I know it feels like the multiverse battle royale known as Spider-Man: No Way Home premiered on our screens just yesterday, but it actually swung into theaters about two years ago. I may be in the minority when it comes to rewatching the (alleged) finale of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy, but it’s a super fun movie with incredible cameos, heartbreaking moments, and a ton of funny jokes.
However, as much as I still love the movie as a whole, I can admit that there are some moments that feel a bit off when you rewatch it. Because there were so many moments where the audience clapped and cheered (I’m looking at you, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire), it can seem like there’s a manufactured pause before the actors say their lines as if they were anticipating the theater’s reaction.
Well, it seems like those manufactured moments were written into the script as Charlie Cox, a.k.a. Daredevil, explained how No Way Home director Jon Watts set up his surprise cameo for the movie during a panel at MegaCon. Before Cox says his first line in the film, the audience can see Daredevil’s signature cane before the camera swoops around to reveal his face. During the panel, Cox elaborated on the moment by explaining that Watts wanted him to watch for the camera to in front of him before he spoke and, when he rightfully asked why he shouldn’t just say his line normally, Watts said they had to pause because the audience was going to get “really excited.”
After watching Cox explain this manufactured pause, I went back and watched the scene for myself and OOOF! You can actually feel the silence before Cox says his line and it’s so awkward to sit through when you’re not watching it with 50 screaming Marvel fans.
Now, on some level, I completely understand why Watts and the No Way Home team would want to create these moments for fans to lose their minds before being pulled back into the story. I’ve been in the audience for Marvel’s biggest moments—from the first Avengers battle to Captain America picking up Thor’s hammer. These ground-shaking, throw-your-hands-up-and-cheer moments are so fun to experience when you’re with a group. But the thing that separates those moments from the ones in No Way Home is that the battle and the hammer pick-up are not super awkward to rewatch. Those moments are still iconic because they were shot organically and didn’t leave any awkward space where the audience was supposed to cheer.
Honestly, rewatching some moments in No Way Home gives the same energy as those Big Bang Theory clips where the laugh track is removed. It’s important to care about your fans’ reactions to a movie, but it shouldn’t be prioritized over making a movie that can be watched over and over again.
Let’s hope the Marvel films released in 2023 have less awkward pauses and more rerwatchable moments.
(featured image: Disney)
