Some industry insiders and professional film critics have seen an early cut of the movie, as well as those in attendance of the red-carpet premiere. The review embargo by Marvel Studios/Disney and Sony Pictures lifted a little early. And these critical responses have been vastly positive for the latest Marvel Studios Phase Four film. Check out the details of the early review results for Spider-Man: No Way Home below.
The best of the MCU Spider-Man “Home” trilogy
Based on the overall results, critics are lauding the story and acting found in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Most of the reactions have noted that this is the most Spider-Man centered MCU film of the three solo films (including Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home). Although the Iron Man and Avengers connections are still in place, critics agree that they are in the background, rather than in the forefront. It has also been noted that Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) has surprisingly less screen time than the trailers have implied. But that should be expected, as the film is supposed to let Peter Parker/Spider-Man and his supporting cast be the highlight of the film. Major media outlets are already releasing their reviews on social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram with their reviews seen below:
Collider : Rating B ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Review - Tom Holland Shines In a Too-Crowded MCU Multiverse CinemaBlend : Rating 5/5 Spider-Man: No Way Home Review: Amazing, Spectacular, Superior; Tom Holland’s latest solo Spider-Man adventure is his best yet. Deadline: ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Review: The Most Exciting, Surprising and Emotional Spidey of Them All IGN : Rating 8/1 Spider-Man: No Way Home bounces from hilarious to hurt with ease as both the darkest and funniest MCU Spider-Man entry to date. Metacritic : With the first 17 pro critic reviews lodged, Spider-Man: No Way Home has a Metascore of 70. Rotten Tomatoes: 97% from 90 reviews. A bigger, bolder Spider-Man sequel, No Way Home expands the franchise’s scope and stakes without losing sight of its humor and heart. ScreenRant : 5/5 Spider-Man: No Way Home Review - Spidey Finally Gets A Good Threequel; No Way Home is Spider-Man’s most intriguing & fun story yet. Though the multiverse looms large, the film’s thoughtful in its focus on Peter’s journey. Variety : ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Review: Tom Holland Cleans Out the Cobwebs of Unwieldy Franchise in This Multiverse Super-Battle
While Spider-Man: No Way Home is widely receiving critical praise, there are still a number of critics who found the film coming up short, reflected in their Rotten Tomatoes scores and commentary:
Jake Cole (Slant Magazine): There’s no attempt to hide that the film is pure fan service, a greatest-hits mashup of Spider-Man’s cinematic legacy. 2/4 Fred Topel (United Press International): No Way Home should have focused on making new viewers fall in love with the characters so they want to discover their previous movies. Some poignant moments show what could’ve been.
Without revealing too much, it appears there is a dedicated attempt with delivering multiple fan service, but affects the pacing of the film at some major points. If the leaks and spoilers are true, however, that might not affect the delivery and performance of the Wall-crawler’s movie as far as fans are concerned, given how big the anticipation has been built over the course of the film’s production and promotion.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
But while there is still 2 days to go for the mainstream theatrical release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, marketing and promotional material is still coming in. The main cast are doing the usual talk show rounds and trying to avoid spoilers. Although sites and forums like Reddit and 4Chan have been trickling in spoiler material, Marvel Studios and Sony themselves sneaked in a little spoilery clip. In an Instagram post on the official Spider-Man: No Way Home account, a quick clip shows a pivotal scene in what appears to be a battle-damaged and unmasked Peter Parker (but in his Spidey costume) broadcasts to the public that he caused the multiversal shenanigans that brought the villains into the MCU Earth. And he asks for some help, referring to himself as the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. This would likely be at some point at the second half of the movie leading into the climactic battle with his allies and enemies at the Statue of Liberty. Another late promotional teaser involves an expanded look at the Doctor Strange vs. Spider-Man encounter as Peter tries to take away the mysterious box. Strange uses his Cloak of Levitation and transports the Web-head to the mirror dimension. You can find the teaser here:
What comes next?
With Peter dropping his denial of his superhero identity, would this be the new status quo for him in the rumored next Spider-Man film trilogy? Or is this a setup for the resolution where a new state of affairs is being established? Are the rumors and speculations of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield entering the second half of the film accurate? And what about the connection to the next major MCU film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness? (Sidenote: we do recommend sticking around for TWO post-credits scenes.) As the hype-machine for Spider-Man: No Way Home is reaching its crescendo, will the film be able to deliver on its massive expectations? If the early reviews are any indication and the projection from Variety of a $150 million opening weekend, this seems to be guarantee.
— Variety (@Variety) December 14, 2021 Spider-Man: No Way Home stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Jamie Foxx, Rhys Ifans, Thomas Haden Church, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Benedict Wong. Also starring Toni Revolori, Angourie Rice, Martin Starr, J.B. Smoove, Hannibal Buress, and J.K. Simmons. Produced in collaboration between Marvel Studios/Disney, Columbia Pictures, and Sony Pictures (from the Marvel Comics superhero created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko) Spider-Man: No Way Home is swinging into most theaters this December 17, 2021, with delayed releases in Japan and the Philippines on January, 2022.
