Can No Way Home be compared to Avengers: Endgame? Spider-Man: No Way Home - Review

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Avengers: Endgame, a build up of over 10 years and 21 interconnected movies saw early theatre screenings, ticket sites crashing when tickets went on sale, insane theatre reactions and $2B+ gross. We all knew that was something special and no other studio/franchise can do that any time soon and Marvel would take time to build up to such a movie again but who would have thought the third installment in the Homecoming trilogy could even come close. As of now Spider-Man: Endgame... ugh I mean Spider-Man: No Way Home has the third highest opening in USA* and is the first film since Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019) to earn $1B at the box office. Inevitably fans will compare No Way Home to Endgame to praise or defame either of them. Let's review No Way Home. SPOILERS AHEAD!!.. General Thoughts No Way Home is the darkest movie in the Homecoming trilogy and possibly the darkest Spider-Man film to date. I had mixed thoughts after watching the movie for the first time. Everyone seemed to have liked and enjoyed this movie more than I did. The main reason I wasn't as excited was because most of the movie had been leaked and there wasn't much to suprise me... and I saw it with a dull audience. On second viewing I came to a conclusion that the movie has its flaws but is a crowd pleaser with some good moments just like Avengers: Endgame. How can it not be good with good interpretation of the spidersense, three generations of Spider-Men we grew up with and Daredevil being introduced into the MCU the day after KingPin made his debut in the Hawkeye Disney+ series and don't get me started on that ending. Having talked about the movie as a whole, let's get into the problems "Expect disappointment and don't be disappointed" -MJ I've heard some good explanation for why Ned was able to use magic and I understand that they needed someone to open a portal to the other two Spider-Men and couldn't have Doc Strange show up yet. It felt out of place and diverts Ned from the HobGoblin story line. Why couldn't they use Wong (unless he was busy fighting Abomination in Shang-Chi and The Legend Of The Ten Rings at the same time) or just have them enter a different way. Knowing the meaning and excitement the portals are associated with after Avengers: Endgame, I expected a grand and dramatic entry for Maguire and Garfield's web slingers to say the least I'm a bit disappointed with their entrance. Adding to that why didn't Ned just continue till they found Tom Holland's version, unless they were worried that they would open a portal to the wrong Peter again which should've been explained with atleast a dialogue in the movie. Speaking of a single line of dialogue, there should have been a small debate between the three Spider-Men before all of them agreed to cure the villains because that's what Peter Parker would do. Curing the villains presents a plot hole for previous movies, if Norman Osborn doesn't die why would Harry help Doc Otto Octavius how would that play out. What if these versions return only to be killed in their timelines because they were so close to death anyways. If they return to a branched reality as explained in Endgame where do Maguire and Garfield's Peter return to? Unfortunately we will never know. Ned and MJ We all know that Ned and MJ were close because they were friends with Peter and the only two in school who knew he was Spider-Man. If the world doesn't remember Peter how are Ned and MJ still close, unless the spell just erases Peter's memory from the present without affecting the past events linked to his identity. "With great power there must also be great responsibility" - Aunt May Aunt May had one of the best death scenes in a long time. Unlike Uncle Ben who we hardly knew Aunt May was someone we loved as a character, to see her die and deliver the great power - great responsibility line was emotionally overwhelming. I thought of her death even after the movie because of how it played out and the great acting by Tom Holland in the scene but it repeats a problem from Endgame where a female character dies midway through the movie to further the plot and right after that something big happens and almost makes us forget about the death. Atleast No Way Home revisited and reminded us by showing Peter at May's grave which also served the purpose of driving home that 'everyone has forgotten' solidifying that teary eyed ending. Though Endgame didn't emphasize much on Natasha's death we got great closure in the Hawkeye series thanks to the Black Widow movie setting it up. The Good Too many Peter's get stuck in a web?! When I heard rumours of Tobey and Andrew showing up in No Way Home, all I could think of was what lessons will Holland's Peter learn from them, how will they help further his story. I was again... disappointed at first but when discussing the movie with one of my friends I brought up how I liked the fact that Tobey and Andrew were there to help Peter understand that in the superhero life and in being Peter he will always loose those close to him but he should never loose hope and not let vengence get the better of him. Just after explaining that they made him understand the essence of Peter Parker, I realised that