When Spider-Man's identity is revealed to the public and causes problems for his and his loved ones, Peter Parker asks Doctor Strange to make a spell to make everyone forget that he was Spider-Man. As Peter starts to get cold feet about the results, the spell is messed up and pulled in five villains who knew Peter from other universes. Upon learning their history though, Peter wants to save the villains from a dark fate, something Strange doesn't care or seek to aid him in. That's all I will say about the plot, but let's just say it gets pretty spectacular. I wasn't in love with the previous Holland films due to the MCU nature, but the final installment in this trilogy starts to mature out from the typical MCU formula to an actual Spider-Man movie, one that's really good. The story however does have minor issues and large plot holes galore, but the film is hoping that you ignore these writing problems and get won over by the overall experience, which it does, but it doesn't mean that they don't exist. The tone is a perfect marriage of MCU light-hearted humour and actual drama. Although some jokes overstay their welcome or are just not that funny, a large amount of them do hit and the emotional beats are actually effective in this trilogy, because Peter isn't whining or put in a mild predicament. It's dark, but fun at the same time.
Tom Holland excels at his performance of Peter, thanks to a vastly improved screenplay and character growth for the character. I always thought that he's a great actor, but the previous films held him back in the writing department. Now, these issues are gone and you start to feel for Holland and the journey he has to endure. Zendaya and Jacob Batalon as MJ and Ned are still great supporting roles as the girlfriend and best friend, who are also at their best in this movie. Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan is still decent and they actually gave Marisa Tomei's Aunt May actually have a character rather than be a youthful aunt joke. It should have happen much earlier, but I'm glad that the character of May is actually fixed. Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange is also kept as the perfect side role for a MCU lead, unlike Tony or Nick Fury in previous films. He does do pivotal things in the story, but Strange is written in a great way so that he has perfect reason why he doesn't get involved as much as he does. The returning villains are also done justice for the most part. Willam Dafoe's Green Goblin is such a classic to see and challenges Peter's mission throughout the movie, Alfred Molina's Doc Ock is a disgruntled, hopeless broken man that doesn't believe in salvation, and Jamie Foxx's Electro actually was improved from his initial appearance as they utilize Foxx's charisma and his previous development of him turning into a villain because he felt like a nobody. While these villains are done very well, the same can't be said for Sandman and Lizard. I will try to not dive into spoilers, but the issues with their characters is that they not only have strong motivations unlike the other villains, but they rarely feel connected to the others, because of the lack of chemistry and jokes played much with them and lack of character development. It also doesn't help that the effects on them are a bit off and the actors are reduced to a voice-over role. I understand the reason why they are done the way they are in order to keep their involvements secret along and to flesh out the other villains, but I wish that they either got different villains to take their place or just give them more development or moments of interaction. Despite that creative hiccup, the cast is greatly acted and loveable throughout, holding a strong foundation for the entire runtime.
Jon Watts is slowly, but surely, becoming a talented director. While Watts still suffers from having that lack of flair, style, overproduced, studio look in the first half of the film, he starts to experiment far more by the second half. From creative shots to use of colour to just avoiding the typical MCU look, Watts branches out more by the time it feels like he can get passionate about the film he's making, which is a far cry from the lackluster effort he did from previous films. One thing that holds him and the film back though is the editing by Jeffery Ford and Leigh Folsom Boyd. While the second half of the film feels mostly untouched, it's very apparent that the first half had tons of scenes and moments trimmed down or cut. From cutting down on the opening crisis of Peter being framed for murder to making certain reveals or moments feel awkwardly start or end, the editing in the first half is messy and I hope deleted scenes make it into the home release. The cinematography by Mauro Fiore is solid, but doesn't utilize the impressive tracking shots and methodical planning from his other work. Still, he offers some great iconic shots and moments throughout the movie to make up for the lack of trademark. The score by Michel Giacchino improves even more for this final theme as while he carries over the previous themes and mixes them around, he cuts out a lot of licensed music and settles for a more dramatic, orchestra complete with choir. Giacchino is slowly becoming a prominent name in the composing title and this film shows off just what he can accomplish. The visual effects are very good for the most part with the best aspect being the de-aging effects for Molina and Dafoe. While some of the CGI is a bit spotty during the climax along with the overall appearances of Sandman and Lizard, it's still great work and never comes off as problematic. The action sequences are again another thing that vastly improved from the previous films. Not only do they feel much more grander in scale and have more numerous fights, but there's a great fight near the end of the second fight that got me smiling throughout the entire thing. The climax is also a lot of fun, even if the setting feels a bit done-before. Aside from some weak effects here and there and the choppy editing in the first half, the filmmaking is vastly improved, thanks to the talents of Giacchino and Watts.
"Spider-Man: No Way Home" manages to be my third favourite "Spider-Man" film ever made. What holds it back from "Spider-Man 2" and "Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse" are the more noticeable issues as opposed to the other's only containing one issue (2's power loss narrative in a logical sense and Spiderverse's villain issue). From the various plot concerns, the poor treatment of Sandman and Lizard, and the editing by Ford and Boyd do make their presence known and it does hold this film back from truly the best of the best, unless you just don't care or ignore these issues, which I can't. Despite this, this film still accomplishes a lot. From the great story, wonderful use of a light and dark tone, Holland's Peter offering the best performance and development in the franchise, the side characters being more prominent and supportive, the main three villains offering their great presence and new character arcs, the camerawork by Fiore offering some great imagery, the score by Giacchino being the best of the trilogy with the more dramatic approach, the effects being pretty good all throughout, the action being far more exciting and memorable than ever before, and Watt's direction managing to improve more and more by the end of this trilogy. If future Spider-Man films are just as good with the potential of another trilogy, we can have the best superhero trilogy ever made. While flawed in its areas, this is still a great Spider-Man movie and superhero blockbuster extravaganza.
Verdict: 8.5/10. An amazing installment, but could have been even better if tweaked in areas. Still excited for the potential future of the character.
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