Spider-Man: No Way Home - Movie Review - Spidey packs the biggest and best punch of the year (SPOILERS)

Spider-Man has been on the screen for many years and has had several different interpretations. Most recently, he's been a part of the MCU, and it's this iteration of the character that I have the biggest connection to. The films in this version have definitely been good; Homecoming has unfortunately got worse for me with time though it is still solid, and Far From Home is still as awesome as it was when I first saw it. But, now, the character is back, and it's bigger than ever, in No Way Home. Obviously, I was really excited for this movie. The possibilities of what could unfold in this were just insane, and I could not wait to witness what was in stall. I haven't been this excited for a new film since, well, probably Avengers: Endgame. 

In the film, after having his secret identity revealed, Peter Parker's life is turned upside down. He seeks Doctor Strange for help but, after attempting to cast a spell to fix things, an array of characters from all over the multiverse start to arrive.

This movie was ridiculously good. I'm afraid I cannot discuss my thoughts without going into spoilers so do not read ahead if you haven't seen the movie. If you want to know my overall opinion though, you can safely skip to my conclusion as that won't contain any specific plot details. So, SPOILER ALERT!!!

There's so much that works about No Way Home, I don't actually know where to begin. I think what's best about it is that it takes this iteration of the character to places we haven't seen before. This film is dark, and it takes a lot of what happens very seriously, and best of all, it has actions that have consequences. With the ending of Peter accepting that he has to let everyone forget who he is, it would've been so easy and so Marvel for the filmmakers to act as if it's a great big sacrifice but promptly undo all the consequences in favour of a sweet ending. But, no, they take a very mature route by having Peter accept what he's had to do because it's his responsibility, which ties into the core idea of Spider-Man, that being that with great power comes great responsibility.

Obviously, one of the more exciting aspects of the film is seeing a bunch of characters from previous iterations of Spider-Man in film making a return, and boy was this awesome. Most significantly, the Spider-Men played by Tobey Maguire from the original Sam Raimi trilogy and Andrew Garfield from the Amazing Spider-Man films are back, as we all hoped. When they entered, my audience erupted into applause and cheering, which is the sort of thing I love in cinemas, and was especially amazing here considering it was ten o'clock in the morning! The way they interacted with Tom's Peter was too perfect, whether it be in comedic ways such as comparing all the things they've encountered while being Spider-Man, or in dramatic ways when they offer some of their wisdom and guidance to prevent him from making mistakes they made. I honestly could not have asked for more in this aspect of the film.

The villains are also many from Spider-Man past, including Alfred Molina's Doc Ock and Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin, and they were all very entertaining and satisfying to see back on screen once again, and the way they also interacted with each other and MCU characters was tons of fun. The action scenes in this movie were also just awesome; the first encounter with Doc Ock (which parts of have been shown in the trailer) was so smooth and flowing alongside some dialogue interaction that was such a joy. The sequence set in the mirror dimension was also really cool, placing us back in a really inventive setting we haven't seen much of, and throwing Spider-Man in there too. The climax was also just as terrific, and the sight of seeing all three Spider-Men working alongside each other and quipping with their familiar enemies was simply marvellous, if you'll pardon the pun. 

My one issue with the movie was the second act, specifically the section where Peter attempted to cure all the villains. This part was a little uninteresting because you know that they'll eventually turn on him so you're just sat waiting for that moment, which I was. However, I am willing to look past it as the way it tied into the rest of the narrative was highly appropriate, and it led to the beautifully heartbreaking scene that was Aunt May's death, which I honestly didn't see coming. It was really great to hear her deliver the iconic great power comes great responsibility line too. 

I'm kind of lost for words. Spider-Man: No Way Home was just absolutely magnificent. It blew me away with how perfectly it executed each and every aspect of this story, so much so that I don't really think it could have done it any better way. Sure, it has its flaws, but none that I'm unwilling to overlook as they still enable this masterpiece to function as it does. Overall, the best MCU film ever except for Avengers: Endgame, which I do have some more issues with but I feel had a much harder task to pull off and thus is a bit more impressive, though only by a small degree. This is also the best Spider-Man film ever aside from Into the Spider-Verse, just because that is obviously a bit more audacious. A remarkable piece of work for sure and the best film of 2021 for me. 

I'm going to give Spider-Man: No Way Home a 10/10

Yeah, I rarely give a perfect score to a film on my first viewing, and this isn't perfect, but I don't care. I'm too stunned.

West Side Story - Movie Review - Steven's got a knack for musicals as well

I know nothing about West Side Story. It's a name I obviously recognise but that's where it ends for me. I understand that it's a take on Romeo and Juliet but I don't know any specifics of the plot and I cannot name a single one of the songs. I've not seen the original stage musical nor the 1961 original film. So, with that in mind, why on earth would I want to see this new version? Well, it's quite simple, actually. I love me a good musical, which this obviously is, and I'm a big fan of Steven Spielberg. So, there was enough to convince me to catch the new West Side Story upon release. 

