It not only had to neatly tie up a mini-arc within the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe, it had to do that with a gargantuan-sized story teeming with returning characters plus the addition of those from five previous Spider-Man movies that were not part of this specific world.Despite all the odds, what could’ve easily been an overstuffed superhero epic, Spider-Man: No Way Home is actually a thematically focused action story with genuine pathos and thrilling whoop-whoop moments.It’s what you want from a superhero movie, and Spider-Man: No Way Home nails what so many of them struggle to do – an electrifying final act with real stakes, both physical and emotional.Directed by Jon Watts from a screenplay by trilogy scribes Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, Spider-Man: No Way Home picks up moments after the previous film.Peter’s (Tom Holland) secret identity has been exposed as Spider-Man and he’s framed as a murderer. He becomes the most famous person in the world, a divisive figure either revered as a hero or loathed as a villain by those who would throw bricks through his window with misspelt threats.Which puts cramp on his future plans, including going to college with girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and bestie Ned (Jacob Batalon).And because Peter is a high school kid without a sense of proportion, he decides to ask Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help. Peter wants the world to forget he’s Spider-Man but the pair bumble the spell which causes rips in the multiverse fabric.Now – and this is all in the trailers and we’ll not spoil anything that isn’t in those promos – instead of everyone forgetting Peter is Spider-Man, the spell has transported people who have that knowledge from other universes into this one.There’s a cavalcade of familiar and menacing faces, including Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin from Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man. Elsewhere, Jamie Foxx’s Electro, Thomas Haden Church’s Sandman, Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock and Rhys Ifan’s Lizard all show up, one each from the five previous Spider-Man moviesThe frisson of excitement for these returning characters is often balanced with a huge dose of scepticism that one movie could possibly accommodate three movie universes – and yet it does.Watts’s balance of all these disparate elements is truly impressive, melding together characters that weren’t created to coexist and establish chemistry between them. It is actually thrilling to see them all interact with each other and with the stalwarts from Holland’s Spider-Man movies.Foxx’s charisma is blinding while Dafoe’s deranged Green Goblin performance remains chilling.It’s not just that Watts and team have managed to pull off the near-impossible that makes Spider-Man: No Way Home an accomplished film, it’s that the movie is underpinned by a spirit that is all the more profound right now: goodness.Holland’s Peter Parker is a true-hearted hero whose first instinct isn’t to condemn and kill but to give second chances. It’s not a one-dimensional heroism because that goodness will be tested in this film and the complexity of the characterisation and Holland’s performance is one of the things that elevates Spider-Man: No Way Home.Rating: 4/5Spider-Man: No Way Home is in cinemas nowShare your movies and TV obsessions | @wenleima
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