Tom Holland swings to new heights in his fourth Spider-Man film, which successfully dodges superhero movie irrelevance with verve, intelligence, and heart. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Brand New Day had stinker written all over it, but instead delivers a pleasing reset for Spidey and the next Avengers and X-Men films.
A fresh start for a lonely hero
After the multiverse mayhem of No Way Home, Doctor Strange cast a spell to erase Peter Parker from memory. Now, Spider-Man focuses purely on crime-fighting, existing entirely alone. His closest acquaintance is The Punisher (Jon Bernthal), an even more PTSD-ridden loner.
Spidey's powers are changing: heightened awareness, real web-slinging from his wrists (“That’s disgusting,” he says, dry-heaving), and other hormonal troubles. He develops a superpower suppressor to manage it all. A mysterious villain can hop from person to person, temporarily possessing them. In a bravura scene from Zendaya, this includes MJ, forcing Spidey back into his old friends' lives.
A deeper, more conflicted Spider-Man
Holland's Spider-Man is lonelier than ever, wrestling with his own body like Cronenberg's The Fly, but without Geena Davis. There is a Dostoevskian isolation, a retreat from humanity, and deep melancholy over missing college, friendship, and love.
Writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, with Holland, masterfully bring Spidey out of his funk with surprisingly emotional pay-offs. The action is great: vertiginous web-slinging, Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk making a brutal return, nods to The Matrix in ninja action, and a gripping performance by Sadie Sink as the villain, confirming her as the true Stranger Things breakout star.
This new Moody Neighbourhood Spider-Man reminds us that multiverse madness is no match for straight-up character development.
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton. Length: 145 mins. In cinemas July 31.
