It would be almost impossible to talk about this movie without some light spoilers, nothing you wouldn’t see in a trailer though, but be forewarned. After all the anticipation, the third Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man film is here, and it’s arguably not just the best of the trilogy, but the best in the entire franchise.

Spider-Man: No Way Home takes risks with its wide cast and somewhat convoluted plot, but they all pay off to make for a great superhero flick.

After Peter Parker’s secret identity as Spider-Man is revealed, he becomes desperate to protect his loved ones from the attention and danger it brings. He asks Doctor Strange to cast a spell on the whole that would undo it, but it gets interrupted and ends up dragging people from different realities into theirs. The current Spider-Man (played by Tom Holland) is then tasked with curing the various villains of their ailments before returning them to their proper realities.

Returning villains like Doc Ock and Green Goblin all retain their original actors, but Alfred Molina as Doc and Willam Dafoe as the Goblin almost steal the show. Past Spider-Men, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, also put in great performances and in addition to Tom Holland, they make a trio that plays really well off one another.

Like Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame before it, this movie does a great job of juggling all its characters, while also giving them a good amount of development. Past villains are humanized more and given their own arcs and their interactions with past Spider-Men is highly entertaining. Holland’s performance cements him as the best Spider of the bunch, so it’s a shame that he doesn’t want to return to the role anytime soon.

Disney is in the middle of changing the fabric of their Marvel Universe, and concepts like time travel and multiverses will become more prevalent in their shows and movies. They’ve fallen into some confusing pitfalls and contrivances on the way, but the highs, like this movie, have been worth it.

However, this film isn’t free of plot holes --  which isn’t surprising considering the concepts it’s dealing with. So while parts of it bothered me, it definitely didn’t ruin what is definitely a great film with a considerable amount of heart.

You would have a hard time finding another movie that has so much fanservice in it. Even then, it doesn’t feel like it’s insulting the audience’s intelligence or using past characters to cover up a bad script or lack of depth.

Disney will have a hard time topping this one, but it’s not a bad problem to have.

Author Bio:

Ulises Duenas is a contributing writer at Highbrow Magazine.

For Highbrow Magazine