Review: Spider-Man: No Way Home (UK Cert 12A)

 

After the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, which ended with Mysterio outing Peter Parker as the web-slinging superhero, Peter's life has changed drastically. Desperate, he turns to Doctor Strange for help and a spell which will make people forget that Peter is Spider-Man. But when the enchantment goes awry, dangerous foes from other worlds appear, all looking for Spider-Man... but not this one... 

Before I begin this review proper, please be assured: there are no spoilers here. Yes, it's gonna make discussing the film as a whole a bit more difficult, but- frankly- anyone reading this who hasn't seen the film deserves to have the same experience in the cinema that I did. There are moments in the film which will have so much more impact if you don't know they are coming. I daresay, once all three of us have seen it, we might release a more spoiler-filled podcast but, for the moment, if it wasn't something revealed in the trailers or official pre-release publicity, you ain't gonna find me talking about it here. Also please respect the "no spoilers" policy that people may have - don't be that person. Thank you!

Director Jon Watts and screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers deserve a great big pat on the back. This had the potential to be a bloated, self-referential mess. It's far from it. Yes, there's the occasional bit of fan-service, but nothing that would alienate a more casual viewer. Yes, it's a long film (nearly 2hrs 30m) but it never feels long. The script is well-paced and nothing feels superfluous. It manages to balance heart-racing action with heartwrenching emotion, with a healthy does of humour to counterbalance it all. 

Performance-wise, this is the strongest that Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon have been. Holland still has that puppyish enthusiasm that has been the hallmark of his portrayal as Spidey, but here it's also tempered with a much more mature streak of dealing with rage and pain, and what it truly means to be a hero. There are moments where he'll break your heart, and moments where he'll make you feel exhilarated. Zendaya imbues MJ with more than just a level of snark, making the stakes for her relationship with Peter feel real. Finally, Batalon's Ned also becomes more than just a comic relief character, again showing a level of maturity and growth in the character. 

In support, Cumberbatch is great as the mentor-figure to Peter. Still haughty, still self-important, and still arrogant enough to think he can change the world, Strange decides to go against advice from Wong (a lovely cameo by Benedict Wong) and casts the spell anyway. Quick to abdicate himself of responsibility, he sends Peter on a mission to catch any interlopers from other dimensions. Cumberbatch has to deliver a great deal of expository dialogue (especially to do with the idea of "the multiverse") but it never feels like an infodump. 

In other supporting roles, Marisa Tomei and Jon Favreau continue to shine as Aunt May and Happy Hogan (who turns out to actually be called Harold), with Tomei's May providing a moral imperative for Peter in light of the multiversal villain situation. It's great to see J.K. Simmons reprise his role as blowhard newsie J. Jonah Jameson, who pops up almost like a warped Greek chorus, to give the right-wing opinion on Spider-Man's actions. 

Time to discuss the villains of the piece. In all honesty, and I've said this before, Alfred Molina's performance as Dr. Otto Octavius/Dr. Octopus in Spider-Man 2 is not only one of the main reasons why that film is so good, I'm gonna go further and say it's one of the strongest comic-book villain turns one film (don't @ me). So to anchor the multiversal villains with his turn is a canny move. And, considering he's reprising a role seventeen years later, Molina slips effortlessly back into the part. 

Jamie Foxx's performance as Max Dillon/Electro is miles better than the one he gave in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Willem Dafoe adds a steely menace as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. Of the villains, Dafoe probably gets the meatiest role (in terms of character arc and development) and his unpredictable nature put me on the edge of my seat more than once. The action set-pieces are strong and unmuddied, even towards the end in the final big battle. There's an admirable lack of kinetic shakycam- which I greatly appreciate.

There's a lot, lot, lot more I want to say about the film. But I won't. Not yet. In conclusion, for me, this is the strongest of the three Sony/MCU Spider-Man films and a major contender for my film of the year. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Tez

Comic Book Movie Round-Up: March 2021

It's been a while since there was news enough to warrant doing one of these, but I figured it would be nice to have a look at what's going on in the world of comic-book movies (and to give people a respite from awards stuff left, right, and centre). 

