Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon

Synopsis:

Four years after No Way Home, Peter Parker lives anonymously in New York as Spider-Man while investigating a dangerous new threat and coping with strange changes to his powers.

View Trailer   Official Website   Book now

There are two types of Spider-Man fans. People who think Tom Holland can do no wrong and his “Home” trilogy is the epitome of spider-cinema, and people who think those movies are fine but kind of cringey due to their reliance on Marvel quip comedy and a refusal to let Peter Parker fight crime without an Avengers-sanctioned babysitter. Up until last night, I fell in the first camp, but after watching Spider-Man: Brand New Day, I’m ready to admit that the previous three movies were kind of rough — at least by comparison to this grounded, emotional, and expertly crafted addition to the Spidey canon.

It’s not that those previous movies are terrible. I still like them a lot; it’s just that Brand New Day raises the quality level in almost every way. From the action to the drama to the superhero cameos, this is a more mature Spider-Man with smarter storytelling and a more satisfying payoff. Brand New Day isn’t just the best Holland-Spidey movie, either. It meets or maybe even surpasses the extremely high bar set by Sam Raimi’s first two Spider-Man movies.

© Polygon