No Way Home review

By Jade Glaister

On the night of December 17, 2021, the lives of Spider-Man fans everywhere were altered as they witnessed the masterpiece of Spider-Man: No Way Home. This film has become one of my favorites of all time, and I have not gone a single day without thinking about it. This was the third Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring Tom Holland as Spider-Man. 

Peter Parker had been through a lot over the past few years, both with his personal life and with trying to save the entire world. Throughout it all, he progressively grew from just a nerdy boy from Queen’s that wanted to be an Avenger into an actual Avenger. With each movie, Parker learned about the sacrifices associated with the superhero life and how to overcome terrible challenges. In No Way Home, Parker continues to mature while also having to figure out his morals and responsibilities. Because of this, the movie portrays many coming-of-age themes while also displaying a lot of comedy and sadness. Somehow, it does all of this perfectly, drastically affecting your emotions while also providing education. From the potential of everyone being lizards to the death penalty, this movie sparks a lot of conversation and debate that draws the viewer closer to the universe.

The most incredible aspect of this movie was the way it beautifully strung together the themes and personalities of three different universes. In doing so, not only was Tom Holland’s Spider-Man’s story strengthened, but so were the previously developed stories in each of the other universes. Tobey Maguire, having introduced Spider-Man to film in 2002, was given the opportunity to act as Tom’s Spider-Man’s big brother in No Way Home. Andrew Garfield, having taken over Spider-Man 2012, is also featured in the movie. As the middle child of the three Spider-Men, Garfield’s Spider-Man’s personality shines in No Way Home. Seeing all the Spider-Men come together made my heart extremely happy and, even though I was raised more by Andrew’s and Tom’s Spider-Man than Tobey’s, it was still incredible to see all of their stories develop further.