Warning: Minor spoilers from “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and major spoilers from previous Spider-Man films.

After a year and a half of speculation and major anticipation from Marvel fans, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” finally arrived in theaters on Dec. 17. 

I have been looking forward to this movie since it was announced in 2020. As the third installment in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man films, Marvel Studios carried the burden of making this movie even more special than its predecessor. News kept coming out for the movie, furthering fans’ expectations for what’s to come and kept us wishing that the movie would arrive sooner. 

After watching one of the first showings of the film on Dec. 16, this movie undoubtedly lives up to the hype. 

As always, Holland does an amazing job, pun intended, as Peter and fully captures the essence of Spider-Man that everyone knows and loves.

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” continues right where “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (2019) left off. Peter Parker’s superhero identity has been revealed, putting himself and his loved ones at risk. As an attempt to fix this problem, Peter asks for help from Dr. Strange, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, which leads to another issue that damages the multiverse.  

This movie keeps viewers at the edge of their seats from beginning to end. As always, Holland does an amazing job, pun intended, as Peter and fully captures the essence of Spider-Man that everyone knows and loves. 

MJ, played by Zendaya, and Ned Leeds, played by Jacob Batalon, return to help Peter throughout this rigorous journey. The chemistry between Holland, Zendaya and Batalon is still strong in this movie and shows how much these characters have grown since their first appearances in “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017). 

Since the plot revolves around the multiverse, villains from previous Spider-Man films return to make Peter’s situation more difficult. In particular, the villains Doc Ock, played by Alfred Molina, Green Goblin, played by Willem Dafoe, and Electro, played by Jamie Foxx, return to expand the stories from their last “Spider-Man” films. 

Viewers can feel the weight of the problems that Peter carried throughout the trilogy, which was missing in the previous two films. For the first time in a while, we see Peter deal with the consequences of his actions and can not rely on other superheroes, such as Iron Man, to resolve the situation. Similar to many Spider-Man stories, the theme of responsibility is important to the film, and the movie doesn’t shy away from Peter using only his physical and intellectual strengths to make heroic choices.  

While the movie has many positives, the CGI effects fall flat. The CGI, especially during some of the large fight scenes, was too apparent and distracted me from the scene. 

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” truly feels like a celebration of all the Spider-Man movies and brings back many familiar faces to please the fans.

In contrast, I highly preferred the practical fight scenes that reminded me of the choreography from “Spider-Man” (2002). I also found the transition to the multiverse storyline in “No Way Home” from the cliffhanger at the end of “Far From Home” to be rushed, and I wished the final installment focused more on Peter’s daily life.  

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” truly feels like a celebration of all the Spider-Man movies and brings back many familiar faces to please the fans. Director Jon Watts takes inspiration from many Spider-Man storylines and combines them to make it one of the most ambitious stories told for the character. 

Throughout this movie, I felt like I was reliving my childhood. It reminded me of the plenty of times I would sit in front of a TV and just watch the Sam Raimi and Marc Webb Spider-Man films for hours. It also reminded me of why I love Peter’s character so much. This movie is definitely a must-watch and will go down in history as one of the best superhero films of all time. It is now my favorite Marvel movie, and I will definitely be rewatching it countless times.