey link up with the avengers battle villains that were a creation of tony stark's actions rather than villains that had an organic connection to peter or spidey with the first half of no way home they go full speed into the same pitfall only instead of running around crazy in the mcu sandbox they use doctor strange as a plot device to open up the multiverse so that they can run rampant in their own sandbox filled with the toys of spider-man past every single piece of nostalgia porn and yes that is essentially what it is it's not that great it doesn't necessarily serve a point until later on in no way home is gratuitous and empty like i said the world's most expensive spider-man fan film and i still can't say that in good conscious but that's the only phrase i'm going to use it feels like it takes focus away from this spider-man in order to instead remind us of the previous two their rogues gallery these iconic meme worthy lines surface level easter eggs that don't have any bearing on the emotional core of the story it's like the worst kinds of fan service found in the star wars sequels soulless empty easter egg content and nothing really more than that as we get into the second half though a lot of that evolves those returning villains who at first felt like surface level scooby-doo monsters with quips do at least end the film feeling like a natural extension of the characters they once inhabited still the fact that we have to go through this weird clunky introduction is a bit annoying it's the hangover of those first two films this transitional part of the film between where they were before and where they are when the movie ends but it got through it and i'm at least prepared to say that no way home is by far the best mcu spidey film to date so if i were to wrap up my thoughts on no way home tie it with a bow or whatever i guess i'd say i think we're finally done with the saga of iron man junior i'd say peter parker's armor was never a distraction or a hobby he was a cocoon the mcu introduced us to a peter parker who doesn't really have problems relatable problems at that he's handed everything and gets knocked down and pulled up by everyone around him aka iron man and his amazing friends instead of learning to pick himself up okay he sort of learns that a bit in homecoming but again far from home acts like that never happened but now after no way home he's a changed man and if the mcu is smart about this if kevin feige can avoid being dumb like mit would have been if they had rejected mj and ned they'll capitalize on that after no way home i'm ready for more tom holland spider-man take away the gratuitous fan service take away this weird need for other mcu characters to always be holding this peter parker's hand dig deep instead into the things that made the second half of this movie work and if you do that then there'll be one thing you can't take away my admission that tom holland is spider-man [Music] you

Channel: FilmSpeak

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Keywords: spider-man: no way home a satisfying mess, why spider man no way home is bad, why spider man no way home is the best, why andrew garfield is the best spider man, andrew garfield no way home, andrew garfield saves mj, spider man video essay, spider man no way home video essay, spider man no way home review, why spider man no way home is a masterpiece, spider man no way home analysis, spider man no way home spoilers, spider man no way home is bad, filmspeak, video essay, no way home

Id: bA5mmh-g02k

Length: 47min 30sec (2850 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 20 2021