Spider-Man: No Way Home

Continuing on from the end of the last solo entry, Spider-Man: No Way Home looks at the consequences of Mysterio outing Peter Parker as Spider-Man. Due to how this affects his and his loved ones' lives, such as Aunt May and MJ, he goes to Doctor Strange to perform a spell to make everyone forget about his secret identity. Due to Parker's interference, the spell instead causes villains from other universes, that being from the Raimi and Webb films like Green Goblin and Electro, to end up in the MCU. To keep the multiverse intact, Strange intends to get the villains back to where and when they came from, but Peter fears that they will go back to their deaths. Trapping Strange in the Mirror Dimension, Peter works with Norman Osborn to cure the other villains until the Goblin persona regains control. The villains escape as Peter and Goblin's fight ends with May dying and Spider-Man seen as a threat by the authorities due to the villains' rampage. With MJ and Ned's help, they find the two other Spider-Men, played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, and the three work together to fight and cure the villains. While the heroes have the upper hand, Doctor Strange shows up but finds that the rest of the multiverse is bleeding through to go after the Spider-Men. The MCU Peter proposes that Strange do another memory spell, one that will erase any memory of him from everyone in the universe. Before the spell is activated, Peter bids farewell to the other versions of him as they and their villains go back and promises to Ned and MJ that he will find them again. With no one remembering who he is or the connection to Spider-Man, Peter starts a new life without Stark Industry's help, makes new steps to reconnect with his friends, and makes his own suit to continue his heroics. This is without a doubt one of the MCU's most ambitious as well as most gratifying projects that would not have worked under different hands. Writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers had a monumental task at not only coming up with a story involving the multiverse, but also seeing the return of beloved actors reprising their iconic roles in such a way without being forced or too much for fan service. It's all well earned, especially in how certain parts of the story take queues from one of Spider-Man's worst stories, One More Day, just like Captain America: Civil War also adapts from a mixed storyline. The boldness of killing off Aunt May, which the comics have never done out of fear of making Peter feel too grown, gives him the push that Marvel has never given him in the pages to be able to learn as well as not stick to the status quo. Another praise towards McKenna and Sommers is their superb balance of comedy and drama unlike the last two films trying too hard to be teen comedies as well as getting the past Spider-Men and villains be true to their last appearances. If this and the last two movies prove anything about director Jon Watts is his full understanding of Marvel's properties and why he is perfect for doing a Fantastic Four film for the MCU. His direction is one of the franchise's most unique, while often mastering the styles of Scott Derrickson, Raimi, and Webb. Mauro Fiore is this entry's cinematography and there are so many moments that are quite striking and awe-inspiring. The editing from Jeffrey Ford and Leigh Folsom Boyd keeps its nearly two and a half hour run time feeling well paced and has well edited action scenes. Once again Michael Giacchino proves to be a phenomenal composer as he improves on his previous Spider-Man work while capturing the essence of the Hans Zimmer, James Horner, and Danny Elfman themes that came before. The effects are strong, doing a great job at de-aging Alfred Molina and Willem Dafoe, improving the Sandman effects, and making the Doc Ock tentacles look even more realistic. Though one complaint, and definitely the biggest one, is the obvious use of stock footage when Sandman and Lizard are cured and doesn't look too convincing. But of all the things that this movie absolute delivers in, is in the performances from absolutely everyone. Dafoe in the 2002 film was great, but in here he absolutely shines and proves that just because he was in his 60s didn't mean he couldn't do his own stunts. But the most important performances comes from making the relationship between the three different Peter Parkers feel so believable thanks to Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire putting in their all. Maguire still has the magic despite being 14 years since he last played Parker, Garfield is an absolute joy due to his real life love for the character that he never got to truly evoke, and Holland gives his strongest performance in the MCU perfectly evoking the fun, tragedy, and anger of what his Peter goes through. Using fan service to propel a story can be very tricky to pull off, but if one movie proves you can do it right it is Spider-Man: No Way Home. Over all: 100%

2021 top list so far:

1. Spider-Man: No Way Home

2. Encanto

3. In the Heights

4. No Time to Die

5. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

6. The Green Knight

7. Candyman 2021

8. The Suicide Squad

9. Ghostbusters: Afterlife

10. Last Night in Soho

11. Dune 2021

12. Free Guy

13. Nobody

14. Black Widow

15. A Quiet Place Part II

16. Respect

17. Raya and the Last Dragon

18. Malignant

19. Eternals

20. Halloween Kills

21. Jungle Cruise

22. Cruella

23. Wrath of Man

24. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City

25. F9

26. Venom: Let There Be Carnage

27. Snake Eyes

28. Old

29. Space Jam: A New Legacy