In the world of superheroes, the secret identity is a fundamental pillar. With few exceptions, these glorious fighters for justice defend their real selves at all costs and only a few really know who they are. There are many reasons, starting because in this way everything is more dramatic. But the most famous is that they do it to protect their loved ones from the fearsome villains that they have to face. In Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) the good old Peter Parker faces the great dilemma of seeing his identity revealed to the whole world. After having managed to defeat Mysterio in the previous adventure, now Spider-Man sees his private life collapse because everyone knows that he is a simple boy from a New York high school.

Director Jon Watts has completed one of the most robust trilogies in the superhero universe. He has managed to combine the show with stories that add depth to the character behind the mask. We love to see the arachnid saving the day, rescuing everyone, and defeating the villains, but we also like how the life of Peter Parker is the true protagonist of this whole thing. Marvel and its cinematic universe have managed to prefabricate molds that they fill repeatedly to burst theaters or generate sales on digital platforms. But luckily between one and the other we get movies that at least try not to look like just another product from an assembly line.

No Way Home

Peter Parker enlists the help of Mr. Strange to hide his identity from the world again. Things go off the rails and in the process a portal opens that mixes the universe of the Peter we know with other parallel universes giving way to the famous multiverse. The script of Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers begins to carburate when those mentioned universes begin to contribute chips that Spider-Man: No Way Home moves to perfection. From the title we can perceive the double interpretation that the speech presents. First, there is the physical journey that the hero must travel to triumph in the face of adversity and on another plane the emotional journey that leads the character to face his fears and make decisions that will define him as a man and as a superhero is combined.

Where director Jon Watts grows is in the way he handles the story. The lightness required to stage a film that pursues entertainment in its purest form is combined with the feel of telling a relevant story beyond slow-motion sequences and epic battles. Spider-Man: No Way Home has the necessary elements to please the most die-hard fans without leaving out those who are joining for the first time or who may not know what Aunt May’s favorite ice cream flavor is. Those 2 hours and 28 minutes are enjoyable without the need to look at the clock to try to rush the end.

To speak of Hollywood’s ability to show its muscle in the staging would be redundant and in that regard the film is impeccable. Tom Holland with his charisma has become one of the best to wear the arachnid costume and here he shares the scene with veterans Alfred Molina and Willem Dafoe to give us truly memorable sequences. As always, our heroes are only as good as their villains allow them to be and this time Spider-Man has villains to spare and with the quality so that he can magnify himself in his attempt to save the world.