With Brand New Day, Marvel has finally brought Spider-Man back down to Earth. While introducing Tom Holland’s interpretation of Peter Parker with 2016’s expansive, ensemble-heavy Captain America: Civil War may have worked as a flex move on the studio’s part – and its collaborative truce with Sony, who own the rights to the character – it’s been a little strange to see the quintessentially New York, street-level hero so frequently ripped away from the environment that shaped him.
They’ve launched him into outer space, across a concrete German airport, and face-first into several of Europe’s key landmarks. But he’s never felt more authentically Spider-Man than he does here, throwing his hands up in frustration because his reluctant pal Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), otherwise known as the vigilante Punisher, refuses to consider any solution more peaceful than firing off several rounds of a machine gun. Brand New Day is not only the best of the MCU takes on the character, but it’s also flat out the best Spider-Man film since Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 (2004).
