The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) third installment of the Spider-Man series has found good reviews amongst SNHU students.
Spider-Man: No Way Home followed Peter Parker (Tom Holland) after the villain Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) posthumously revealed to the world that Peter is Spider-Man. The film primarily followed Peter and his friends navigating this new territory with half the populace believing he killed Mysterio, leading him to seek Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for a spell that made people forget he is the masked hero.
After a problem occurred with the spell, villains from the previous Spider-Man movie franchises, such as Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Electro (Jamie Foxx) and the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), were pulled from across the multiverse and into Peter’s dimension. He was then forced to face the newly formed Sinister Six, like in the Marvel comics.
Holland’s Peter was not alone, as both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprise their respective roles as Peter Parker from previous Spider-Man franchises and fought the villains.
The film made over $1.5 billion, earning a spot as one of the top ten highest grossing films globally, according to Variety. The movie also found great success amongst SNHU students.
“I absolutely loved the movie,” said Kayla Stickney (’22). “It exceeded any predictions or expectations that I had for it.”
This sentiment was echoed by fellow senior, Caela McCartney (’22), who shared many of the theories fans had about the movie, specifically on the return of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.
“I had a feeling that Tobey and Andrew would make an appearance, since the villains from their films appeared in the trailer,” McCartney said.
With the return of both Maguire and Garfield, many SNHU students felt a sense of nostalgia upon seeing the Spider-Men they knew as children return to the big screen.
“Seeing all three Spider-Men was so empowering,” said McCartney. “I grew up watching each film and felt very nostalgic for Tobey Maguire’s appearance as those were my first Spider-Man movies.”
Madison Hopkins (’22) agreed with this, saying it was great seeing all three actors in the same movie.
For Stickney, who is a more recent Marvel fan and did not watch the previous Spider-Man movies, she said she was still able to experience the nostalgia by talking with her friends about the movie. “Getting to see it and talk about the movie with friends who did grow up with the movies was such a fun experience to be a part of,” said Stickney.
With this movie, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker begins a new arc as his character grows into his role as a hero. Meanwhile, rumors are circulating on how Peter will appear in future MCU installments. Theories on how this movie will impact the MCU with the tampering of the multiverse have begun to surface. Additionally, there have been speculations on if the other Spider-Men will make a reappearance, such as Andrew Garfield.
“I heard that Andrew Garfield said that he would do it again,” said Hopkins.
No one knows if these rumors are correct or not, but Peter Parker’s story will continue with the next few phases of the MCU.
