Spider-Man: No Way Home DVD Review

Being a huge fan of the MCU I have been looking forward to seeing Spider-Man: No Way Home for quite a long time. I wanted to see the film in theaters, but due to circumstances I was unable to see it until it was too late. Somehow I was actually able to remain mostly spoiler-free all this time which was a minor miracle. Having to wait so long lead me to have pretty high expectations for the film. The good news is that Spider-Man: No Way Home lived up to my expectations and maybe even surpassed them as it currently stands as one of the best films released for the MCU.

Note: There may be some minor spoilers in this review, but I will try to refrain from spoiling anything that happens after the ending of Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Taking place right after the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter Parker’s life has been turned upside down after his secret identity has been revealed to the world. This puts Peter and all those he loves at risk as some people aren’t so welcoming now that they know his true identity. Eventually Peter decides to ask Doctor Strange for help restoring his secret identity. This doesn’t work as intended as it ends up tearing a hole in the world unleashing new dangers. Can Peter overcome this new threat and fix things before it is too late?

As I wasn’t able to see the movie in theaters, over the last couple of weeks I have been watching all of the previous Spider-Man movies including the original three Spider-Mans and the Amazing Spider-Man movies. I don’t want to get too much into spoilers, but if you have never seen the previous Spider-Man movies or haven’t in quite a few years I would highly recommend doing so. It will bring a lot more context to this film and will likely increase your enjoyment of the movie. I will say that I am really glad that I did.

In a way it is going to be kind of hard to talk about elements of Spider-Man: No Way Home without getting into spoilers, but I will try to do the best that I can. In a way I would say that Spider-Man: No Way Home feels like what you would get if you applied elements of the Avengers movies into a Spider-Man movie. While it features none of the actual Avengers outside of Doctor Strange and Spider-Man of course, it really has that same type of feel to it.

There is a lot jam packed into Spider-Man: No Way Home. Without getting into specifics, there is a lot that could have gone wrong with the movie. The whole premise could have been a complete gimmick utilizing callbacks and cheap tricks to appeal to fanboys. Otherwise it could have been a confusing mess that would have been hard to follow. Thankfully it is neither and it almost perfectly navigates these potential issues to deliver a fantastic movie.

Having watched all of the MCU movies and most of the TV shows, there are a lot of movies to compare Spider-Man: No Way Home to. Ultimately I would say that it is clearly in the top tear of MCU movies. I don’t know if it is quite the best movie in the MCU, but it is very close.

I think the movie succeeds because it follows the tried and true formula of what makes a great Marvel movie. Not surprisingly the action scenes are fantastic. While the whole movie isn’t action, enough of it is to keep anyone that is most interested in this element of Marvel movies engaged. The special effects and visuals in particular are totally stunning at times. While I generally have no problems watching films at home, I really wish I could have seen the film on the big screen as it would have shined even more.

While the movie has a lot of action, it has its share of slower moments as well which really ground the story. Spider-Man: No Way Home does a good job replicating the patented Marvel humor which can be quite funny at times. The story has a really interesting arc about overcoming hard times and self sacrifice. This takes Peter Parker in an interesting new direction. While it has not been confirmed yet if there are going to be any more standalone Spider-Man films featuring Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, I am really intrigued where the series would go after the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home.

On top of the action, drama, and comedy; Spider-Man: No Way Home also succeeds because of its cast. To avoid spoilers I am not going to talk about the surprise cast appearances in the film. The main cast from the other MCU Spider-Man films are all present and are as good as ever. I think one of the main reasons that the Spider-Man films are some of my favorites in the MCU is because the characters are really interesting which carries into this film as well. The actors do a great job driving home the action, comedic and drama moments where you really care about what happens to them.

As for the DVD release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, it includes the following special features.

• A Spectacular Spider-Journey With Tom Holland (6:16) – A look back at Tom Holland’s history in the role of Spider-Man.
• Graduation Day (7:07) – A feature about Zendaya’s, Jacob Batalon’s, and Tony Revolori’s roles and experiences in the franchise.

Overall the special features for the DVD version of Spider-Man: No Way Home are good if not a little limited. The Blu-ray/4K releases have quite a few more special features. While I wish there were more on the DVD release, I generally thought they were pretty good. A Spectacular Spider-Journey With Tom Holland is mostly a look back at Tom Holland’s time in the role as Spider-Man while Graduation Day is more about the other younger cast members. I am generally not a big fan of special features, but I actually enjoyed watching these features as they are a good look back at the first three films in the MCU Spider-Man series.

Having to wait so long to see Spider-Man: No Way Home after not getting a chance to see it in theaters, I had really high expectations for the film. Ultimately it pretty much lived up to all of my expectations and might have even surpassed them in some ways. The movie really gives you everything that you could want from a Spider-Man movie. It really feels like a standalone version of the Avengers focused around Spider-Man. The movie crams a lot into its runtime and it could have easily become a mess, but instead it excels. The movie is packed with fun action packed sequences and stunning visuals. It also contains a lot of heart and the humor that fans of the MCU have come to love. While the movie isn’t perfect, it is honestly a little hard to come up with any specific areas where it could have been improved.

While this might sound anti-climatic, you likely already have a pretty good idea of how much you are going to like Spider-Man: No Way Home. If you don’t really care for Spider-Man or the MCU, it likely won’t change your mind. If you have enjoyed the previous Tom Holland movies or the MCU in general, you will likely love Spider-Man: No Way Home as it gives you pretty much everything that fans enjoy most about the MCU. It may not quite be the best movie in the MCU, but it is very close.

We at Geeky Hobbies would like to thank Sony Pictures Home Entertainment for the review copy of Spider-Man: No Way Home used for this review. Other than receiving a free copy of the DVD to review, we at Geeky Hobbies received no other compensation for this review. Receiving the review copy for free had no impact on the content of this review.