How Spider-Man: No Way Home Pays Homage To The Sam Raimi Movies

The following information may or may not come as a surprise to some, but superhero movies were around and even thrived long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe arrived on the scene. The MCU has done much to bring the once-niche appeal of superheroes out into the mainstream, but in many ways it was merely standing on the shoulders of many, many films that came before and did all the hard work. One could say that Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" movies ran so the MCU could end up circling back to where it all began and remind everybody how great those movies are ... or something like that.

Out of the many reasons why "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is already looking as if it will light the box office on fire, one of the most exciting to longtime fans is the idea of taking "crossovers" beyond merely different franchises, but wholly separate continuities as well. "No Way Home" is confirmed to feature the MCU debut of previous iterations of Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Electro, Sandman, and (possibly) more, but it turns out the Jon Watts-directed blockbuster has yet another trick up its sleeve in terms of paying homage to the classic Raimi movies that came before.

If you haven't started your marathon of the Sam Raimi "Spider-Man" trilogy yet (yes, I'm including the third film!) ahead of the release of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," now would probably be an ideal time to do so. Those films are held up as some of the best of the genre for their abundant character work, unabashed earnestness, and plenty of vintage Raimi camerawork through his collaboration with the unparalleled cinematographer, Bill Pope. One such staple throughout his "Spider-Man" films (and, indeed, much of the rest of his filmography) happens to be the patented zoom-ins and sudden cuts that may seem rather old-fashioned to younger viewers, but genuinely elevate highly emotional moments when used purposefully and at the right moments. For instance, Raimi's excellent Western "The Quick and the Dead" makes brilliant use of this method to incredible effect.

If Spider-Man actor Tom Holland is to be believed, we may be in for more of this in "No Way Home." In an interview with Den of Geek (via The Direct), Holland indicated that Raimi fans ought to be on the lookout for some very familiar-looking camerawork. Check out the video below.

"I think also, something that Jon Watts did really well is, he would call it the 'Raimi cam,' and he would do these really quick smash push-ins on characters, which is something that Sam Raimi, I suppose, was quite famous for. So Jon definitely paid respect to the previous two movies."

For the moment, let's set aside his qualifier of "I suppose" and the mistaken reference to only the previous "two" movies when there are, in fact, three, which worryingly suggests that the young actor hasn't actually seen many Raimi movies. Otherwise, it's pretty exciting to hear that the legend of Sam Raimi is being kept alive in the MCU, even before the legendary filmmaker himself unleashes "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" on unsuspecting audiences later in 2022.

Time just keeps ticking closer and closer to the release of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," in theaters on December 17, 2021.