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That's the stance from Peter Parker (Tom Holland) as he vows to help a group of troubled characters in this second sequel to the MCU Spider-Man films. Regardless of how things would've gone for them, Parker is determined to give these characters a "second chance" and help them. That's why he's here. But in true meta way, the film ends up feeling like a second (or third?) chance also for a lot of the peripheral cast and crew members of this franchise, as well as their fans.
Sam Raimi's Spider-Man starring Tobey Maguire came out in 2002, sparking a new era in comic book films (along with 2000's X-Men). The second sequel, however, wasn't that well received and killed any chances for a fourth film. Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man came out in 2012, and despite some praise for Andrew Garfield's performance as Peter Parker, the reception was mostly lukewarm, or in the case of the sequel, just plain bad prompting Sony to strike out any plans for a third film in that series.
Marvel successfully brought back the "friendly neighborhood" as part of their Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2017 with Holland as the "web slinger". No Way Home, the second sequel in that series, follows Peter Parker (Holland) as he's trying to find some sense of normalcy after being far from home, snapped out of existence by Thanos, and trying to "get back home again". However, when his identity is revealed to the whole world, affecting the lives of his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), Peter tries desperately to give them a "second chance".
How? Well, he asks Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help. Unfortunately, his insecurities lead to a botched spell, which results in the visit from several characters from "Spider-Man's past" trying to get a "second chance" at finishing their enemy. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past years, you know what (or who) I'm talking about, which is why, like I said before, this film feels like a "second chance" to pretty much everybody involved.
I'm still conflicted about my feelings on this film. There are some clever aspects to its meta approach and it was certainly nice to see people like Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield take another shot at their characters. However, it still can't help but feel like a heavy-handed wink, wink to the audience; especially when you have characters throwing meme-like lines ("I'm something of a scientist myself") just to make us chuckle.
To complicate things, the attempt to bring back these retro villains feels half-baked; from two mostly realized ones in Doctor Octopus and Green Goblin, to Electro (Jamie Foxx) who feels a bit inconsistent and half-assed when compared to the previous incarnation, and finally Sandman and Lizard, both of which feel more like an afterthought. Even though they are still voiced by the actual original actors (Thomas Haden Church and Rhys Ifans), the fact that they are pretty much CGI creations makes the whole thing feel like an incomplete project, with the studio saying "we already have Molina, Dafoe, and Foxx, so let's just cut corners with these two".
Despite my reservations and issues, the film still manages to give us several great moments of movie magic. There is a conversation in a rooftop between the three Peter Parkers as they exchange their respective burdens that is quite powerful. In addition, the overall chemistry between Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield is genius, and their moments together are full of earnest charm. There are also a couple of cleverly executed climatic moments that give some of these characters a "second chance" at redemption.
I'm still not sure what to think about the overall logistics of the story, Holland's motivations and the whole "save the villains" premise. Despite that, Spider-Man: No Way Home is mostly a fun experience packed with some well-thought use of past characters and solid action. I wish they would've been able to extend that cleverness and those good thoughts to wrap the whole present, but if they continue the story, I'm willing to give them a second (or third?) chance.
Grade:
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
(2021, Watts)
(2021, Watts)
"My Aunt May taught me that everyone deserves a second chance. That's why I'm here."
That's the stance from Peter Parker (Tom Holland) as he vows to help a group of troubled characters in this second sequel to the MCU Spider-Man films. Regardless of how things would've gone for them, Parker is determined to give these characters a "second chance" and help them. That's why he's here. But in true meta way, the film ends up feeling like a second (or third?) chance also for a lot of the peripheral cast and crew members of this franchise, as well as their fans.
Sam Raimi's Spider-Man starring Tobey Maguire came out in 2002, sparking a new era in comic book films (along with 2000's X-Men). The second sequel, however, wasn't that well received and killed any chances for a fourth film. Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man came out in 2012, and despite some praise for Andrew Garfield's performance as Peter Parker, the reception was mostly lukewarm, or in the case of the sequel, just plain bad prompting Sony to strike out any plans for a third film in that series.
Marvel successfully brought back the "friendly neighborhood" as part of their Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2017 with Holland as the "web slinger". No Way Home, the second sequel in that series, follows Peter Parker (Holland) as he's trying to find some sense of normalcy after being far from home, snapped out of existence by Thanos, and trying to "get back home again". However, when his identity is revealed to the whole world, affecting the lives of his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), Peter tries desperately to give them a "second chance".
How? Well, he asks Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help. Unfortunately, his insecurities lead to a botched spell, which results in the visit from several characters from "Spider-Man's past" trying to get a "second chance" at finishing their enemy. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past years, you know what (or who) I'm talking about, which is why, like I said before, this film feels like a "second chance" to pretty much everybody involved.
I'm still conflicted about my feelings on this film. There are some clever aspects to its meta approach and it was certainly nice to see people like Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield take another shot at their characters. However, it still can't help but feel like a heavy-handed wink, wink to the audience; especially when you have characters throwing meme-like lines ("I'm something of a scientist myself") just to make us chuckle.
To complicate things, the attempt to bring back these retro villains feels half-baked; from two mostly realized ones in Doctor Octopus and Green Goblin, to Electro (Jamie Foxx) who feels a bit inconsistent and half-assed when compared to the previous incarnation, and finally Sandman and Lizard, both of which feel more like an afterthought. Even though they are still voiced by the actual original actors (Thomas Haden Church and Rhys Ifans), the fact that they are pretty much CGI creations makes the whole thing feel like an incomplete project, with the studio saying "we already have Molina, Dafoe, and Foxx, so let's just cut corners with these two".
Despite my reservations and issues, the film still manages to give us several great moments of movie magic. There is a conversation in a rooftop between the three Peter Parkers as they exchange their respective burdens that is quite powerful. In addition, the overall chemistry between Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield is genius, and their moments together are full of earnest charm. There are also a couple of cleverly executed climatic moments that give some of these characters a "second chance" at redemption.
I'm still not sure what to think about the overall logistics of the story, Holland's motivations and the whole "save the villains" premise. Despite that, Spider-Man: No Way Home is mostly a fun experience packed with some well-thought use of past characters and solid action. I wish they would've been able to extend that cleverness and those good thoughts to wrap the whole present, but if they continue the story, I'm willing to give them a second (or third?) chance.
Grade: