A spectacular swing into the Spider-Verse.

The best part of twenty years has passed since Spider-Man made his big screen debut, and what a ride it’s been. From dead Uncle Bens to Emo Peter Parkers to a once unthinkable intro into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the franchise has certainly had its ups and downs over those two decades, yet everything – both good and bad – has led to this moment right here.

At many points along the way, it looked certain that Peter Parker was done as a viable box office commodity, yet it’s testament to the character’s enduring appeal that we’re here all these years and setbacks later with Spidey in the healthiest position he’s ever been in.

It’s a position that few other fictional characters (comic book or otherwise) are lucky enough to find themselves in, and it’s one that Spider-Man: No Way Home wisely capitalises on.

With Spider-Man’s (Tom Holland) secret identity now known to the world, our friendly neighbourhood Spidey is unmasked and struggling to separate his private life with that of a world-saving superhero. When Peter enlists the help of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), the stakes become even more treacherous, forcing him to re-evaluate what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

While I’m sure no one will claim it’s been perfect, Tom Holland’s Home trilogy has managed to resuscitate a hero that, after the disaster of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, looked out for the count. In going back to basics, folding him into the MCU, and offering a take on the iconic character we’d never seen before, Marvel Studios (and Sony, of course) started Peter Parker on the road to redemption, one that has led right up to No Way Home.

As both the conclusion of Tom Holland’s first chapter as Spider-Man and the bridge to potentially something even more exciting down the line, the film is impeccable, yet what gives it that extra edge is its clear affection for the wider Spider-Verse and the delicate way it ties up threads from previous Spider-Man outings.

With familiar foes from Spider-films past brought back into the fold and all manner of Easter eggs in play, a huge portion of No Way Home is undoubtedly pure fan service, yet it’s all executed in entirely the right way. The result is an affectionately penned love letter to fans, but one that never loses sight of the importance of telling a good story.

Pushed as a huge villain-fest, you’d be forgiven for expecting No Way Home to feel rather overstuffed and unwieldy, falling into the same trap that got the likes of Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, however, the results are far more personal and small-scale than that. This isn’t a film that’s epic for epic’s sake, rather an ambitious story that never forgets its heart.

Cutting to the core of Peter Parker’s character like no movie before it, No Way Home has a hold on its hero in a way that so often goes missing on the big screen. Leaning into fan service but never relying on it, the film offers a story that serves Spider-Man first and foremost, taking him on a journey of growth and discovery that’s happy to play the nostalgia game, yet never lets it become a distraction.

Less a Spider-Man tale than a Peter Parker one, No Way Home digs deep and makes sure to prioritise the person behind the spandex mask. Of course, there are huge elements to the plot that take things to some far-out, multiversal places, yet the film uses all this to supplement the story and to inform Peter’s journey.

For his part in this, Tom Holland gives it everything for a performance that encapsulates both Peter Parker and Spider-Man perfectly. With his best turn in the role to date, Holland shows just how much of a prodigious talent he is in front of the camera, as he manages to convey the pain and torment of his character beautifully while never losing the affable energy that has thus far been a mainstay of his time as Spidey.

Around him, the extended friend and classmate network that Peter had in Homecoming and Far From Home has been scaled down somewhat, leaving just MJ and Ned (and Flash, kind of) as his closest allies. With Peter’s unmasking and subsequent isolation a key part of the film’s plot, this reduced ensemble makes perfect sense and allows his two closest friends to shine in a way they haven’t so far.

Moving beyond the comedic sidekick shtick of the first two movies, Ned really comes into his own here, with Jacob Batalon doing sterling work rounding out his character while maintaining his lovable charm. Although a good deal of the film’s humour still stems from Ned’s quirks, his place in the narrative is as strong as it’s ever been, and, alongside MJ, plays a huge part in Peter’s story.

However, it’s through Zendaya’s MJ that No Way Home finds its heart. From her sarky loner beginnings in Homecoming to her blossoming romance with Peter in Far From Home, Zendaya’s role within these films has steadily grown, as she finally gets to show us all exactly how far she’s developed as an actor.

Around this friendship group, Benedict Cumberbatch is as fantastic as ever, showing just how much he’s grown into the Doctor Strange role over the years, while Marisa Tomei really comes into her own as Aunt May, playing a huge part in Peter’s hero journey and providing a fair amount of the film’s emotional punch.

Of course, all these good guys are fine enough, however, we all know it’s the film’s villains that represent No Way Home’s biggest hook and will almost certainly be what a good portion of the discourse will revolve around.

Bringing together the great and the good (and the not so good) of Spider-Man’s cinematic rogues gallery, No Way Home’s collection of Spider-foes is mightily impressive, and while having such an abundance feels like a recipe for disaster, the film miraculously manages to service them all with real development and genuinely satisfying character arcs.

Scripted with a surprising level of balance, all five of the film’s bad guys play their part in proceedings, yet with some getting more of the limelight than others, there’s little doubt who the key players are. While Jamie Foxx has the biggest redemption of the group, with his formerly goofy Electro now presented in a far more authentic light, it will come as no surprise that the film’s true villainous standouts are Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock and Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn.

Given the satisfying closure you wouldn’t have thought possible when their respective films concluded, the two seasoned pros not only pick up where they left off all those years ago but manage to take things a step further. With both still at the top of their game, there are few out there as good at what they do as Molina and Dafoe, and so they prove once again, giving an absolute masterclass in comic book villainy to take their already iconic characters to another level entirely.

For his part in bringing all of this to life and for his consistently impressive work across the entire Home trilogy, props must go to Jon Watts. For a man who practically got booed out of the room when he was announced as director for the new Fantastic Four film, what he’s managed to achieve over the course of these three movies, and culminating with this one here, should finally silence any doubters.

Swinging straight into things mere seconds after the unmasking events of Far From Home, the film initially struggles a bit to find its rhythm with a first act that, while fun, feels choppy, as Watts takes his time to find his groove. However, when No Way Home settles down and the action heats up, it just doesn’t stop.

With fantastic action and some truly spectacular visuals, Watts blends together classic Spider-Man antics with the mind-bending wizardry of Doctor Strange to fine affect, yet never forgets to anchor things emotionally. The balancing act isn’t an easy one, and there are certainly moments when all the multiverse shenanigans threaten to untether the film from its heart, yet Watts ability to hold it all together should not be overlooked.

The result is an absolute triumph and one of the most satisfying Spider-Man films to date. Not only for those who have bought into Tom Holland’s Peter Parker from the moment he stole Cap’s shield in Civil War, but for anyone who has followed Spidey’s big screen story since Tobey Maguire first threw on the spandex, No Way Home offers the kind of reward and payoff for fans that few films of this size (not called Endgame) can touch.

Free from the shackles of the past and with a new lease of life within the MCU, Spider-Man finds himself in perhaps the strongest place he’s ever been movie-wise, and with No Way Home operating beautifully as both an end and a new beginning, the future is limitless.

If you’re going to do fan service, this is how you do it. Widening the scope and upping the ante on its predecessors, No Way Home is certainly bigger and bolder than any of the MCU’s Spider-Man outings to date, yet it never loses site of its humour or heart. With Tom Holland fully cementing himself as the Peter Parker and bolstered by some truly incredible visuals, No Way Home delivers joyous levels of action, emotion, and surprises to place itself as one of the MCU’s finest instalments and the moment we finally got the definitive big screen Spider-Man we’ve been waiting for.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is in cinemas worldwide now.