The previous movie “Spider-Man: Far From Home” ended with the influential TV presenter J Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons) showing the whole country a fake video created by Mysterio, with whom Spider-Man fought in this film, and the identity of the Man was revealed there -spider – yes, gentlemen, this is Peter Parker (Tom Holland), a simple American schoolboy in post-puberty. Under the mask of a sheep, as the classic said, a lion was hiding, such things.
Of course, Peter wasn’t happy about being discovered. In American society, you know, it’s somehow not customary to feel gratitude for superheroes, it’s customary to discuss whether these guys take on too much, and all their actions are critically examined under a magnifying glass of the public.
Well, as a result, it began: Peter and his dear Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) are besieged by crowds of jackal journalists, the guy is specifically hated on the Web, many people show outright hostility towards him, so Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), who May is partial and looks out for Peter, moving May and Peter into a well-protected apartment owned by Tony Stark’s corporation.
A trio of high school friends Peter, MJ (Zendea) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) are about to go to university, and they’re sending out requests to MIT and a few “backup” universities. However, everywhere they are refused – of course, because of the scandalous personality of Peter Parker: not a single university wants to mess with him and his closest friends, they don’t need it.
Peter was terribly upset, and then he turned to Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), a well-known specialist in all sorts of temporal movements, for help. Peter asks the doctor to twist space and time in such a cunning way so that everyone on Earth will forget that he is Spider-Man. This, Peter believes, will help them all get into MIT.
So, Dr. Strange asks, you want me to carry out a major transformation of time and space, affecting the fate of the inhabitants of the entire Earth, only so that the three of you can go to a university where they don’t take you? Why don’t you, son, do distance learning instead? Shit question, says Dr. Strange, getting an affirmative answer, now we’ll do everything.
Strange begins to pierce space and time, famously twisting temporal fields, but then Peter climbs into his arm and asks him to make sure that Zendaya does not forget him – well, Uncle Strange, you understand, first school love and all that. Yes, and lest Ned forgets, he’s a best friend after all. And, of course, May, beloved aunt, does not forget. And so that the cat Bootsy also does not forget – for nothing, or what, did Peter train him so much?
Well, all this interference, as expected, leads to the fact that the temporal fields stuck in the wrong place, the multiple worlds intersect with each other, and now such confusion will begin that who is Peter, who is Parker, and who, maybe, Peter Pan – fig figure it out!
***
The third and, it seems, the last film of the third phase of the adventures of Spider-Man. In the first phase, Tobey Maguire played Peter Parker and there were three films. In the revival of the franchise called The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter was played by Andrew Garfield, and there the studio managed to release only two films, which were received rather lukewarmly.
In the third phase, Peter was played by Tom Holland, who, in the form of Spider-Man, also appeared in three films about the adventures of the elusive avengers. In the first film of the third phase, Tony Stark himself was mentoring the guy, and Spider-Man had to fight the vile Vulture. In the second film, Peter Parker and his class went to Venice, but he failed to relax with MJ there: he had to deal with Mysterio, who had a lot of things to say.
Doctor Strange was supposed to appear in the third film, and the producers – Sony and Marvel Studios – tried to keep silent about other aspects of the continuation, but, of course, it is impossible to hide such an awl in a bag by definition, so both by the cast of the picture and inevitably it became clear to everyone who leaked the pieces to the Web that not only would the villains from most of the previous films of the franchise – Electro, Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin, the Sandman and the Lizard – be resurrected there, but there would be already three Peter Parkers.
You may ask how such a large-scale thing can be done purely by scenario? Well, Dr. Strange is also there, a well-known master of creating all sorts of portals between worlds and other triahomudiya. So somehow they will manage, but what a rich material will appear for the fans! And all your favorite Chelopuks, and all your favorite Villains, who, of course, were fucked in previous films, but it’s always nice to see them, isn’t it? Think you screwed up! In the “War of Infinity” they completely killed half of the superheroes and – nothing, somehow coped with the help of a violation of the space-time continuum.
