Spider-Man: No Way Home

I wasn't thrilled when I realized a lot of films on my docket are two and a half hours. As in, one after the other after the other. But Spider-Man No Way Home is a film that earns its excessive time length (That, and Dune). There's so much to talk about here that I don't know if I can sum its plot in a few paragraphs.

I'll try ...

It starts immediately where Far from Home ended, when Peter Parker (Tom Holland) was forcibly outed by Mysterio (Jake Gylenhaal) and fringe newsman J. Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons) as being Spider-Man. He's also framed for Mysterio's untimely demise. The good news is that lawyer Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) cleared his name in legal court. The bad news is that the Court of Public Opinion is after him. No College even wants him or his pals, Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya). So, he decides to get Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to magic away everyone knowing his secret identity. But it goes wrong when he tries to get Strange to make exceptions for the spell.

How wrong? A few characters from other dimensions - other Spider-Man movies - show up. Otto Octavius/Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina) and Norman Osborn/Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) show up first, followed by Flint Marko/Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), Max Dillon/Electro (Jamie Foxx) and Curt Connors/The Lizard (Rhys Ifans). Strange tasks Peter and friends to find them and send them back. Otherwise, a whole lot more people from across the multiverse will show up. 

Peter isn't happy knowing that some of them will die fighting their versions of Spider-Man. So, he decides to cure them of their problems. A few of the villains don't want to be depowered either. Peter has to stop them before they take over his world ... or the multiverse cracks apart. He's got help, including two of him (Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield), for this mission.

A lot easier than I thought ...

It's probably easier because the past villains of each dimension know about each other. They easily fill in this Peter - and the unfamiliar in the audience - about each other's fates. They all have great chemistry, not just as villains, but as people blessed with suck. Doc Ock and even Osborn are particularly sympathetic men driven mad, while Sandman is the token good teammate. It's easy to understand why Peter would want to help them. Even when Electro, Lizard and Green Goblin (there's a reason why I listed him twice) prove loose cannons.  That's just one way the story recontextualizes Spidey's classic creed - with great power comes great responsibility. The finale upends Spidey's life quite spectacularly.

Now for the Spider-Men. The main Spidey is still likable in-and-out of the suit. His biggest flaw, throughout his solo movies, is misguided goodness, which has tragic consequences this time. Then again, being forcibly outed like that isn't good for one's self-esteem. There's still some humor in his public secret, but you'll feel the tension just as much. The other two Spideys get some decent closure for their timelines mentoring the younger hero. Still, with all the Spideys, it was hard to tell who's who during the climactic battle.

The Oscar-shortlisted Visual Effects team visualize eerie magic and spectacular web-slinging. One of their greatest tricks is de-aging Molina to his 2004 self. Their greatest is de-aging Dafoe a few decades too; I had no idea he was digitally de-aged until I read up some more after the film. Their digital fountain of youth is seamless. Sandman lives up to his name and is spectacular now as he was in 2007. Electro apparating is another visual spectacle - and the creepy sound effects justifies why its Sound team is also shortlisted for Oscar notice. Let's not forget another rousing score by Michael Giacchino, which didn't get Oscar shortlist notice. Oh well.

Spider-Man No Way Home is a good motivation to get thee to the cinema. It's an epic superhero story which perfectly weaves together three separate cinematic timelines. It's a great coda for the earlier two timelines and a strong finale for this trilogy. Who knows if and when this Spidey will get another movie? I'd like to see some follow-up to the ending. But I can wait.

Anyone waiting for follow-up to Let There Be Carnage's mid-credit scene will get it in this movie's mid-credit scene. It's not much, but still enough, as we see Venom will be indirectly involved in the MCU. Somehow. Stay through the credits to get an actual trailer for Dr. Strange's next movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. If you're lucky, you'll get a trailer for Spidey's next animated movie, Spider-Man Across the Spiderverse (Part One).