No cinematic Spider-Man has had a weirder arc than Tom Holland’s webslinger. Introduced in Captain America: Civil War as Tony Stark’s ace up his sleeve, Holland’s Peter Parker has been everything from glorified sidekick to wide-eyed protégé, even in his own movies. It wasn’t until his third solo movie, No Way Home, that Holland’s Spider-Man felt like he started to come into his own — and he was still sharing the screen with two other Spider-Men and three legacy villains. So it’s no surprise that his fourth film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, offers a much-needed reset.
After being deprived of his origins, his street-level conflicts, and his own internality, Destin Daniel Cretton’s Brand New Day gives us all of that. It’s a deeply emotional, beautifully grounded new adventure for Holland’s Spider-Man, who is finally given the spotlight he deserves. Is it too little too late? Yes and no — but it’s Spider-Man, so of course you’re going to love it.
