Spider-Man: No Way Home
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: December 17, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
71
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 60 Critic Reviews
Positive:
50
Mixed:
10
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
BBCNicholas BarberDec 17, 2021
The film's real superpowers are its endearing performances, and a screenplay by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers that interweaves teen-angst soap opera and cosmic calamity with all the goofy logic and tonal nimbleness that make the best superhero comics so appealing. Read full review
100
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldDec 15, 2021
This is how superhero movies are supposed to be: thrilling and funny and moving and full of popcorn-fueled joy. Read full review
100
EmpireDan JolinDec 15, 2021
A monumentally successful Spider-instalment which pulls off a tricky and ambitious narrative trick with all the grace of a balcony-top backflip. At the risk of getting cheesy, it won't just make you cheer, it'll make you want to hug your friends, too. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerDec 17, 2021
So often in these big multi-villain events, the hero gets swallowed up, but here he defines the film. If this really is Holland’s last outing, then he leaves having kept true to the spirit of his Spidey. Read full review
88
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanDec 14, 2021
For more casual consumers of the costumed comic-book superhero’s exploits, mileage may vary. But there’s a whole lot to like here. Read full review
88
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiDec 13, 2021
It’s the gargantuan and deeply satisfying Spider-Man: No Way Home in which the former Billy Elliot proves he’s more than a teen idol with a perfect American accent. This time, his Peter’s got gravitas, emotional oomph, brutality, believable love, an anguished scene in the rain! The movie is the actor’s best performance yet, in anything, Spandex or no. Read full review
88
USA TodayBrian TruittDec 13, 2021
Director Jon Watts’ third Spidey film is a rousing entry that doubles as a love letter to the comic-book character, a film very much about second chances and a cleverly crafted reminder of that famous adage: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattDec 16, 2021
The way that the movie eventually manages to bridge all those multiplicities and pull them into focus feels both obvious and ingenious. Read full review
83
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzDec 14, 2021
What I can say, without angering (almost) anyone, is that Spider-Man: No Way Home is both a gigantic act of franchise-mad hubris, and a ridiculous amount of fun. Read full review
83
ConsequenceLiz Shannon MillerDec 13, 2021
Separated from the most exciting/controversial/unexpected moments in play, and without the element of surprise, does No Way Home hold up as a good story well told? The answer is yes to a degree…but it could have gone further. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeDec 18, 2021
It’s all very meta and self-referential; screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers hoover up memorable lines from past movies and serve them with a flourish and an exaggerated wink to the audience. It’s also a good deal of fun. Read full review
80
CineVueChristopher MachellDec 17, 2021
No Way Home feels like a full and complete film in a way that earlier MCU entries failed to. No Way Home takes a cynical corporate elevator pitch and uses it to examine what it means to be Spider-Man in a world where Holland’s Peter isn’t the only hero. Read full review
80
We Got This CoveredScott CampbellDec 15, 2021
Spider-Man: No Way Home occasionally creaks under the weight of its own ambition, but it's a monumentally entertaining installment of MCU multiversal madness that fans are going to adore. Read full review
80
Time OutHelen O'HaraDec 15, 2021
Peter Parker’s second Spider-verse adventure suggests that the concept just works – brilliantly. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeDec 15, 2021
What makes the thing really fly – and it does still fly – is the witty energy of Jon Watts’s direction and the fizzy chemistry between the core actors. Read full review
80
CNETJennifer BissetDec 14, 2021
And if you're not intimately acquainted with two decades of previous Spider-Man films? If you're here for simply a well-oiled and entertaining Marvel (and Sony) flick, you won't be disappointed. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeDec 14, 2021
Returning director Jon Watts — whose bright, slightly dorky touch lends a kind of continuity to this latest trilogy — wrangles this unwieldy premise into a consistently entertaining superhero entry, tying up two decades’ of loose ends in the process. Read full review
80
Screen DailyTim GriersonDec 13, 2021
Once No Way Home finds its rhythm, the picture builds to a thoughtful, touching final act that does justice to the heroism and self-sacrifice that has always been central to Spider-Man’s appeal. Read full review
80
CNNBrian LowryDec 13, 2021
Briskly balancing a dizzying assortment of parts, Marvel's latest (by way of Sony) looks destined to do what only a spider can -- namely, lure vast numbers of fans into its web. Read full review
80
IGNAmelia EmberwingDec 13, 2021
Spider-Man: No Way Home bounces from hilarious to hurt with ease as both the darkest and funniest MCU Spider-Man entry to date. Read full review
75
ObserverOliver JonesDec 20, 2021
The pace is always zippy but rarely hyper, and there is just enough space for the film’s many emotional beats to resonate. Read full review
75
Film ThreatRob RectorDec 17, 2021
