*WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD*

Marvel Studios rocked the film industry once again with their newest movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home. Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, and many other fan favorites from the Marvel universe star in the movie, which takes place immediately following the second Spider-Man installment. 

The film made history by becoming one of the first post-pandemic films to exceed $1 billion at the global box office. In the first week, tickets were sold out in theaters across the country. After Avengers: End Game, Spider-Man is the second highest-grossing movie Marvel has ever produced. 

Spider-Man: No Way Home has received positive reviews from all of the Marvel fans. Most students from RHS would rate it “a nine out of ten” or “an eight”. Upon asking why, students felt that the collaboration among Toby Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland was much needed to tie together the different Spider-Man franchises. There were some scenes involving the three different Spider-Men that received a lot of hype from the audience, like Andrew Garfield saving MJ and the “Back-cracking scene”, which some would call the “highlights of the movie”.

Many viewers, including ourselves, also enjoyed the closer look at Peter and MJ’s relationship, now that Tom Holland and Zendaya have confirmed their romantic relationship. After all, who doesn’t love a cute real-life couple from a movie? 

The scene where Andrew Garfield saves MJ was especially gratifying because it provided redemption for the one thing Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man could not do, which was save his MJ in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Andrew Garfield won his fans’ hearts when he cried after saving MJ because of how she reminded him of his own tragic moment with Gwen. 

Some fans were disheartened because of the end and how Peter Parker had to lose everything in order to save the world. However, contrary to popular opinion, Ian, a sophomore, believed that the ending made sense for Peter Parker’s character because of how “he [consistently] cleans up everyone’s mistakes and everyone gets happiness except for him.” Throughout the Spider-Man movies, Peter Parker has lost many loved ones; this third movie stood out when Peter Parker lost everyone by making them forget about him. This left the fans on a cliffhanger.

Our Opinions:

Sofie:

I personally loved the movie, and it was likely one of my favorite Marvel movies of all time. The plot line was amazing, and I learned so much more about each character’s background. Like every Marvel movie, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Even though I suspected Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire were in the film, I was still very surprised when they appeared. The movie was heart-wrenching at points, but those scenes made the movie so much better. Normally, I don’t cry in movies, but this movie got me, especially the ending. Although Peter made a selfless decision, I was extremely sad to see him lose his best friend and the love of his life, but I think it was the right choice ultimately. If I had to rate the movie out of 10, I would give it a 9.7/10.

Parnia:

             As a die-hard Marvel fan, I always anticipate what Marvel is working on. Before Spider-Man No Way home, I believed Endgame was the best Marvel could present to its anticipating fans. However, that was not the case. Spider-Man No Way Home exceeded my expectations and I believe the casting had to do a lot with it. I could see the growth of Peter Parker and how Doctor Strange’s advice paralleled Tony Stark’s. I commend Marvel’s writers on how they connected the previous Spider-Man movies, and they made a trio that no one could defeat. My favorite thing was the progression of the previous Spider-Men’s ages and how they matured since last we saw them in theaters. I was a little torn because of the ending; however, I wouldn’t call that a bad thing because the ending was consistent with Peter Parker’s character as a high school student making mistakes but also paying the price no high school student should be paying.