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Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Spiderman No Way Home was an average superhero movie that went gangbusters at the box office for reasons I cannot comprehend.


This December, I went into the movie theaters to see Spiderman: No Way Home. Let's talk about it now. Also, this is your <<<SPOILER WARNING>>>.

First off, I enjoyed No Way Home. However, I'm at a loss to even try and explain why it has made as much money as it has in the Box Office. The only thing I can think of is that Tom Holland is way more popular than people realize...than I realized. I mean...this movie was "all right." I'd give it 2.5 stars out of five, and I probably won't see it again. There were things that just bugged me about it. Here's my short list:

1) How did Octavius know the identity of Spider-Man and Green Goblin in No Way Home? In No Way Home, Octavius appeared on the bridge looking for his machine and already knew Spider-Man's identity but how? In Spider-Man 2 (2004) Octavius only found out about his identity minutes before he died, plus, by that time (or very shortly after Peter took off his mask) Octavius was convinced by Peter to let go of his dream.

2) With regards to Green Goblin, the only people that knew were Peter and Norman, later in the movies Harry found out at the end of Spider-Man 2, and in Spider-Man 3 the butler said he cleaned Norman's wounds then realized it, but both of these instances Octavius was already dead so he had no way of knowing.

3) It was a rehash of villains that I've seen before. There literally was nothing new about this movie regarding the bad guys other than offering a kind of redemption, which was meh. And then to pile on the other Spider-Men seemed underwhelming. I've already seen these guys in other movies, and it seems really weird to be basing so much of a big budget show on a rerun, even if it did afford the time for lots of jokes regarding everything from web shooters to Tobey Maguire's bad back in Spiderman 3.

4) Doing the great "reset" by having M.J. and Ned forget everything along with the rest of the world seemed like a step backward to me. Now they get to do the whole awkward romance and love thing with M.J. again, and I honestly don't know why people keep needing this. But Peter Parker just like Peter Pan cannot ever seem to break out of certain moulds. That character always needs to be poor, young, and hopelessly chasing a woman. The fun is all in the chase I guess, because once the woman is caught, then it's no longer fun. I don't know...I guess I'm glad I don't write for these things. I feel like I'm out of touch with what people want (obviously) as this sequel is like the biggest movie ever. I just get tired of all the angst.

However, I did like that Matt Murdoch (played by Charlie Cox) is now confirmed as Daredevil in the MCU. I've been rewatching the Netflix series, and I realized that Netlix really did an amazing job with the Daredevil character. I imagine we shall see some kind of reboot of this on Disney + in the near future that plays on Charlie Cox's return as that character. I'd also like to see a Spiderman and Daredevil team-up against new villains (that would be really interesting). 

I also liked that Ned apparently has the ability to become a sorcerer. There are few other characters in the MCU who are fat, and it's nice to have some kind of representation for fat people in the MCU.

And the final thing that I liked about No Way Home was that the script played with the concept of morality amidst new planes of existence. And regarding that last part, the whole "new planes of existence" thing is going to be a gold mine for Disney, as it allows them to recast parts as much as they want to without having to keep increasing actor pay (which has got to reach absurd levels at some point).

Anyone else see Spiderman: No Way Home over Christmas? Am I being too harsh?

4 comments:

  1. After the scene in the restaurant, I think he's decided to let them be, ignorant of who he is.
    I liked it a lot more than you did, although the very ending bugged me. Why work and live in a crappy apartment? Go to the Avengers - they remember Spider-Man even if they don't now who he is underneath and he could stay there.
    I think the sensation is bringing back the other two. Our theater (which was packed for the 3:30 showing) erupted in the loudest hand clapping and cheers I have ever heard at a theater when Andrew Garfield appeared.

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  2. I haven't seen it but it seems both Marvel and DC are banking on references and cameos from older movies.

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    1. BTW, it's ironic this movie has been so successful when it's largely based on what's been widely considered one of the worst Spider-Man comics stories ever.

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  3. I haven't seen it (I won't go to a movie theater right now), but what I keep hearing is how the previous Spidermen appeared. And I think that's what people are enjoying. For those of us who are used to multiverse things and strange sci fi possibilities, it's kind of a ho hum scenario. We expect more. For those who aren't used to such things, it was probably novel.

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