It’s nowhere near the intimacy of Homecoming and Far from Home. Still, considering the heavy lifting it’s required to perform, it makes for a fitting grand finale for one of Marvel’s (and Sony’s) most enduring heroes. Read full review
75
ABC NewsPeter TraversDec 17, 2021
Tom Holland is better than ever in his surprise-packed, third solo outing as a teen hero in a onesie who’s out to save the world and a faltering pandemic box office. But this time the generic thrills are tempered with genuine emotion. Good one, Spidey. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliDec 16, 2021
The supercharged CGI effects are fine and the battles are eye-popping, but the character interactions make No Way Home work. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsDec 16, 2021
Holland provides the glue and the webbing for the latest Spidey outing Spider-Man: No Way Home. He’s physically nimble — he’s soon to play Fred Astaire in a biopic — quick-witted with his darting comic timing and an all-around easygoing presence. When the movie treats the mayhem and brutality for real, he’s there with the right degree of anguish. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleDec 15, 2021
The filmmakers put their faith in a character, not fireworks, and the result is big blockbuster that feels more like a sweet little movie. Read full review
75
Original-CinJim SlotekDec 15, 2021
Spider-Man: No Way Home is a comfort-food present to long-time fans, like a cross-over episode of one or more beloved TV series, with winks, call-backs, trivia, cameos, super-villains and copious destruction. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyDec 15, 2021
No Way Home is overlong and its various temporal loop-the-loops start to wear out their welcome...All that said, there’s an imaginativeness to No Way Home, along with a ton of energy, that makes the viewer cut it a lot of slack. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoDec 14, 2021
Yes, of course, “No Way Home” is incredibly calculated, a way to make more headlines after killing off so many of its event characters in Phase 3, but it’s also a film that’s often bursting with creative joy. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Dec 14, 2021
Suffice to say, No Way Home hits its hoot-and-holler beats about as skillfully as Endgame did. There are moments here that will probably inspire comparable choruses of applause; by opening a wormhole into the multiverse of past Spider-Man movies, Marvel and Sony have made something like an all-purpose Spider-Man sequel, shrewdly designed to hit a whole range of nostalgia centers. Read full review
75
UproxxMike RyanDec 13, 2021
It’s the giving season, so, sure, give us some fan service. But the story is still there (though the second act does start to feel a bit long) and I felt some actual emotion, even with all this chaos swirling around. And in the end Spider-Man: No Way Home somehow finds a way to keep it all together. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperDec 13, 2021
There’s nothing new or particularly memorable about the serviceable CGI and practical effects, but we remain invested in the outcome in large part because Holland remains the best of the cinematic Spider-Men, while Zendaya lends heart and smarts and warmth to every moment she’s onscreen. Read full review
70
SlateAllegra FrankFeb 22, 2022
The movie’s best surprise in the end isn’t so much that lifelong fans got the chance to see such an unprecedented crossover take place: It’s that it managed to give not just a character, but an actor another chance to make a great mark on one of the best roles in superhero stories. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternDec 16, 2021
Mr. Holland carries the day with unaffected charm, the good stuff is really good and improbably joyous, and the writers have found a plausible way of pushing the reset button for a new round of high-flying web-slinging. The possibilities are nothing less than multifarious. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla DargisDec 16, 2021
Her casting as MJ and her expanded role in the series continue to pay off, and Zendaya’s charisma and gift for selling emotions (and silly dialogue) helps give the new movie a soft, steady glow that centers it like a heartbeat as the story takes off in different directions. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzDec 15, 2021
The film is 148 minutes long. Many of those minutes are good, some not so good. But one of them is great. Unreservedly so. Redemption and catharsis arrive in a single fleeting moment that wonderfully and succinctly ties up everything Watts is attempting. Truly one of my favorite scenes in a movie this year. Read full review
70
PolygonJoshua RiveraDec 14, 2021
Spider-Man: No Way Home brings Peter to his biggest screw-up yet, making for a fascinatingly messy film that tries to juggle fan service with a finale for Peter’s high school years. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangDec 14, 2021
For all “No Way Home’s” vertiginous heights and precipitous drops, few things here shake you more fully than the anguished closeups of Holland, in which Peter’s genetically modified strength — and his all-too-human vulnerability — are on tear-soaked, grime-smudged display. Read full review
70
SlashfilmHoai-Tran BuiDec 13, 2021
If you poke too many holes in the narrative, Spider-Man: No Way Home starts to become undone. But if you take it at face value, it's a sweet, moving swing of a "Spider-Man" film that (mostly) manages to land. Read full review
70
Rolling StoneDavid FearDec 13, 2021
No Way Home is a perfectly fine superhero movie. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeDec 13, 2021
