With all the rumours swirling around Spider-Man: No Way Home, it felt impossible that the film would ever live up to the impossible expectations set of it. And somehow, it has. If you're a Spider-Man fan, then all the adjectives used to describe him in his various comic book titles — amazing, spectacular, sensational, astonishing — come to mind after watching this film. The plotting is tight, each character has his or her own arc, and the action is spot-on.

But before you watch the film, here's a quick recap of the previous movie, Spider-Man: Far From Home. At the conclusion of that film, the identity of Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is revealed to the world thanks to the final machinations of the dead villain (Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio). That film ended on a cliffhanger, with the entire world knowing that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. And although two years have passed in our real world, Spider-Man: No Way Home begins where the previous film left off.

This superhero movie is the third solo film for the titular character that features Tom Holland in the title role. It is, of course, set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film sees Spider-Man seeking out the powerful sorcerer Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help — he wants his identity to be a secret once more. Unfortunately, the spell goes awry, bringing five supervillains from different universes into Spider-Man's world. Spider-Man must put things right again, but this time the cost may be too high. Fortunately, he's got great friends and allies in his corner to help.