So let's take a look at what we've got.

THE SUICIDE SQUAD

Yesterday, our proverbial cup runneth over with a veritable slew of posters and a suitably raucous and NSFW red-band trailer for The Suicide Squad.

Just me, or is anyone else getting some real Dirty Dozen vibes from these posters? Here's the trailer (like I said above, NSFW):

 

In addition to all of this, a dozen character posters were also released!

So, from top left to bottom right, we have: Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Savant (Michael Rooker), Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Peacemaker (John Cena), Thinker (Peter Capaldi), Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), Weasel (Sean Gunn), and King Shark (performed by Steve Agee [who also plays John Economos] and voiced by... Sylvester Stallone!)

The trailer also gives brief glimpses of Pete Davidson as Blackguard, Flula Borg as Javelin, Mayling Ng as Mongal and Nathan Fillion (enjoying some Mr Pibb) as TDK, with Alice Braga's Sol Soria (leader of the Corto Maltese resistance) who- I'm assuming reluctantly?-  teams up with Task Force X. 

The Suicide Squad (written and directed by James Gunn) will be released in cinemas [where possible] and on HBO Max on August 6 2021.

Bring on the carnage!

And since we're talking about carnage...

VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE

In a list of "sequels nobody asked for or wanted", a sequel to the execrable Venom would be on that list. Despite not much going for it, it made over $856m at the box office. When a movie makes this much bank, a sequel is all-but guaranteed (especially if, as Venom did, you cynically include a mid-credits scene teasing a well-known character who's itching to cross swords with the symbiote). 

Either way, we have Venom: Let There Be Carnage on the way. Carnage being the alter ego of serial killer Cletus Kasady (played by Woody Harrelson at the end of Venom in what looked like a truly dreadful hairpiece). So, he'll be causing some kind of havoc for Eddie Brock in this film, which is being directed by Andy Serkis. 

Along with Harrelson, Tom Hardy is, of course, reprising his role as Eddie Brock/Venom, as is Michelle Williams (playing Annie Weying, Brock's ex-fiancee). New cast members include Stephen Graham and Oscar-nominated actress Naomie Harris (Moonlight, SPECTRE), who is tipped to be playing Kasady's lover who goes by the name Shriek. 

After a couple of COVID-related delays, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is due on September 17 2021. 

SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS

Whilst Shazam! Fury Of The Gods might still be a few years away (it's not due to drop til 2023) but this week saw some interesting casting news: the movie's villain has reportedly been cast. In the role of the villainous Hespera (daughter of Atlas) is none other... than Helen Mirren! The Oscar-winning actress will be squaring up against Zachary Levi in the David F. Sandberg-directed sequel. 

You might do a bit of a double-take that an actress of Mirren's calibre will be slumming it in a comic-book movie- but don't forget, she's also been in Fast And Furious 8, the RED movies, and she's voiced a dragon in Monsters University, so it's all fair game.  

BLACK ADAM

There still isn't a concrete release date for Black Adam as yet; however, a recent Instagram post by Dwayne Johnson confirmed that filming was "approximately three weeks away" from starting. 

Not only that, but this week saw some more interesting casting news which means that the Justice Society of America is now complete. Because joining Johnson and the previously announced Noah Centineo (Atom Smasher), Aldis Hodge (Hawkman), and Quintessa Swindell (Cyclone) is... Pierce Brosnan, who'll be playing Dr. Fate! 

Black Adam will be directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (House Of Wax, Orphan, Jungle Cruise)

THE FLASH

Finally, there's two bits of news for Andy Muschietti's Flash movie. The first is that, due to scheduling conflicts with Apple TV show The Morning Show, Billy Crudup will not be reprising his role as Henry Allen; the role will now be taken by Ron Livingston (Office Space, The Conjuring). 

