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And for all the Avengers: Endgame-style onslaught of effects and action here, it’s Spidey’s sweetness that is the USP. Meanwhile, Parker’s appeal continues to be his endearing, puppyish enthusiasm. Parents need to know that Spider-Man: No Way Home is the third Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland and the 27th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). He seeks out the help of Doctor Strange, and discovers that although Benedict Cumberbatch’s character may be able to perform magic, sarcasm remains his superpower. And thanks to social media-stoked suspicion and conspiracy theories, Peter Parker’s name is mud. The story starts immediately after the events at the conclusion of 2019’s Spider-Man: Far from Home the dying Mysterio has leaked the identity of the boy beneath the lycra. It’s all very meta and self-referential screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers hoover up memorable lines from past movies and serve them with a flourish and an exaggerated wink to the audience.
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While that thrillingly inventive animation remains the standout film from the Spider-canon – it’s a sleek, conceptually elegant thing compared to No Way Home’s cluttered, more-is-more approach – here, director Jon Watts harnesses the idea of the “multiverse” (an infinite number of parallel universes, each with their own Spider-Man) and satisfyingly puts it to work in the service of a live-action version of the spider saga. But amid numerous references to Spideys past, the key influence is the one that is most likely to shape the future of the franchise, 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. T he greatest hits approach to this climactic episode of Tom Holland’s incarnation as the web-slinger delivers an overflowing, funnel-web cornucopia of treats for Spider-fans.
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