Peter Parker’s secret is out and the only hope he has is magic and it’s not really any hope at all.

Embarking on this rewatch has given me a new understanding, and love, of Spider-Man as a character and these movies as a whole. They’re one of the rarest of modern cinematic treats: a series that starts good and gets even better.

This movie does the near impossible. It closes the circuit on the first Tom Holland trilogy, provides sweet and oddly poignant closure for his predecessors and continues the Spider-Verse’s tradition of being some of the only Marvel movies making the multiverse fun. It also breaks your heart.

Key to all of this are the three leads. Zendaya’s comic timing is superb and her laconic, determined MJ is front and centre so much more here. Jacob Batalon’s Ned too gets more to do and the inherent sweetness of the trio they form with Peter is the heart of the movie. They’re smart, funny, kind kids. They think they can deal with anything and they, almost, can. I defy anyone to watch the final scenes here and not tear up, as they face down impossible cosmic odds, win and pay an impossible price anyway. Holland especially brings a gentle, determined kindness to Peter that’s Spider-Man and Peter Parker to a tee. The ‘Old Parker Luck’ has so often been used as a cudgel to hold to continuity and there’s a sense of that here to be sure. But there’s also a tough, brave, kind man finding acceptance and joy in what he’s born to do. Right now, he’s doing it alone, but as we see from the Spider-Verse movies, that won’t last. Nor should it. Peter’s too good a guy to be alone forever.

The movie’s attitude towards continuity is remarkable and complex. There are sops to the larger MCU here, most notably in a slightly redundant cameo from Doctor Strange and in May’s fate. The latter could and in a lesser movie, would have played the same way the final act of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 does, sacrificing a woman on the altar of Canon. Instead, here, it feels like the consequence of unprecedented events and the goodness that defines the Parker family. May’s as much a hero as her nephew and the sacrifices they make power the story and Peter’s life. I wish this one didn’t happen, but I understand why it did.

But the movie finds its true peace with canon through its guests. Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church and Jamie Foxx all bring welcome nuance to their villains, and all end up in very different places. Molina’s Otto, finally free of his tentacles, is especially good as is Foxx getting a chance to play something other than a deeply stereotypical nerd.

But the other stars here are Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire as the other Peters. Maguire’s laconic, flat affect has turned into something careful and kinder that makes the gag about him looking like a cool youth pastor land all the harder. This Peter walks softly through the world while Garfield’s has learned to at great personal cost. That final act of his final movie is resolved, incredibly, here in a moment that liberates both he and MJ from continuity. One saves, the other is saved.

Verdict: No Way Home is remarkable. It’s poignant, sweet, terribly sad and exuberantly funny often at the same time. It’s a capstone for the Holland era and the end of a chapter. It’s a new perspective on canon, a return to it and a refutation of it all at once. it’s amazing, like Spider-Man and I can’t wait to see what comes next. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart