SPIDER-MAN : NO WAY HOME : Tuesday 21st December 2021.

'SPIDER-MAN : NO WAY HOME' which I saw at my local multiplex last week, is the eagerly anticipated M Rated American Superhero film based on the Marvel comics character Spider-Man and is the follow up to 2017's 'Spider-Man : Homecoming' and 2019's 'Spider-Man : Far From Home' and is again Directed by Jon Watts. This film is the 27th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is the fourth film in Phase Four of the MCU following 'Black Widow', 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' and 'The Eternals' with 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' coming next in May 2022 followed by a string of others through 2023. This film saw its World Premier screening in Los Angeles on 13th of this month and was released worldwide later that same week having so far grossed US$1.05B off the back of a production budget of US$200M and has garnered generally positive critical acclaim. A sequel is already in development.

After Peter Parker's (Tom Holland) identity as Spider-Man was exposed by Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) at the end of 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' with J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) the Executive Reporter of the sensationalist news website TheDailyBugle.net who is provided a doctored video exposing Spider-Man's identity prompting him to broadcast it to the entire world. He frames Parker for the attack on London, claiming Mysterio as a hero, and Spider-Man as a murderer. Needless to say Parker's life and Spider-Man's reputation are turned upside down. Parker, his girlfriend M.J. (Zendaya), best friend Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) and his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) are arrested without charge and interrogated at the Department of Damage Control. Lawyer Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) is able to wrangle Parker out of any charges as the group wrestle with the negative worldwide publicity that has been thrown their way. Meanwhile, Parker, M.J. and Ned are eagerly awaiting the results of their applications to M.I.T. and when they arrive in the post they all convene at the cafe where M.J. works to open their envelopes at the same time. Needless to say, all three are rejected on the grounds of the negative publicity surrounding them which the university doesn't want to get entrenched in. 

Down but not out, Parker visits Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) at the Sanctum Sanctorum and asks for his help, in creating a spell that will make the world forget that Parker is Spider-Man. Reluctantly, Strange agrees and sets about casting his magic. However, during the process, Parker repeatedly interrupts by asking for exceptions that should include M.J., Ned and Aunt May and a few others to be precluded from forgetting. This causes the spell to become corrupted, but thankfully, Strange is able to contain it. Parker leaves, believing that nothing has happened. 

Parker decides to track down the M.I.T. Administrator who is on her way to the airport, at the suggestion of Stephen Strange to simply have a conversation and ask her to reconsider M.J.'s and Ned's applications as they were only innocent bystanders in the recent events that brought them all to this point. Stuck in traffic, Parker is suddenly attacked by Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina). Octavius tears open Parker's nanotechnology Iron-Spider suit which in turn links up with his own mechanical octopus tentacles which gives Parker the opportunity to take control and disable them. Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) then arrives and also attacks. Strange teleports Parker back to the Sanctorum and does the same with Octavius only locking the latter in a cell next to Curt Connors aka The Lizard (Rhys Ifans). Strange tells Parker that the corrupted spell briefly allowed people from other universes who know Spider-Man's identity to enter our own, and as a consequence orders Parker, M.J., and Ned to locate and capture them to minimise the harm they are likely to cause. 

Parker captures Max Dillon aka Electro (Jamie Foxx) and Flint Marko aka Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) as Osborn reclaims control of himself from his alter-ego Green Goblin persona. Osborn goes to a F.E.A.S.T. (Food, Emergency Aid, Shelter and Training) building, where May comforts him before Parker retrieves him. While discussing their previous battles with Spider-Man, Osborn, Octavius, and Dillon come to realise that they were pulled from their universes just before their deaths at Spider-Man's hands. Strange prepares a spell that will send the villains back to their own universes, but Parker counters that they should first cure the villains' powers to avoid them dying when they return. Parker steals the boxed spell, and following a foot chase in the Mirror Dimension in which Parker successfully traps Stephen Strange takes the villains to Happy Hogan's (Jon Favreau) apartment with Aunt May. There, using Stark Industries hi-tech, Parker is successful in curing Octavius, but Osborn's Goblin alter-ego takes control and convinces the uncured villains to betray Parker. As Dillon, Marko, and Connors all escape, Osborn and Spider-Man fight with the latter coming off worse. Osborn fatally injures May, who in her dying breath says to Parker that 'with great power, there must also come great responsibility' before succumbing to her injury. Parker is distraught at the death of his beloved Aunt. 

Ned discovers he can create portals using Strange's sling ring, which he and M.J. use in an attempt to locate Parker. They find 'Peter-Two' (Tobey Maguire) and 'Peter-Three' (Andrew Garfield), alternate versions of Parker who were summoned from their respective universes by Strange's spell. Ned and M.J. locate Parker and comfort him while the other Parkers share stories of losing loved ones. They encourage Parker to fight in May's honour. The three Parkers develop cures for the villains and coax Dillon, Marko, and Connors to the Statue of Liberty, where Peter-Two and Parker cure Marko and Connors. Octavius arrives to help and cures Dillon.

Ned frees Strange from the Mirror Dimension where he had been trapped for twelve hours, just as Osborn arrives and destroys the boxed spell, rupturing the barrier between universes. While Strange tries to maintain the barrier, an enraged Parker attempts to kill Osborn this time gaining the upper hand, but Peter-Two stops him. Peter-Three and Parker inject Osborn with his cure, so restoring his sanity. Parker realises the only way to protect the multiverse is to erase himself from everyone's memory and requests that Strange do so, promising M.J. and Ned that he will find them again. Strange casts the spell returning everyone to their respective universes and wiping everyone's memory of Parker in his universe. Two weeks later, Parker visits M.J. and Ned at the cafe to reintroduce himself, but thinks better of it. While mourning at May's grave, he has a conversation with Hogan who doesn't recognise him, but as a consequence is inspired to carry on. He moves into an apartment, makes a new Spider-Man suit and jumps out the window continuing with his web-slinging superheroics, just as J. Jonah Jameson beams over the airwaves that Spider-Man hasn't been seen for three weeks now and that he should come forward and reveal his true identity. 

Watch out for the mid-credits sequence featuring Eddie Brock aka Venom (Tom Hardy) and the end credits scene featuring a brief clip from 'Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness' due in cinema's in May 2022. 

'Spider-Man : No Way Home' deserves all the critical praise that is being bestowed upon it, and at in excess of US$1B at the global Box Office deserves to be the highest grossing film of 2021. Here Jon Watts has assembled a film that is chock full of heroes and villains, an impressive ensemble cast, large scale action, moments of laugh out loud humour, sharp dialogue, romance, emotion, grief and visual effects that very successfully pull together three Spider-Man franchises into one very satisfying well rounded conclusion. Here we see a grown-up more mature Peter Parker who is more willing to accept the consequences of his actions and take ownership of the end result, whilst still sharing a laugh and joke with 'Peter Two', 'Peter Three' Stephen Strange and Doc Ock in genuine heartfelt moments. Benedict Cumberbatch and Willem Dafoe add weight to an already impressive line up of acting talent. With a follow-up film already in development, who knows where the franchise will take us next, and even if Tom Holland will feature, but you can be sure that this will be a tough act to follow. My only criticism, and it's a small one at that, is that at a run time of two and a half hours, it could have been trimmed by fifteen minutes at least me thinks. That said, fans of the franchise certainly won't be disappointed. 

'Spider-Man : No Way Home' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-