Across the Multiverse

(SPOILERS AHEAD: I know not everyone has watched ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ because of the recent COVID surge so let this be a warning not to proceed further if you’re still planning to watch it.)

I reserved my ticket for the first day of showing (January 8) of ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ when Ayala Cinemas started pre-selling by the last week of December 2021. This was already delayed because foreign movies had to give way to local films because of the Metro Manila Film Festival.

But then I got COVID and had to isolate, so I was able to see it days after on the 17th instead. By this time, I’ve seen a lot of Tiktok spoilers already (I tried to scroll as fast as I could but a millisecond is all it takes to get the “idea”) so it kinda ruined the surprise.

Then again, I can’t say I was totally clueless prior to the Tiktok spoilers as I already figured after seeing trailers with Dr. Otto Octavius and Green Goblin that “the other Peters” might possibly be there too. Although I thought it would be just Garfield, as Maguire would be a long-shot since he had long moved on (his last film playing the web-slinger was almost 14 years ago in 2007).

But then we all know Feige can work wonders so even if the plot is quite ambitious—they made it work.

Having that idea didn’t take the excitement of seeing all the Spider-Men in one movie. Being a Spidey fan who has seen all the Spider-Man movies, this is just fan service raised to three (and I meant that with respect). When Garfield and Maguire came out of the sling ring portal, people in the theater let out a collective, audible gasp—not comparable to the audience’s reaction on ‘Avengers: Endgame’—but a shrill thrill nonetheless.

It wasn’t just them who came back when the multiverse was opened, trespassers include other villains like Sandman, Electro, and Lizard. Although Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, and Jamie Foxx did reprise their roles, I know that Thomas Haden Church and Rhys Ifans are just CGIs and I recognize some of the reused footage from the previous films (kinda like what they did to Natalie Portman’s scenes on Endgame).

As ‘Avengers: Endgame’ is the culmination of the 22 MCU movies and most of the actors playing the beloved characters have bowed down, I thought any film that follows would no longer be as exciting. I mean, ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ was good while ‘Black Widow’ and ‘Eternals’ are okay (some scenes bored me) but it didn’t give me the same experience I got from earlier MCU movies where the anticipation for the next installment builds up and I just can’t wait for the next.

At least that changed with this movie because I actually enjoyed it along with the same level I would for the earlier MCU movies. It was so much fun.

***

WHAT I THINK ABOUT THE PLOT

It was already a dumb idea for Peter to ask Dr. Strange to cast a spell and make everyone in the world forget about him being Spider-Man, just for his friends to get accepted to MIT. I don’t even know why Strange thought this was a good idea too but he did it nonetheless so, there. 

Peter ruined Dr. Strange’s spell with his reluctance to the idea of MJ, Ned, and Aunt May forgetting about him. But that indecisiveness from immaturity is expected from someone his age so I get that.

What I don’t quite get is why he refused to send the trespassers back to their own universe without “curing” them. It was their fate to die or be defeated, as Strange puts it. Seriously, these are villains from other universes and he knew very well that there was a version of him who took care of it. I just don’t understand why Holland’s Peter Parker thought it’s his “great responsibility” (pun intended) to save them.

Of course, curing the antagonistic nature of someone like Norman Osborn won’t be that easy and we all know what happened. The death of Tomei's Aunt May in the hands of Dafoe’s Green Goblin is something I would never expect in a million years. I mean, how in the world can you ever predict that? 

THE TWO OTHER SPIDEYS

We can all agree that it was the highlight of the film. When Spider-Man came out from some alley and took off his mask the first time revealing Andrew Garfield, I felt a tug in my heart because he’s once again playing the role dear to him but was also so abruptly taken from him. Remember it was only Garfield’s Spider-Man that didn’t have a conclusion. I admit he was my least favorite Spider-Man before but not anymore. He was also so emotional throughout the film. There are a lot of scenes when he totally stole the movie.

But when it was Tobey Maguire who walked through the portal, my heart almost skipped a beat. After all, he was the first-ever Spider-Man and if you know me from 20 years ago and the significance of the first Spider-Man movie to me, you’ll understand why I got a bit emotional. So yes, I have tears in my eyes when Maguire came in. It was almost personal to me.   

