The newest Spider-Man film finally hit theaters last month, and it was well worth the wait. I tried my hardest to not set my expectations too high, and I can happily say that No Way Home exceeded those expectations by a colossal amount. There is so much that I want to say about this film and how incredible it was, but I will do it without spoiling anything in case you still have not had a chance to see it.

Quick spoiler-free summary: After the identity of Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is revealed to the world, he seeks out the help of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). After a spell goes wrong and shatters the multiverse, enemies of Spider-Man from other universes arrive and Peter Parker must learn what it really means to be Spider-Man.

Tom Holland’s performance in this film was his best yet in the MCU. The evolution of his Peter Parker from his first appearance up until now has been fantastic to watch, he has developed his character so beautifully. This movie really gave Holland a lot to work with in terms of further developing his character in a way that gives him a lot more depth and dimension than we’ve seen in him in past films. One of my other favorite performances was undoubtedly Zendaya as MJ, as this was the first time she really had something to do in these films. I have always felt that she deserved more screen time and more importance, and giving her these things in this film finally allowed her acting to shine and gave us an incredible performance. Similarly, Jacob Batalon as Ned also had more to do this time around and he was fantastic. The dynamic between these three characters was one of my favorite parts of the movie. Seeing Alfred Molina and Jamie Foxx play their iconic villains again was such a treat, their performances were amazing as always, but Willem Dafoe’s performance as Green Goblin absolutely outshone the rest of the villains. I could talk about Dafoe’s Green Goblin in this movie forever, he somehow made the character even more deranged and menacing than he was in his Spider-Man movies. Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange was great as usual, as well as Jon Faverau and Marisa Tomei. 

Jon Watts has had fantastic direction throughout the whole Spider-Man trilogy, but I thought this was cinematically the best looking of the films. Every shot felt purposeful and you can tell that Watts and his team care greatly for how they want the finished product to come out. Hopefully he stays on to direct the next MCU Spider-Man trilogy, because I think he does a terrific job. 

Michael Giacchino’s score was amazing, which is not surprising as everything he does is perfect. It blended in well with the scenes when it needed to, as well as soared with triumph and heroism when needed. He also incorporated music from the past 2 Spider-Man movie universes due to the returning characters from those films, and hearing those again while seeing those characters on screen was fantastic. Giacchino has previously worked on both other MCU Spider-Man movies, Doctor Strange, and many other films including my personal favorite of his scores, The Incredibles.

The events of this film will change the future of the MCU drastically, and especially the future of Peter Parker. There is so much more that I want to say about No Way Home, but I can definitely say that this is my favorite Spider-Man film ever. It is full of emotion, heart, comedy, and heroism. If you have not yet had a chance to see it, especially if you are a Spider-Man fan, I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.