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Category:    Home > Reviews > Superhero > Action > Adventure > Comedy > Post-Modernism > Science Fiction > Magic > Spider-Man: No Way Home 4K (2021/Marvel/Sony 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)

Spider-Man: No Way Home 4K (2021/Marvel/Sony 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)



4K Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B Sound: A-/B+ Extras: B- Film: B+



When we last left Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson had shockingly revealed his secret identity to the world, and on giant video screens worldwide! The ever-great J.K. Simmons was back as the ever-self-centered and obnoxious head of The Daily Bugle, which he plays to the hilt without going overboard, but wait... this was from other Spider-Man films, not with Tom Holland, so when this first happened, I thought they were just being smart and bringing back a great actor that could not be topped. Instead, it was a big clue that Jon Watt's Spider-Man: No Way Home 4K (2021) was not just going to be another Spider-Adventure.


Instead, the multi-verse was coming to Spider-Man's world and to everyone's shock and delight, the makers decided to go all out and the result is one of the greatest films in the history of the genre, as well as action films all around. Holland and the cast are fully set in their roles (much like the last few Daniel Craig James Bond films) and the mix of chemistry, raw talent and energy is something we rarely see in any film, commercial blockbusters or otherwise. Peter Parker (Holland) has to get him and MJ (Zendaya) out of danger, crowds and other trouble ASAP, so away they go away.


While trying to figure out what is going on, juggling all this, possible admission to MIT, wondering if he'll known what privacy will ever again be and just dealing with shock, he decides to visit Doctor Strange (the always on-the-money Benedict Cumberbatch) for help in what is not adding up. Strange has an idea and when Peter interrupts one of Strange's mega-spells, time and space rip apart and anyone who knows Peter, as or not as Spider-Man, is coming to get him. From there, all kinds of surprises for everyone on and off screen just keep rolling in for the entire film and never let up.


Cheers to the Chris McKenna/Erik Sommers screenplay for not missing a trick, never getting off track, losing control or hitting any false notes. It shows a true love of Spider-Man, his world, the3 characters and history. Then of all the times to do this, the COVID pandemic hit, so when the film arrived, it was the hit that took best advantage of this the way Star Wars in 1977 took advantage of the Vietnam fiasco, again by coincidence. Both are those rare hits were it is as financially massive as it is a very successful film unto itself.


The cast is great, the behind-the-scenes gang are working at the top of their craft, but I have to give a special thanks to Amy Pascal, the unsung hero of all the Spider-Man films at Sony, who has worked tirelessly to make them happen and work. As much as her spiritual counterpart Barbara Broccoli over at the James Bond films, she's able to see what's going on better than most producers around and serious fans cannot thank her enough.


I'll stop there on the summary, but this is up there with the best Marvel and DC movies ever made, plus any other superhero genre films since the genre launched in 1940 in serial form and it is a pleasure to see Hollywood can still get it right and in the largest way possible.



Now for playback performance. The 2160p HECV/H.265, 2.35 X 1, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image looks as good as the previous Holland/Spider-Man films, all shot on professional HD equipment. The earlier films with Tobey MacGuire and Andrew Garfield were all shot on photochemical film (35mm film, plus larger-frame formats like VistaVision) and remain some of the best-looking films ever made in the action and superhero genres. Director of Photography Mauro Fiore, A.S.C., remains in top form here and the 4K image really delivers, save a few normal shots where it is just normal drama visuals.


The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on the regular Blu-ray is not bad, but you are just missing too much visual subtlety, detail, color range and impact that is not here versus the 4K version. Its passable otherwise.


The Dolby Atmos 11.1 (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) on the 4K edition ranges from good and very well recorded in dialogue/joke-based moments, to state-of-the-art immersive sound design that delivers nicely and at its best, is as good as any commercial film around. I just wish there were more such moments in the film, but the sound serves the narrative, not the other way like dozens and dozens of bad would-be blockbusters we suffer through yearly. The makers of the Spider-Man films don't make those kinds of mistakes.


The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on the Blu-ray is surprisingly not a 7.1 mixdown, but a still-effective mix that has its moments, but of course, cannot match the Atmos and its sheer wall of active sound at its best.


Extras include Digital Copy, while the discs add some of the best set of extras I have run into for a blockbuster for a long time and (per the press release) include a never-long-enough Bloopers & Gag Reel

  • Alternate Reality Easter Eggs

  • 7 Behind the Scenes Featurettes

    • Action Choreography Across the Multiverse

    • A Multiverse of Miscreants

    • A Spectacular Spider-Journey with Tom Holland

    • Enter Strange

    • Graduation Day

    • Realities Collide, Spiders Unite

    • Weaving Jon Watt's Web

  • 2 Special Panels (both outstanding):

    • The Sinister Summit - Villains Panel: Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, and Jamie Foxx sit down for a roundtable discussion of their sinister characters.

    • A Meeting of the Spiders - Heroes Panel: The Heroic Spider heroes sit down for a roundtable discussion on Peter, Stunts, and skintight suits.

  • 3 Stories From The Daily Bugle

    • Spider-Menace Strikes Again

    • Spider Sycophant

    • Web of Lies

  • and 2 Stunt Scenes Previsualization

    • Apartment Fight

    • Shield Fight


I just wish there were more. However, the film is a big winner and if you somehow have not seen it, put it on your list ASAP!!!



- Nicholas Sheffo


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