A forgotten Peter Parker lives alone as a full-time Spider-Man until mounting pressure triggers a dangerous change and a powerful new enemy emerges.

Tom Holland’s fourth outing as Spider-Man (at least in his own films) has become a critically important release for Marvel Studios, arriving on the back of several movies that have attracted less critical acclaim and, crucially, made less money. The box office results speak for themselves, and I’m clearly not the only person who has largely checked out of the MCU since ‘Avengers: Endgame’, only dipping back in on the rare occasion something looks particularly interesting (and that hasn’t really happened of late). Spider-Man remains Marvel’s most reliable character and, despite this being the ninth live-action film centred on him in the last 25 years, he continues to generate huge interest. ‘Brand New Day’ may just provide the shot in the arm the studio has been looking for.

It’s been five years since ‘No Way Home’, which concluded with Peter asking Doctor Strange to wipe his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned’s (Jacob Batalon) memories of him. ‘Brand New Day’ picks up with a lonely Peter Parker scrolling through MJ’s Instagram feed while anonymously protecting New York City as Spider-Man. During one such outing, he discovers that a series of criminals appear to have been telepathically controlled, setting him on a mission to uncover what is really happening. What works particularly well is the balance between the superhero spectacle as Peter investigates the film’s villain (who is very good, though I’ll avoid saying more for spoiler reasons), and the more personal story centred on his longing for MJ. Holland and Zendaya are, of course, married in real life, and the chemistry between them gives those quieter moments a real emotional weight.

‘Brand New Day’ mostly works as a standalone story, though this is still Marvel, and it can’t resist weaving in cameos and laying the groundwork for future films. Jon Bernthal’s Punisher is a welcome addition, but appearances from the Hulk and Florence Pugh’s Black Widow feel far less essential. I enjoyed the film overall, even if it remains a little uneven, and it still suffers from some of the same problems that have affected many recent Marvel releases. The difference here is that it has characters you genuinely care about and performances strong enough to make you invest in them, which goes a long way towards making those flaws easier to forgive.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Destin Daniel Cretton

Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Tramell Tillman, Marisa Tomei and Mark Ruffalo

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3661210/