Fans have been speculating for months that Spider-Man: No Way Home would feature all three of the men who played Peter Parker. It was certain when trailers for Sam Raimi's Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man film series teased Alfred and Jamie, they would be reprising their roles as villains. Andrew Garfield insisted that he wasn't sliding into that suit again. We are! He lied. Or acted. Whatever. We're over it because Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire, and Tom Holland are in the movie. We're over the moon about it.
I couldn't get to all the goodies in my review. Peter is facing off against villains who fought other versions of him in other multi-verses in the setup of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Fans of long time will get a rush of nostalgia and thrill when they see Willem Dafoe again. The second act portal reveal brought the other Spider-Men back onto the scene.
The Statue of Liberty is a great place to see all three Spider-Men in action. Spider-Man: No Way Home gave us three times the action and wit. The movie gave the heroes a place to hang out and heal.
It's a pleasure for fans to hear Tobey-Spidey talk about his biological webbing, while Tom-Spidey and Andrew-Spidey don't know much about science. It's a pleasure to see Andrew-Spidey tease Tobey-Spidey about his disguise. And when they hug? Come one! The warmth of that bro bond was infectious.
This movie gave the heroes a place to hang out and heal.
The villains of the previous Spider-man movies were given a second chance in Spider-Man: No Way Home. It gave its heroes a chance to say goodbye. The elder Spider-Men advise against revenge when Tom-Spidey is grieving for Aunt May. They warn of how hollow and harmful the results were. Tom-Spidey was involved in a battle with the Green Goblin, who killed May. Tobey-Spidey was stabbed by the fiend. He saved the Green Goblin and his former friend, Norman Osborn. He can smile through the physical pain of the blades on the back.
Andrew-Spidey had a second chance at the catch that killed. His attempt to save Gwen from a fatal fall in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ended in tragedy, when he snapped her neck. The chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone was so hot in those movies, that this death might have been the snap that broke the series' back. Who would want to see this Spider-Man without his gal Friday and his guy in the chair?
In Spider-Man: No Way Home this moment was mentioned in a trailer, when Zendaya is shown falling through the air, terrified and grasping for a rescue. Tom-Spidey's fingers miss her. It's up to Andrew-Spidey to save her after he was smashed by a baddie. It's a relief when he lands her on the ground after diving after her. He asked, "Are you okay?" "Are you okay?" she asked sincerely. Relief and joy can be seen in Andrew-Spidey's face as a close-up rests on his face. He won't be haunted by the ghosts of his past.
Via Giphy.
Andrew Garfield is in this movie. The Spidey-squad is great. Jon Watts cast an ensemble that crackles with charm, can land a joke, and can even go into pathos when the time is right. It's nice to see Maguire back, especially since he's been away from the big screen for so long. But that Andrew Garfield. He is very excited to be back in the Spider-Man suit.
It was a dream role for Garfield to play and he and Emma Stone had a great time working on it. Even though the Spider-Man movies got heavy-handed with intrigue and lackluster character threads, their excitement over each other made their characters come alive. In Andrew-Spidey, Garfield seems very happy to be given a second chance to jump back into action. He was a great PeterParker, with a scrawny-guy hotness that was very of the time. He has gotten better with age.
Credit: Sony.
When Tom-Peter says that the others don't understand how he feels at the loss of May, the cut goes to Garfield's face. Jon Watts trusted his cast to carry the emotional context in moments big and small, rather than using the previous movies as a reference point. We could hear Gwen's spine crack all over again after one look from Garfield. Andrew-Spidey suggests in the Science Bros scenes that after Gwen's death, he lived a relatively solitary life because he was afraid to get too close to someone. He finds a family, learns to forgive himself, and seems poised to re-enter his universe with the open heart to love again after this quest to save the souls of their enemies.
This leads us back to Tom-Spidey.
Peter agrees to a spell that will make everyone forget him after he's seen and heard about the lives he could have lived. The resolution of No Way Home shows him getting an apartment and getting his GED. He's done at Midtown High. Peter returns to the donut shop where MJ works to rebuild his relationship with her and Ned. He sees the band-aid on her eyebrow. That band-aid serves as a reminder of how close she came to death. He almost failed to save her. Maybe Tom-Spidey is thinking of Andrew-Spidey when he walks away. Even if he's not, he's following in the footsteps of Spider-Man, who was without a team and was chasing an uncertain future. He's carrying more love than he's lost.
Spider-Man can be rented or bought on Apple TV.
Spider-Man 2 can be rented or bought on Apple TV.
Spider-Man 3 can be rented or bought on Apple TV.
You can rent or buy The Amazing Spider-Man on Apple TV.
You can rent or buy The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on Apple TV.
The movie Spider-Man: No Way Home is in theaters.