this is what it was about making him more mature through this understanding. Side note: The weapons at Ned's house could be foreshadowing something in the future. The real Peter Parker.... nostalgia Many of No Way Home's successful plot points depended on previous movies, for instance having seen the horrific death of Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 made us scared for Tom's Peter and MJ as it was revealed through the trailers that MJ would have the iconic Spider-Man's girlfriend fall in the third act and their realistic chemistry only made that feeling worse. Some more instances include Andrew's Peter saving MJ thus giving himself closure from not being able to save Gwen and Tobey's Peter being able to cure Norman and save him from the very glider that accidentally killed the Green Goblin in his universe. For some reason at the ending of the movie when Peter moves into an apartment I was reminded of Tobey Maguire's apartment from the first trilogy and we see he has stitched himself a suit, he puts it on and swings into New York City at night reminding me of Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man, at that moment sitting in the theatre looking at Tom Holland wearing a comic accurate suit reminding me of the previous Spider-Men I thought to myself 'This is Spider-Man! Finally!'. I'm happy that in order for me to feel this way Happy didn't have to die because he was the only real connection Peter had with Tony Stark. "You are the one who killled her..!" -Green Goblin Willem Daefoe's Green Goblin was undoubtedly one of the best parts of No Way Home. He was the only villain that gave me chills and made me feel scared right from the moment that pumpkin bomb landed on the bridge. I liked that he was the reason May died and we got the great power - great responsibility line. I'm happy that the line was not some dialogue in Homecoming or Far From Home when Peter was at a low before or during the final battle. It felt like the 'Avengers Assemble' line from Endgame it gave me the feels because we had been waiting to hear it and when we heard it, I think it was the perfect time. "Just wait..and tell me when you see me again.." - MJ Seeing our heroes in pain does make us happy I guess. The depressing and well acted resolution was made even better when MJ asked Peter to not reply to her 'I Love You' but save it for when he finds her and then that awesome score takes over.. I was internally shattered though I didn't shed a tear. It made the movie worth it and is an interesting setting to explore in the future. The title No Way Home doesn't literally mean No Way Home: stranded in the Sony-verse, but Peter trapped inside the same world but people don't remember him. Sometimes I think: Why such a huge sacrifice, what did Peter do so wrong to deserve this? But I wouldn't change a thing about that scene. "I want to fight an alien.." -Peter (Andrew Garfield) Electro didn't know Peter was Spider-Man but was pulled in when a spell pulled in all people who knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man, that's not the case with Venom. In the post credits scene of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Venom tells Eddie about the hive mind and wants to give Eddie a taste of it before he is pulled into the MCU, thus Venom and not Eddie knows Peter, from the hive mind. If you were worried how can Tom Hardy's Venom who is more or less a hero suddenly turn evil to fight Spider-Man and eventually become his ally, worry no more because I can assure you that the symbiote left behind in the MCU is no hero. It's going to be an interesting journey. What does the future hold for the Spider-Men? I would love if they went in this direction A Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse type Peter B Parker storyline for Tobey. Andrew fights Tom Hardy's Venom as he wanted to fight an alien and he mentioned that he turned dark after Gwen died so if they make Venom a bit dark it'll be great. Andrew's Peter matches the Venom tone too. Tom Holland has one more movie in the MCU according to his contract, will he be masked throughout that movie (if it is a crossover like we expect) to keep his identity a secret. I'm sure the reason they sent Eddie back and let some part of Venom remain in the MCU is because they want to explore Holland's Spider-Man go up against Venom, possibily build to that moment through a new trilogy and have Holland get the Venom suit when the Secret Invasion story line is taking place in the MCU similar to the comics. Though I loved the idea of him going up against Tom Hardy's Venom I'll be happy if it were Andrew's Spider-Man or just Tom Hardy playing a mean and evil MCU Eddie Brock. Final thoughts The next two points will make you understand how much I like this movie despite its problems. The Ant-Man movies are the funniest movies in the MCU but with Kang being a part of the threequel and What If...? showing us that MCU Pym's can be really dangerous and are no joke, I hope Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantamania follows No Way Home in being dark and serious with MCU humour. That's my new standard for threequel's in the MCU. With No Way Home's Jon Watts signed on as the director for Fantastic Four I am excited after No Way Home to see what the MCU's version of Marvel's first family could look like.