He'll be joining Sasha Calle (The Young And The Restless), Maribel Verdú (Y Tu Mamá También, Pan's Labyrinth), and Kiersey Clemons (Bad Neighbours 2, Antebellum) who are playing Supergirl, Nora Allen, and Iris West respectively. Clemons was originally cast as Iris for Justice League but was one of the characters dropped when Zack Snyder left the project; she does however appear in the Snyder Cut.

It's been also widely reported that Michael Keaton is due to get back in the Batsuit for this film, appearing alongside Ben Affleck as different iterations of the Caped Crusader. However, this week Keaton has given a word of caution saying that his participation is not guaranteed, due to the ongoing COVID pandemic. An internet rumour has suggested that Christian Bale may be potentially tapped to replace Keaton's Batman if he's unable to commit to the role, but we shall see... 

The film is still currently set for a November 2022 release.

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

In February, the title of the third Sony/MCU Spider-Man movie was announced. 

Spider-Man: No Way Home. Not Phone Home. Not Home-Wrecker. And certainly not Home Slice.

In a cute little vid, Tom Holland (Peter Parker), Jacob Batalon (Ned), and Zendaya (MJ) are exasperated that they've all been given- and have given out- fake titles. This, Jacob and Zendaya claim, is squarely down to Tom and his penchant for spoilers. "Name me one thing I've actually spoiled", he asks to which Zendaya responds "the last movie title". She ain't wrong...

So, we know the title. We know that the three main teen characters are back. We know Marisa Tomei and Tony Revolori will be back as Aunt May and Flash Thompson respectively. We know Jon Watts (who's directed both Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home) is back in the director chair. What else do we know?

We know that Benedict Cumberbatch is appearing in the film as Dr. Stephen Strange, before his own sequel in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. Strange will likely take the role of Parker's mentor figure (in the same way Tony Stark did in Homecoming and Nick Fury did in Far From Home). 

We know that Alfred Molina is reprising his role as Dr. Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2. I was tremendously excited by this news as Molina is not only a fantastic actor, but his Doc Ock is the best portrayal of a live-action Spider-Man villain on film to date. Don't @ me.  

We also know that Jamie Foxx will be reprising his role as Max Dillon/Electro from Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Less thrilled about this, if I'm honest. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 tried to cram in so much to its run time that Foxx didn't get to make the impact he should have. Maybe he will here (if the role isn't a glorified cameo?)

There's been speculation that this might set up the Sinister Six- the half-dozen cabal of Spidey's most notorious villains, which traditionally includes Doctor Octopus, Electro, Mysterio, Vulture, and Sandman, along with a number of other villains such as Kraven The Hunter, Green Goblin, Shocker, Lizard, Black Cat, Rhino, and Venom. It's worth noting that all bar Kraven, Hobgoblin and Black Cat (whilst it seems clear that Felicity Jones' character Felicia in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was meant to reference her, it's not canon; again, don't @ me) have appeared on screen in some iteration or other. A Sinister Six movie has long been in the pipeline, so this might be the kick up the exhaust it needs.

There's been massive rumours that both Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire definitely are/might be/possibly/potentially reprising their roles as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Other rumours say Garfield yes, Maguire no. Others say it's the villains only. Tom Holland's officially denied it, but- in the immortal words of Mandy Rice-Davies - "well, he would, wouldn't he?"

As it stands at the moment, Spider-Man: No Way Home is due to hit cinemas December 17 2021. 

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER

Filming for the Thorquel, directed by Taika Waititi and starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, and Christian Bale, has been taking place in Australia. Set photos have revealed the presence of several of the Guardians of the Galaxy (including Star-Lord, Nebula, and Kraglin; no surprise as Thor headed off with them at the end of Avengers: Endgame).

It also looks like Loki's penchant for putting on plays to dramatise Asgardian history has rubbed off on someone, as Matt Damon and Liam Hemsworth have been seen on set, playing Actor Loki and Actor Thor from Thor: Ragnarok - with a surprise addition of Melissa McCarthy as Actress Hela! Clearly keeping up the goofy vibe from Ragnarok then...

Thor: Love And Thunder is currently due for release on May 6 2022.

Well, that's quite enough to be going on with, I think. Hope you enjoyed it!