Every Sony Marvel movie ranked from worst to best
By Wesley Bell
5. Spider-Man: No Way Home
Picking up directly where Far From Home ends, the film starts with Peter frantically trying to escape Times Square with MJ after his identity gets revealed and he gets blamed for the death of Mysterio. Months later, Peter, Ned, and MJ try to get admitted to MIT for college but get rejected because of the negative attention Spider-Man is receiving. Seeking a solution, Peter goes to Doctor Strange to have him erase everyone’s memories. However, the spell goes wrong, causing a rift in the multiverse.
The rift brings villains from other universes, including Sandman, Doc Ock, Electro, Green Goblin, and Lizard. After discovering that they would die upon getting sent back, Peter goes against Doctor Strange and tries to find a way to save them. The villains turn on Peter, led by Green Goblin, who kills May. While using Strange’s sling ring to try and find Peter, Ned and MJ stumble across other versions of Spider-Man, played by Tobey and Andrew, also brought there by the spell.
After finding Peter at the school, the other Spider-Men offer him some words of wisdom and agree to help him complete the cures. Together, they head to the newly constructed Statue of Liberty, where they work together to stop the villains and help them before Peter sends them all back home. After Doctor Strange confirms that the rift in the multiverse is still open, Peter decides the only solution is to have everyone, including Ned and MJ, forget he exists to save it.
The movie was the first in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to explore the multiverse after it was introduced in Loki, bringing together all three live-action Spider-Man for the first time and firmly establishing those characters and their films as a part of the Marvel Cinematic multiverse. The movie features some of Jon Watt’s best direction, including one of the most brutal fights in the MCU between Peter and Green Goblin, with Holland and Willem Dafoe doing a lot of the stunt work themselves, adding to the realism of the battle.
The movie also handles the other two Spider-Men extraordinarily well. While it would be easy to have them as cameos, both have significant roles in the story. Andrew’s Peter gets a touching scene where he ends up saving MJ after she’s targeted by Green Goblin, clearly healing some trauma he had over not saving Gwen. Maguire’s moment comes when he prevents Tom’s Peter from killing Green Goblin in revenge for him killing May.
Despite the presence of the two other Spider-Men, the film still very much belongs to Tom Holland. Although the previous films in the trilogy have instances that allow him to show off his range, this film features his most emotional performance, especially in his final scene with May. The film serves as a great final chapter in Tom’s trilogy and a celebration of the character overall.