As I'm sure you may know, the story involves two rival gangs in an area of New York City, one consisting of white Americans and the other consisting of folks from Puerto Rico. On one side, there's Tony, and on the other, there's Maria. Despite coming from two opposing sides, they fall in love and are determined to stay together, thus facing many obstacles in doing so. 

One of my main draws to seeing this film was the fact that it's a musical, and on the musical side, it delivered for sure. The musical numbers are all really well executed with some excellent choreography and wonderfully vibrant / exciting visuals (most of the time). Not every song hit the mark, but more often than not they did. My favourites were America, a delightfully upbeat tune that, as it happens, I actually did know but didn't realise was from this musical, and Tonight, a beautiful duet. Spielberg has already established himself as a very versatile director, delving into action and adventure, sci-fi, drama, fantasy, history, thriller, war, and some other genres, but this only furthers that by showing he can very competently helm a musical as well, and I'd love to see more of this from him. 

I also thought that, despite the story being something we've seen time and time again, it didn't feel repetitive and it also had dramatic beats that were still able to be really powerful even if they were predictable. Usually remakes or retellings etc. lose the impact of the work they're derived from as you know exactly where they're heading and they can seem a bit narratively uninteresting. Here, while parts did feel as if we were going through the motions of a typical take on Romeo and Juliet, most of it successfully swept me up. I especially believed in the chemistry between Tony and Maria and felt their longing for one another, helped in no small part by some very solid performances from Rachel Zegler (in an amazing debut performance) and Ansel Elgort. 

In terms of issues, I think the pacing is quite off. Some less interesting parts feel overly dwelled on, while others feel more appropriate. My overall interest sort of flucuated throughout where I spent some time quite unengaged, mostly in the first thirty to forty minutes before it really gets going, and others really wrapped up. Not a major problem but still a bit of an issue. I'm sure that some of this might be in the nature of the stage musical thus making it not necessarily the film's fault, but I'm unfamiliar with it so I can't really say.

All in all, West Side Story was really good. It tells its story well and had a solid batch of songs sprinkled throughout. Can't say how it compares to either the stage musical or the original film, but I can't imagine this being considerably worse than anything, unless they're both absolutely extraordinary. Even if you're unfamiliar with this content much like I was, still go and catch it if you like a good musical, because this absolutely is just that. 

I'm going to give West Side Story a 7.5/10

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to resume counting down the mere days left until I see Spider-Man: No Way Home. Please oh please oh please don't let it disappoint...

House of Gucci - Movie Review - A Ridley Scott film lacking the Ridley Scott-ness

Ridley Scott is obviously one of the most influencial directors of all time, though he's not one of my favourites. I've only seen a few of films, though I do really like what I've seen. Alien is a really well crafted sci-fi / horror movie, Gladiator is also really terrific, and The Martian is honestly one of my favourite films of all time, and may even crack the top ten if I ever made one. So, I wasn't especially keen to see his new film House of Gucci because of him, but rather because I just thought it looked good. I mean, it looked very competently helmed and well acted from the trailers, and it also details a story that I know absolutely nothing about, so I thought it would be worth a go. 

The film chronicles the marriage of Patrizia Reggiani and Maurizio Gucci and their turbulent relations while trying to run the iconic fashion company alongside other members of the Gucci family. 

The best thing about the film by far is the acting, it's all rather perfect. Lady Gaga absolutely smashes it as Reggiani; I was rather ambivalent about her breakthrough performance in A Star is Born, but here, I thought she was just on fire. She looks the part, and she conveys this manipulative and conniving character so well. Definitely the standout in the ensemble. Adam Driver is also terrific, though we've come to expect greatness from him so it's less surprising. He's definitely one of the most consistently great actors I've seen over the last five or so years. Everyone else was mostly pretty good too, although I'm not sure how I felt about Jared Leto in the film; he's clearly going over the top and being a very overtly stereotypical Italian, and while it certainly was entertaining, I don't think I liked it overall. 

Production-wise, this was expectedly fabulous. The costumes were all stellar as you may expect from a film where fashion is a crucial aspect, and most of the settings and locations were pleasant and well captured. The film is also very long, at least two and a half hours, but it didn't drag most of the time and was a reasonably well-paced watch. My interest in what was going on did fluctuate a lot of the time but that's kind of inevitable when it comes to any film of this length. 

My main issue I suppose is that a lot of it just felt ordinary; I struggle to believe that this was helmed by Ridley Scott as most of it just feels quite workmanlike and plain, with little about the filmmaking and direction that really stood out to me. This isn't a big deal, but it is a shame when a film doesn't offer much distinction to help form its own identity. 

All things considered, House of Gucci was pretty good. A terrific array of performances make what is ultimately quite an unremarkable piece of filmmaking consistently solid. Probably won't be rushing to catch this again but there's plenty to admire.

I'm going to give House of Gucci a 7.5/10