Spider-Man: No Way Home

This should have been great, maybe it was to Spider-fans, but I couldn't shake the feeling of ennui that usually only appears when I'm witnessing one of Tottenham's many false dawns. No Way Home is the third installment of Tom Holland's Peter Parker (not counting his appearances in other MCU films). Let me back up a bit here. When I say this should have been great, I'm thinking about the potential of the premise, not necessarily anything pertaining to Spidey. As I've droned on about before, I just can't abide the character. He's fine in other films, in small doses, but carrying one stand-alone film, let alone three? Not for me, Clive.

There's nothing wrong with Holland, nor with Zendaya, who plays Spider-love interest, MJ. Benedict Cumberbatch is excellent support as Dr. Strange and there are notable cameos from This Fella, That Geezer and even Old Whatsijizzit. The central idea is that Spides is bummed that people know his alter ego, after his 'outing' by Mysterio in the previous film. He approaches Strange to try to reverse time or something, and the ordinarily precise magician somehow cocks things up, leaving a few giant cracks in the universe. Cue mayhem of sorts. The well-trodden motif of civic responsibility is trotted out once more, echoing the 'excuse for aggression' propaganda of the Raimi films, though it's done in a more sympathetic, even humanitarian, way here.

Look, some folk will enjoy this, and it sounds like it's still pulling up dollar signs everywhere, but honestly, I'd prefer a spin-off where The Wasp lays her larvae in Spidey and turns him into a zombie (re: this Guardian article). Might nudge into an R rating, though.

See also:

Before features, the director Jon Watts made some music clips, amongst them, this cracker from The Thrills - The Irish Keep Gate-Crashing (2005). He also worked on the Jonathan Glazer classic, Sexy Beast (2000).