I, unlike franchises with other comics superheroes, somehow did not follow the films with Spider-Man. I didn’t like the first Spider-Man, so I didn’t watch other films with Maguire. Films with Garfield were completely scolded, and they didn’t shine at the box office (although they didn’t fail, I won’t lie).
But Holland, whom I saw as Spider-Man in the films “The First Avenger: Civil War”, “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame”, I liked it, and when Spider-Man: Far From Home came out with him “, then I decided to watch it, which I did not regret at all, because the film turned out to be very nice, and an excellent Spider-Man came out of Holland – a web from his hands.
I also liked the new movie that I went to see at the cinema. The idea to bring old villains into the picture, as well as previous Peter Parkers (they are like from parallel worlds here) is great, because the villains played by wonderful actors are incredibly colorful, and the community of the three Peter Parkers is successfully played up and there are a lot of good jokes.
Holland still looks great as Spider-Man: he’s charming, emotional, romantic, shows great web targeting, and is touchingly willing to fuck up the whole world in the name of getting into MIT, and if that’s not a sense of purpose, then what is? Also, his character shows touching generosity towards all the villains, because they are not like that themselves, but simply were under the influence, so they need not be crumbled into rags, but cured so that they still serve for the benefit of society.
Zendaya is downright adorable, and she and Holland make such a cute couple (from the last movie) that I think it’s time for Peter Parker and MJ to get a room – of course, only with Aunt May’s permission and blessing.
Since the youthful quivering romance was completely closed by Holland and Zendaya, all the comedy is left to the share of Jacob Batalon, as in the last film, and he comics with might and main, without going beyond certain boundaries. But we didn’t understand why the ability to open portals to other worlds, which Doctor Strange studied for how long the Ancient One in the depths of Kathmandu, was transferred to the character of Batalon with a simple set of bracelets and the ability to draw a circle in the air, but, as usual for movie comics, questions to it is better not to ask the logic of what is happening here – it is useless.
Jay Kay Simmons perfectly plays this famous TV presenter, who either streams from his little room, or suddenly sits in a professional studio, and in the end he personally goes to the scene. And the mustache was attached to him quite vile, deep respect for the group of make-up artists.
With the villains here is just some kind of feast of the spirit. Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe and Jamie Foxx themselves easily pull a separate full-length film, so here the concentration of chic villains becomes simply prohibitive. But they were well balanced by the three Peter Parkers working in a single Parker team, so there was no imbalance.
Benedict Cumberbatch is quite effective in the role of Doctor Strange, but we will also try not to ask any questions about his motivation, because it is ridiculous. But with movie comics, the thing is: here you either have fun, not paying any attention to the sticky script, or, if you couldn’t be properly amused, you pay attention to it, and then you can quarrel to your heart’s content in a review or review.
But here Cumberbatch’s character showed us absolutely mind-blowing worlds intertwined in space and time, like in Doctor Strange, and it was absolutely amazing.
Well, be sure to note the good humor that accompanies the entire film: it really had a lot of cool jokes.
However, there is something to scold (except for the obvious plot absurdities, which we, in general, forgive). The film is clearly overdue. I understand that all these movie comics, by definition, cannot go less than two and a half hours, but then at least half an hour could definitely be opened and this would have a good effect on the dynamics of the narrative, because a certain length is clearly observed here.
But otherwise – a cute and funny comic book movie with good actors, worthy special effects and the right morality, which says: for the sake of entering the university, children, you can screw up the whole world, but figly!
That’s it. You can and should watch it in the cinema, it is quite worthy of it.
PS And only one question worries me and haunts me: did they get accepted to the university in the end or not?
Spider-Man: No Way Home review
Director: Jon Watts Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Marisa Tomei, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Jamie Foxx, Thomas Haden Church, Rhys Ifans, Jacob Batalon, Jay Kay Simmons, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire, Jon Favreau Benedict Wong
Worldwide gross: $165 million
Fantasy Action, USA-Ireland, 2021, 148 min.