This is the least fun of the Watts/Holland pictures by a wide margin (intentionally so, to some extent), but it’s a hell of a lot better than the last Spidey threequel, Sam Raimi’s overstuffed and ill-conceived Spider-Man 3. Read full review
70
ScreenCrushMatt SingerDec 13, 2021
But that’s Spider-Man in a nutshell. He’s the guy who perpetually breaks stuff, then has to patch it all back together. (Good thing he’s got those webs.) No Way Home, with its use of the old characters from previous Spider-Man movies, really gets that idea. Power and responsibility are important. Seeing something through after you mess it up? That’s the mark of a genuine hero. Read full review
70
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeDec 13, 2021
The most superheroic feat on display might be the film’s ability to keep human-sized emotions and relationships front and center even as the very fabric of time and space twists itself into knots. Read full review
70
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiDec 13, 2021
No Way Home is Spider-Man’s most intriguing & fun story yet. Though the multiverse looms large, the film's thoughtful in its focus on Peter's journey. Read full review
68
Paste MagazineJacob OllerDec 15, 2021
After so long playing with the legacy and impact of Spider-Man, No Way Home finds its way back. Read full review
67
The Film StageJake Kring-SchreifelsDec 16, 2021
This is a movie engineered to resemble a thrill ride, a greatest-hits carousel powered by fan service and corporate recycling. It practically embraces Marty’s designation—and that’s OK. Despite their noted limitations, theme parks like this still offer plenty of fun. Read full review
67
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezDec 13, 2021
Spider-Man: No Way Home is maximalist, chock full of familiar characters and callbacks, and sometimes all that greatest-hits reminiscing is diverting and and entertaining. But it’s also not very necessary, making for a very regressive, fan-service-y ‘Spider-Man’ legacy-sequel that’s overly nostalgic for its heydays. Read full review
67
IndieWireKate ErblandDec 13, 2021
The road to the closing moments of “No Way Home” — both warm-hearted and heartbreaking — might have hit a few bumps, but the darkness is worth it. After all, when was the last time the third film in a franchise got audiences truly thrilled for what comes next? Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreDec 15, 2021
The effects are off-the-chart dazzling, and if nothing else, the picture jumps out of the gate and sprints until one and all get good and winded entirely too quickly. Read full review
63
The Associated PressJake CoyleDec 14, 2021
If Spider-verse was about how anyone can be Spider-Man, No Way Home is a more authorized Spider-Man compendium; its tone leans more operatic than antic. Still, Watts has a human touch that can be lacking in superhero films, and nearly all of the actors who appear in No Way Home come across as individuals despite the high-concept narrative. Read full review
60
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyDec 15, 2021
Most of the callbacks are played for light humour, not self-importance. Yes, it’s easy to tell you’re being manipulated. But it’s just as easy to respond with: so what? Read full review
60
The TelegraphRobbie CollinDec 15, 2021
It is what these films always are – source material for its own advertising campaign – but in this instance, it’s little more, which might have been a problem if said campaign hadn’t already proven such a roaring success. Read full review
60
Total FilmNeil SmithDec 15, 2021
Though delightful in places, the third entry in Sony’s third Spider-Man cycle feels both overstocked and underwhelming. Read full review
60
Vanity FairRichard LawsonDec 13, 2021
What I will say is that director Jon Watts handles this grand convergence of properties old and current with enough verve to almost sustain the long run of the film. But there’s so much brand Frankensteining to be done that there’s really no time for quirk and texture; much of the bounce and sparkle of the past two Holland films is lost. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeDec 13, 2021
It’s flawed for sure but still moves with more deftness than most (arriving after Eternals is a blessing for any Marvel film) and there’s an ending that suggests an awareness of its roots (post-credits scene aside), hinting at a promising way forward rather than back. Consider the curse of sorts sort of broken. Read full review
55
The AtlanticDavid SimsDec 16, 2021
Spider-Man: No Way Home unfolds as though it were written by a room full of children who had just eaten a whole bag of sugar; it’s a hectic series of plot twists and deus ex machinas that overturns an entire bucket of action figures and smashes them all together with delight. The film might be a new nadir of cinema—but it’s also an undeniably watchable good time. Read full review
50
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenJan 8, 2022
The result is a laboriously convoluted narrative (Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange plays a significant role) that only grows exponentially as the story unfolds, to diminishing returns. Read full review
50
Little White LiesHannah StrongDec 15, 2021
No Way Home feels like a greatest hits package specifically designed to hit every fan service button. It doesn’t give us any indication of where this story is going, or why we should care. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineJake ColeDec 14, 2021
There’s no attempt to hide that the film is pure fan service, a greatest-hits mashup of Spider-Man’s cinematic legacy. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriDec 20, 2021
It’s not just the action and the magic that flop. Even the film’s more intimate moments fall flat. Read full review
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