Spider-Man: No Way Home Review - 7 Ups & 3 Downs

1. The Multiverse Plot Is Pretty Clunky

No Way Home's jumbled multiverse storyline really feels like a means to an end - something you're not supposed to think too much about that allows the movie to deliver a colossal helping of quality fan service.

With the multiverse rift causing numerous legacy antagonists to spill into the world of Holland's Spider-Man, much of the film is spent dealing with the unwieldy collision of conflicting cinematic universes.

As such, numerous characters - especially the returning villains - exposit endlessly about their pasts to ensure no audience member is left confused, and so this constant recapping eats up a lot of screen time that could be spent doing, well, literally anything else.

Beyond that, the film's approach to the multiverse simply pales in comparison to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which was so much more adventurous, creative, and downright fun.

No Way Home is constantly torn between Peter's emotional arc - namely learning to take responsibility for his actions - and the demands of a massive nostalgia-fest event film.

Characters are as such subbed in and out as is convenient, in a story that gets dangerously close to swallowing its own tail. Thankfully what the narrative leads to is well worth it, even if you couldn't be blamed for wishing it had more nuance and intrigue.

But these gripes aside, here's everything that No Way Home gets right...