Spider-Man: No Way Home Parent Guide

After defeating Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhal) in London, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) comes back to New York, ready to resume his role as a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. That option disappears when the conspiracy-minded host of the Daily Bugle website, J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) reveals Spider-Man’s identity to the world. Now the object of intense public and legal scrutiny, Peter requires serious help.

In the legal arena, Peter can get assistance from ace attorney Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox). To manage the firestorm of publicity and misinformation, Peter’s going to need something a little more…magical. In desperation, he turns to Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Master of the Mystic Arts, hoping that the wizard can make everyone forget about his superhero alter ego. While Strange agrees to try, the spell seems to fail, at least until Peter bumps into an enraged Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) tearing apart an overpass. Octavius, a remnant of a different universe, has been unwittingly pulled in to this one by Dr. Strange’s spell…and he’s not the only one. Norman Osborne, better known as the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), Max Dillon (Jamie Fox), and Dr. Connors (Rhys Ifans) - all members of rogues’ galleries from different realities - have appeared on earth. Now it’s down to Peter to find out how to send them back before they destabilize the fabric of the universe.

This is very much a movie for the Spider-fan in your life. With a chaotic intermingling of characters from the other Spider-Man film series, this production requires prior knowledge to appreciate. Not only do moviegoers need to be familiar with the Spider-Man films featuring Tom Holland, they also need some knowledge of the Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire versions, as well as the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you haven’t seen most of those movies, you’ve got homework to do before you watch No Way Home.

For fans, though, this is a riot. Admittedly, it’s insane from start to finish, using magic to integrate previously unrelated film franchises into the broader MCU, but it’s not exactly unique in that respect. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse already did basically the same thing with some of the lower profile comic heroes (and some entirely new ones). But it did remarkably well, so I suppose Sony and Marvel thought it would be worth trying twice. I’m old enough that my nostalgia is for the Tobey Maguire villains – seeing Alfred Molina and Willem Dafoe tearing around brought me right back to the youthful joy I had watching them back when I was in grade school. It’s a romp.

The story’s also remarkably tame, all things considered. To my recollection, only one person actually dies on screen, and there are only a few instances of profanity. Apart from that, it’s the usual Marvel stylized hand-to-hand violence, property destruction, and general mayhem. While I wouldn’t bring a five-year old (as someone in my screening did) I’d say this is perfectly suitable for older kids and teens – provided they can sit still for nearly two-and-a-half hours. Unless you want to spend the middle of the movie wandering off to the bathroom, I’d recommend getting a small drink. You wouldn’t want to miss any of that raw nostalgic fun because you had too much root beer, would you?