SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY

He has a collegiate relationship with NYPD detective Jean De Wolff (Liza Colon-Zayas, TV's 'The Bear') that doesn't extend beyond strictly work-only chats. With no friends or family in his corner, Peter isn't in the best state to navigate the genetic changes he's going through – his arachnid DNA has been starting to take over his human DNA. And there we have the ages-old superhero question the film is curious to explore: How do we accept who we are?

This is where the burdensome/beneficial obligations of the shared interconnected universe crop up. Peter has to call in some backup to face his new threat – a villain who has the ability to possess the consciousness of people and is seemingly hell-bent on infiltrating the Department of Damage Control in search of something. With no spoilers, our foe has clearly been introduced to open the door to the next phase of the interconnected Marvel universe. They're not too different from Peter too, equally suffering under the weight of accepting who they are.

One of the few friends Peter calls on is a begrundled Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, who owes Spider-Man one after saving his life. While making his big screen MCU debut, Marvel fans will recognise Jon Bernthal's ('The Odyssey') Punisher from the original Netflix Marvel universe where he and other "street-level" heroes like Jessica Jones and Daredevil spent years fighting crime in New York City. Peter also seeks advice from Black Widow, Yelana Belova (Florence Pugh, 'Oppenheimer'), who works out of a sauna while leading the New Avengers (seen 'Thunderbolts' yet? Keep up!) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo, 'Poor Things'), who has found a scientific way to stifle his Hulk tendencies while working as a university academic.

Threading together a cinematic universe of characters has proven to be hit-or-miss with recent Marvel releases –– 'Thunderbolts' and 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' soared while 'Captain America: Brave New World' stumbled. With an obligation to tie into a bigger story (and indeed set up the tentpole 'Avengers: Doomsday') later this year, I was nervous going into 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day'. It was pleasantly surprising, then, that it worked brilliantly. In fact, the film is completely disinterested in setting up 'Avengers: Doomsday', and instead hosts cameos from MCU characters that actually feel relevant to Peter Parker's plight.

Florence Pugh as Yelena absolutely steals the show in her limited screentime, her charm and magnetic presence showing exactly why she should be handed the keys to the next era of the MCU. Bruce Banner's struggles with the Hulk mirrors Peter's struggle with his newly dominant arachnid DNA that has been making him more animalistic. And Frank Castle is well, Frank Castle – the yin to Spidey's yang.

While Peter's troubles are "small potatoes", according to Yelena, they sure don't seem like it. His dangerous new enemy can jump into the consciousness of innocent bystanders, including his beloved MJ, who is still unaware of her relationship to Spider-Man. The chemistry between Holland and Zendaya shines whenever they share the screen, and director Destin Daniel Cretton provides them with rife moments of vulnerability to showcase it. As Peter's new enemy barrels closer and closer to the Department of Damage Control run by Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman, Apple TV+'s 'Severance'), Peter is faced with the choice to suppress his Spidey tendencies or let it all out.

'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' truly shines due to director Destin Daniel Cretton being at the reins. A key player in the new era of the MCU, Cretton previously directed 'Shang-Chi and The. Legend ofthe Ten Rings', as well as created the now Emmy-nominated show 'Wonder-Man'.

For the most part, 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' looks good – frames hued with a vibrant and saturated red-blue colour grade. Cretton also brings out the best of web-swinging; selecting fun needle drops (hello, Bad Bunny's 'EoO'!) and imaginative shots we hadn't seen in Jon Watt's take of the franchise. He manages to capture the dramatic sensibilities of Peter Parker alongside the childish wonder of a Spider-Man film, so it's a bummer that a Cretton-led 'Avengers' project never took off (he was previously announced to helm the Kang Dynasty films before the MCU switched their direction to Robert Downey Jr's Doom storyline).

While a decade into playing the character, Holland is far from jaded. The charm of Spider-Man carries through his performance – but truly breaks through when he shares the screen with his original castmates, Zendaya's MJ and Battalon's Ned. It's heartwarming that the film doesn't conclude with anything too superhero-y, then, but rather a casual conversation in a bodega between Ned and Peter Parker – showing that beyond intergalactic fighting or magical villains, superhero films at their core have always hinged on themes of the human condition and friendship. Maybe that's just the reminder that the MCU needs.