This movie gave the utmost respect to the earlier versions of Spider-Man and that’s what I love so much about it.

BEST SCENES FOR ME

• That scene at Happy Hogan’s place when Peter’s spider-sense went off. It was a tense moment trying to figure out who among the villains in the room is about to betray him. It only took me a moment to realize it’s Osborn (Dafoe killed it! He’s the only one who can switch his face from someone looking so helpless to someone so utterly evil.) His line: “Norman’s on sabbatical, honey” just made my skin crawl. Spider-Man and Goblin going mano y mano was one of the best fights in all of the MCU movies.

• While it’s clear that the scenes from Ned’s place are by far the high point of the movie because of the appearance of the alternate Spider-Men, I particularly like it when Ned’s lola started talking in straight Tagalog. It made me so damn proud because having a Filipino representation in an MCU movie is long overdue, methinks.  

• When the two Peters (Andrew and Tom) were blown away that Tobey’s web comes out of him and not through mechanical web-shooters. Panis kayo `no? It’s hilarious though that he had to be clear to the other two that it only comes out of his wrist and not anywhere else in his body.

• While preparing for the battle at The Statue of Liberty, Tobey stretches himself backward through a railing of the scaffolding as Andrew looks on. This is a reference to his “My back, my back”-scene in ‘Spider-Man 2’ where he jumped off a building and fell straight down. I find it so funny because it kinda played Tobey being the elder Spider-Man. 

• When the three were comparing their battles, Andrew was bummed out and thought he was the lamest Spider-Man because he has never fought aliens. But trust elder Peter to quickly reassure him, “You’re amazing. You are amazing.” (After all, he’s ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’)
  
  
• Doc Ock seeing Peter (Maguire):

        "Peter?"

        "Otto"

        "Oh, it's good to see you, dear boy."

"It's good to see you." 

"You're all grown up. How are you?"

        "Trying to be better."

                

        Tears.

• One of the best moments of the movie for me which was also quite bittersweet is when Garfield saved Holland’s MJ and he breaks down. Finally, he was given a second chance for redemption after that spine-breaking attempt to save Gwen. 

• The scene where Tobey stops Tom from killing the Goblin. No dialogue. Just not wanting the younger Peter to repeat his mistake. 

***

Tom Holland’s series as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man ended on a sad note. Because of Dr. Strange’s second spell, everyone has forgotten that Peter Parker exists. No one knows of his Avengers stint, no more cool gadgets from his billionaire mentor, and he’s absolutely broke. But that is how we come to know Spider-Man from way before. (Remember how Tobey lives in a small apartment and is always late on his rent?) It’s safe to say that the movie has undone everything that happened and brought back Spider-Man to its origins. It was through his loss that he became Spider-Man. He can’t be a teenager forever.

I guess my only confusion is why MJ and Ned forgot who Peter Parker was. Did he not go to the same school? I was expecting that MJ and Ned would only forget about the fact that he’s Spider-Man, but not that he’s Peter Parker their schoolmate (at least). Forgive me if you find my question dumb, but there was a time that Ned and MJ didn’t know he was Spider-Man, right? I guess Dr. Strange spell has to work that way.

People who didn’t like the film had been saying that the movie is all just about fan service and maybe it is what it is but I enjoyed it enough to watch it twice. It is an excellent film. The best one among Holland’s series.

SOME PERSONAL THOUGHTS (YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO SKIP)

As I’ve said, seeing Tobey Maguire reprise his role was very personal to me. ‘Spider-Man’ was the last film that my late boyfriend Alex and I went to see together. It was May 4, 2002, a Saturday. Five days later on May 9, 2002, he died. There was that ache in my heart that I haven’t had in a long, long time (after all it’s been 20 years) that somehow was there again. Tobey crossing over his Spider-Man to Tom Holland’s was just something so incredible when I think about it. 

So yeah, I kinda missed Alex after watching this movie. 

SIDE-COMMENTS

“Who the hell thought of placing Captain America’s shield on the Statue of Liberty?”

(Realizing who the lawyer was) “Oh! Oh! It’s the Daredevil!”