Tom Holland’s Spider-Man finally comes of age

There has been a sentiment amongst certain sections of people that superhero films, more specifically movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), are the "death of cinema". Many think pieces have been written around this concept. I think there is an inclination from a lot of people to turn their nose up at popular entertainment, and I would like to challenge them to go watch a screening of "Spider-Man: No Way Home". Watch the sheer joy this movie unfolds for an audience.

Written by Chris Mckenna and Erik Sommers and directed by Jon Watts, "No Way Home" picks up right after Mysterio reveals Spider-Man's true identity. As Peter Parker deals with a world where people believe that they have the right to access everything that happens in the lives of famous personalities, all hell breaks loose. He does not know where to turn. With his aunt May, girlfriend MJ, and best friend Ned, he looks for ways to turn back time. Eventually, he requests Dr Strange to cast a memory wipe spell, which goes wrong. As a result, Peter starts getting visitors from other universes.

In the film, Peter Parker goes to Dr Strange for help.

Now, coming back to my timeline, Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man trilogy was my introduction to live-action superhero movies. It showed me that superheroes can be characters with genuine moral conflicts, love, and loss in their lives. Young love was treated with empathy and depth — the upside-down kiss between Peter and MJ, Peter seeing her singing "I Am Through With Love" at a jazz club when no one clearly understood how truly special she was, his heartbreak when she starts dating his best friend Harry — these were not just plot points for the makers to pivot the characters onto another timeline, or a crossover of some sort. They had me engrossed in the narrative.

The Andrew Garfield era of Spider-Man, however, never quite sat right with me. While Garfield did an amazing job, I wish he got better scripts.

With his best friend Ned and girlfriend MJ, Peter Parker tries to solve things, as characters from other universes start showing up.

Tom Holland's Spider-Man has always been an apprentice. He was very much a kid, who had extraordinary abilities but never really experienced actual conflict and pain, which make superheroes become who they are. With "No Way Home", this changes.

From the introduction sequence itself, we see an existential crisis beginning to hit Peter. He is now truly coming of age. Although he is still a teenager, and has not yet become disillusioned, he is no longer willing to take instructions from people who are higher up in authority than him or older in age, just because he is told to.

When a spell by Doctor Strange goes wrong, Peter Parker starts getting visitors from other universes.

"No Way Home" takes a stab at what it means to be a "superhero" — a larger than life figure with great power, and the sacrifices one has to make to keep that power. It is not just a thrilling and emotional end to Peter's high school trilogy in the MCU, but also a smart, fun, and an exciting celebration of everything there is to love about Spider-Man.

The MCU Spider-Man has faced a lot of criticism over the years, mainly that he is a 'rich kid' sidekick and that his adventures are too bubblegum compared to his predecessors. Some of those criticisms I think were too overblown, while others, had some truth to them. I think this movie does a brilliant job of addressing those criticisms. As a result of making morally right decisions, Peter experiences great loss. 

This is a film that made people laugh, cry, and cheer. After the movie was over, I walked out of the hall to see crowds of people talking excitedly about what they had just seen. There wasn't one person who did not have a smile on their face. At the end of the day, isn't that what you want as a moviegoer?

"Spider-Man: No Way Home" is now playing in theatres. If you decide to go, stay safe, and don't forget to wear a mask.