By Matthew Moorcroft

Highest Recommendation

• Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
• Starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal
• PG-13

Is Spider-Man ever allowed a chance at happiness?

While this is eternal question of most great Spidey stories, the fantastic – and surprisingly thoughtful – Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the first take on the character in some time that actively frames that as it’s main thematic question. After the multiversal chaos of No Way Home, Peter Parker has found himself alone and dedicated solely to the job of Spider-Man, for better or worse. Crime has been lowered, he’s beloved by the city and has friends in the police force, and he’s always in the suit. But that’s it; Peter Parker himself is barely a person. And he’s becoming more and more like the Spider as time progresses.

While Jon Watts delivered solid work on his Home trilogy, which was more along the lines of high school comedies that had action scenes, Shang-Chi helmer Destin Daniel Cretton taking over breathes a significant amount of fresh new life into the proceedings as his skills in hand to hand martial arts scenes and humanistic approach to character drama as seen in films like Short Term 12 and Just Mercy give this it’s own distinct identity when compared to other superhero films as of late. For as much money as Brand New Day is bound to make, it’s also achingly small scale and personal in it’s approach, which is refreshing to see.

Nowhere is this more obvious then in it’s actual plotting and setup, which sees our masked web-crawler contend with a threat that is more about a singular person seeking vengeance rather then a huge, world ending threat. It’s also a setup that allows for a theme of mutation to emerge in the margins, which to anybody in the know about Marvel Comics will probably guess where it is going. The big “spoiler” of Brand New Day, one that has been left out of the marketing in order to make sure that it comes as a genuine surprise to fans, is the premise of the entire film from it’s ground up and while that makes plot specifics difficult to discuss, suffice to say the film smartly uses this as it’s only real twist.

And despite the plethora of other fanservice beats – this is as much a team up film as prior Spidey entries, with characters like Jon Bernthal’s fantastic interpretation of the Punisher, Mark Ruffalo’s return to form as Bruce Banner, and a nice, very funny cameo from Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova (one of the few post-Endgame characters that has truly struck a cord with audiences) – it never feels forced or pandering for the sake of a quick clapping session. Instead, Brand New Day is thematically focused in it’s ideas, and all of those characters serve greater functions in the massive web that is Spider-Man. It sees the Marvel universe as it should be used; a playground with characters to actually be used, not as simply boxes to check off.

So much of this is also anchored by a career best Tom Holland, whose version of Spider-Man has always been a highlight of the MCU but here really stands out and makes a name for itself as maybe the definitive incarnation in live action. He builds off his more naive and purposefully innocent portrayal in the Home trilogy to build a version of Peter Parker that is still the same wide-eyed optimist as before but now has a level of maturity that gives him a more adult perspective. Even as his life begins crashing down around him, a result of his overwork and inability to let go of the past, Holland still balances genuine humor and lightness to a story that isn’t afraid to delve darker then expected for a version of the character that has been mostly relegated to the lighter side of the MCU in his appearances.

Cretton’s visual finesse and Holland’s strong performance would be more then enough to recommend this, but what puts Brand New Day above the majority of the rest of it’s series is that emotional honesty that has been missing from a grand chunk of superhero fare. And when Spider-Man is honest, he’s by far and away the best superhero for the job; there is real pathos and humanity in how he approaches things compared to everyone else. He changes people but he also lets himself be changed by others, and by the end of the film even our newfound character – played by a perfectly cast Sadie Sink in a show stopper of a performance – finds something to live for within the grasp of Spider-Man.

And that’s where Brand New Day begins to truly, utterly soar. It’s as beautifully real as these superhero stories get, and every moment is given the same amount of care – from the big action setpieces to the smaller character moments like Peter finally seeing his lost love for the first time in years. Every bit is earned, every character feels alive, and it’s teeming with humor, drama, romance, and genuinely fantastic action. It’s one of the MCU’s absolute best across the board, and with their current strong streak, a positive sign of things to come.