The Mosley Review: Spider-Man: No Way Home

First and foremost, I DO NOT SPOIL anything in my reviews! If I do, it is the most mild of spoilers. They're so mild, even the flaks of pepper in the sauce have no kick. That being said, I will only talk about things that have been confirmed in the trailers. If that is still a spoiler for you, then you have been warned. I have really enjoyed almost all the live Spider-Man films that have come along ever since 2001. There are a few that have not been a success, but for the most part they have been great. With this iteration of the titular character, we have gotten a rare opportunity to grow with him in a new and unpredictable way that has been absolutely spectacular. From his introduction in Captain America: Civil War to now has been an excellent exercise in starting small and making the character development come first and the action second. This film features the most action I've ever seen in this characters' live action history and it all felt natural and wasn't too busy. Aside from all of that, the story itself moves at a very brisk pace and I liked that. Its truly the end of the second act and the beginning of the third act where the story truly takes center stage and reveals the heart of the film. I really can't say too much, but I will say that out of the 3 MCU films, this one is was the best.

Tom Holland truly delivers a great performance as Spider-Man, but he did his best work as Peter Parker in this film. He is given a chance for Peter to grow up and he does in the best way and I loved every second of it. He learns many great life lessons and the one that is the most important in a powerful scene. The balance of being Peter and Spider-Man is a tight rope that many have walked and they have fallen on either one of the two sides, but Tom has become the first to perfectly flesh out both aspects of the character into a complete and quintessential version of the character. Zendaya returns as his girlfriend MJ and she gets some great moments to shine amongst the chaos. Jacob Batalon also returns as Ned and he was hilarious in a number of moments. Together they all continue to have that great chemistry that introduced in Homecoming and it is the best in this film. Benedict Cumberbatch was excellent yet again as Dr. Stephen Strange and I liked the fact that he was fascinated and also annoyed most of the film once Peter's plan fell apart in the spell casting. He's on clean up duty and their battle was visually stunning and exciting. J.K. Simmons continues to be the perfect adaption of J. Jonah Jameson that ever existed. Jon Favreau returns as Happy Hogan and he was just as jolly as you'd expect him to be, even though he's only in a handful of scenes. Maris Tomei dazzles once again as Aunt May and I loved that she got the most to do in this film. She delivers on her comedic timing in a particular scene and powerful scene that features all the life lessons for Peter in another.

Alfred Molina returns as the Dr. Otto Octavius from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 and he was absolutely fantastic. He didn't skip a beat in delivering the characters downright hatred for Spider-Man and I loved that they kept him consistent with the voices he hears from his mechanical arms. Thomas Haden Church also returns as Flint Marko/ Sandman from Raimi's third film and he was fun to see. Jamie Foxx returns as Max Dillion / Electro from Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man 2 and I liked him, but he was very one note. Even though the characters intentions are made clear early on, you don't believe him for a second. Willem Dafoe reprises his iconic role as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin and he stole the film. He was more charismatic, brutal, creepy and unpredictable. He was the ticking time bomb that you never knew when it was about to go off and when he does, he shows why he will always be Spider-Man's number 1 arch nemesis.

The score by franchise composer Michael Giacchino was out of this world. He perfectly mixes the styles of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange in their chase sequence so well and how even musically they're battling for dominance. Giacchino brings back pieces of score from the Raimi and Webb films in a elegant way and it was awesome to hear. There are even gothic horror elements that he accents the Goblin scenes with and it made those scenes even more tense. There are also others that make an epic return and a cameo that re-legitimizes a section of Marvel that in my eyes never stopped being apart of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I know in my review of Far From Home I stated that it was the best Spider-Man film, well I’m correcting myself now. This is by far the best live action Spider-Man film and the most complete ending to a trilogy this comic book hero deserved. It has the heart, darkness, character growth and visually layered storytelling I've ever seen in a Spider-Man film. Don't let this film be spoiled by others. This is a MUST SEE and a love letter to all the Spidey fans out there. Do stick around for both end credit scenes because they're both spectacular. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!