‘Spider-Man’ swings back for a limited time

‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ is one of the MCU’s biggest releases ever. The 2021 sequel was well-received by critics and audiences when the movie was initially released in December. Ultimately, the third ‘Spider-Man’ MCU sequel earned a little over $800 million domestically and $1.9 billion worldwide. Now, for the 60th anniversary of the Spider-Man character, Sony and Marvel are bringing the web-slinger back to the big screen for a limited time! For those who need a quick refresher, for the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero’s identity is revealed, bringing his superhero responsibilities into conflict with his normal life and putting those he cares about most at risk. When he enlists Doctor Strange’s help to restore his secret, the spell tears a hole in their world, releasing the most popular villains who have ever fought a Spider-Man in any universe. Now, Peter will have to overcome his greatest challenge yet, which will not only forever alter his own future but the future of the Multiverse. A quick fair warning — since this is a re-release of a previous MCU film that was shown in December, there will be spoilers for the film in the review! When I first initially checked out ‘No Way Home’ last December, it was probably one of the most eagerly-awaited MCU movies I ever wanted to see. With how the cliff-hanger ending of ‘Far From Home’ (2019) concluded that movie, myself and the rest of the viewing audience were left wondering what was going to happen next once Spider-Man’s identity was finally revealed. The third entry in this trilogy still has some of the best action sequences ever and can actually get really tense at some moments. Now, with the new extended version, or “The More Fun Stuff Version,” we have an opportunity to see this awesome blockbuster on the big screen once again for a limited time. Granted, ‘No Way Home’ is available on home media at this time, this is one of those movies that you HAVE to see on the big screen. In this version, there are extra scenes included that do add a bit more into the initial movie’s story. And, to keep the suspense going, I am not going to spoil what the extra scenes are! One thing I will mention is make sure to stay during the end credits as usual since there is a different end-credits scene that shows a bit more of how Doctor Strange’s spell in the movie did affect people now remembering who Spider-Man is.

While re-watching ‘No Way Home’ on the big screen, I noticed some hidden references and easter eggs from previous MCU entries that I didn’t notice from watching it before. What I will tell you is that the extra scenes that are featured in this “More Fun Stuff Version” are really entertaining and, like I stated before, gives a bit more insight to the original version’s story. One thing I will always enjoy about this third entry is the number of crowd-pleasing moments featured throughout the movie. The villains in the movie are awesome and Willem Dafoe’s portrayal of the Green Goblin will always be iconic (either from this film or the 2002 ‘Spider-Man’ movie). And, of course, the biggest crowd-pleasing moment in the movie — seeing all three movie iterations of Spider-Man together. I remember when I first saw this movie in theaters, a lot of people cheered when they were finally revealed in the movie. Both versions are a great watch and it’s hard to figure out which version is better. ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ still delivers tense action, incredible visual effects, a lot of emotion and is one of the best that the MCU has to offer. ‘No Way Home’ ended up being the highest-grossing film of 2021, grossing $804.8 million domestically and a current worldwide total of $1.901 billion. The “More Fun Stuff Version” is the second Spider-Man released movie to get a re-release this year. A few months ago, Sony re-released its box office dud ‘Morbius’ for a short time (which didn’t exactly work out in their favor). ‘No Way Home’ is rated PG-13 for sequences of action/violence, some language and brief suggestive comments and the extended cut has a running time of 160 minutes, while the theatrical cut has a roughly 150 minute runtime. If you have seen either version of this movie, let me know on my Wyoming County Press Examiner reviews Facebook page!

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