Since 2007, I’ve been waiting on Spider-Man 4. Since then, I’ve seen a third Spider-Man 1, a third Spider-Man 2, and a second Spider-Man 3. Safe to say, there’s been a lot of Spider-Man to keep me occupied, but largely retelling the same story. A young boy, growing to learn the cost of great power, in a neat 2-3 movie package.

I always wanted to know, what if the story kept going?

Spider-Man Brand New Day charts that very course, delivering on 19 years of build-up. Here, Peter Parker speaks with confidence, assured in his abilities and his instincts, sticking to where he feels he belongs. No longer does he plead subservient to men of iron and strange doctors, but speaks with authority with the regular man and woman on the street, most notably with Liza Colón-Zayas’ Detective DeWolff, who we can only assume is one of the good cops in New York. 

Spidey is stern and has a no-nonsense approach. At one point, a rescued citizen proclaims their love for him, only to receive “uh-huh that’s nice” in return from the friendly neighbourhood superhero. That’s not to say he isn’t still loving. While he may apologise fewer times than ever, he’s still unshaken in his desire to help as many people as he can, and still manages to quip, albeit with a bit more edge.  It’s a distinctly different character that Tom Holland portrays, one that feels marred by the toll the years have taken on him.

You could chalk it all up to his many years of trauma, and certainly that’s at the fore, but the film takes things even deeper down to the molecular level. Once again, being Spider-Man is shown as the most miserable job there is, but instead of being betrayed by a friend turned foe, Peter is at odds with his own DNA. Spider-Man Brand New Day is the first film since Sam Raimi’s original to remind viewers that thus far we have essentially been watching the wish-fulfilment version of the second act of The Fly, and decides to teeter ever so slightly into the third. 

To put it simply, it’s disgusting. I understand that Spider-Man is essentially a freak of nature and hasn’t truly been human since being bitten. It’s the kind of premise that’s always lent itself to a horror aesthetic, but everyone had the decency to leave that well enough alone for his cinematic outings. Here, we have to endure an unnerving transformation, as Peter’s eyes blacken, and the movie displays the most graphic display of organic webbing, with even the protagonist gagging as the fluid oozes from his wrist.

In exchange for the grossness, you end up getting something Tom Holland never quite got to do in his superhero tenure. The feeling of discovery in this film eclipses any troubleshooting he did with his old tech-infused suits. Now, he truly does whatever a spider can, and watching him figure it out as he goes along works wonders for the film. Holland evokes Tobey Maguire’s first swings, complete with sounds of panic as he careens between buildings. 

It’s a hell of a journey to undergo on his own, especially as the film establishes it’s taking place as a result of his isolation. The film finds Peter living in a self-imposed exile and is the poster boy for male loneliness. He spends his days living in squalor, with his only true extravagance being his gadgetry. He lives on a diet of convenience store confection,  takeout, and his only speaking companions are an AI or his aunt’s gravestone. 

It may be the saddest Peter Parker has ever been, and Brand New Day isn’t subtle about the implications. Peter acts out violently, snapping under pressure, and losing sight of his moral mission. It’s a cautionary tale, and a few key moments in the film show the other side. Spider-Man Brand New Day seems to understand that it will be seen by young men across the globe, and speaks directly to their experience, while providing an ideal to strive towards.

At the same time Brand New Day balances Peter’s metamorphosis against the inclusion of several amazing friends from the wider universe. What keeps these elements from feeling jarring is how each character from the MCU proper has their own experience with Peter’s plight. Jon Bernthal’s The Punisher is well-versed in loss and the dangers of isolation, as is Mark Ruffalo’s The Hulk, whose familiarity with fluctuating DNA comes to Peter’s aid. On the flip side, Brand New Day has its cake and eats it too, using these characters for supreme action that’s endlessly entertaining for any comic book fan. Of which I am. Look, I can appreciate a well crafted bit of cinematic character work as much as the next critic, but if you think I’m going to sit here and pretend that I wouldn’t be happy turning my brain off as The Punisher tagged in with a machine gun to the Incredible Hulk like a wrestling match from my dreams, you have another thing coming. 

The thrills are exhilirating but never more than they need to be. Spider-Man is shown swinging through the city in a way that’s grand yet intimate, keeping you locked in to Peter’s experience. Even the design of the suit tells a story. Peter’s abandoned the seamless look passed down to him by Tony Stark and now sports a onesie with ripples and folds, in tune to his role as a hero for the everyman. 

There’s a boldness to Brand New Day that I admired. It doesn’t walk back the devastating end of No Way Home, and gives Zendaya and Jacob Batalon some of the best material they’ve had in the series so far. The villain does heinous things, but is the subject of sympathy despite her radical actions. It brings the movie to a halt, just to present tableux lovingly depicting a history of comic book covers and panels, but does so in a way that serves to portray the antics of Spider-Man since we last saw him. 

It tackles so much but doesn’t feel overstuffed. Spider-Man’s inclusion in the MCU has at times felt like the result of having one arm webbed behind your back, with the true potential of the character just out of reach. Here, it feels like the possibilities are endless. 

Rating: High Big screen watch