Sam Raimi directs Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and Topher Grace in this threequel that sees Peter Parker face three villains: Sandman, Harry Osborn and Venom.

A massive hit but derided on the internet. Is it all that bad? The first half is genuinely strong. Business as usual for this iteration. We care deeply about Peter and MJ. Harry Osborne is plotting. The transformation of the Sandman is spectacular (if a little dated now). The second half doesn’t so much go off the rails as just deflate. The Venom strand is too rushed. There is little action until the perfunctory finale. The awkward dance sequences are not what the fans want. Yet it isn’t wildly off par from what came before. No matter what the memes tell you. I would have bought an opening weekend ticket to Raimi / Maguire / Dunst’s fourth spin.

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Perfect Double Bill: Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/ and my own Substack https://substack.com/@edinburghlaughterbulletin