The first reviews to Spider-Man: No Way Home are in following the film’s world premiere.
On Monday (13 December), the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie was unveiled in Hollywood, with spoiler-free reactions rolling in on social media soon after.
There has been a particular sense of excitement surrounding this release due to the secretive nature of its production.
After it was revealed that several non-MCU characters from previous Spider-Man films would be in the film (including Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Electro), many assumed that former Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would show up in some form.
While that detail is still unknown, it has been revealed that fans are extremely happy with the outcome of the film, which sees Tom Holland return as the web-slinger alongside Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange.
Critics, on the other hand, are being more measured in their reactions.
The Guardian awarded the film three stars, writing that director Jon Watts “does a pretty solid job here, tasked with a considerable upping of the ante while bringing back numerous baddies from the previous Spider-Man universes, delivering a propulsive, slickly choreographed adventure that will appease a broad fanbase this Christmas”.
However, the review says this “comes with a grander stage is a loss of the breezy teen movie vibe of the first two offerings, giving way to mostly unearned Marvel gravitas.
Tom Holland in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’
(Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures)
Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter calls No Way Home “the least fun of the Watts/Holland pictures by a wide margin (intentionally so, to some extent),” stating: “But it’s a hell of a lot better than the last Spidey threequel, Sam Raimi’s overstuffed and ill-conceived Spider-Man 3.”
Rolling Stone points out that, thanks to all the returning characters, “there’s a button for you that’s being pushed”, adding: “Fan service is being performed here, as with most modern superhero movies, but it now spans generations of fans. Why have one Marvel Cinematic Universe, the film coyly asks, when you can have several?”
However, there were some who couldn’t praise the film enough.
Journalist Scott Menzel called No Way Home “the best Marvel movie of all time”, adding that “fans of the web-slinger will absolutely lose their minds when they see this”.
Tom Holland and Zendaya both star in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’
(Getty Images for SiriusXM)
Tessa Smith wrote: “Spider-Man: No Way Home didn’t meet my expectations, it EXCEEDED them. This movie is worth every excruciating moment we had to wait!”
“It’s hard to imagine topping this one,” Brandon Davis stated. “Like, genuinely, hard to imagine getting more than this movie gives you as a #SpiderMan fan.”
Spider-Man: No Way Home will be released in cinemas on Wednesday (15 December).