At one point it certainly felt as if Marvel Studios could do no wrong, churning out hit after hit. But the reality is that even then their output was somewhat of a mixed bag. For every Guadians of the Galaxy there was usually a Thor: The Dark World. But the entire idea of a connected universe of films still felt fresh and exciting, and the sense that everything was working its way towards a major event kept audiences coming back for more. In the years since Avengers: Endgame however, the novelty has worn off, and while there have still been some very strong entries in the franchise, the general public has become much less forgiving of the studio’s weaker output which in turn has possibly limited the performance of other, better entries. Spider-Man has proven immune to audience malaise though, and for good reason, as the films featuring the webslinger often rank among the MCU’s best. The latest, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton with a script by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, will only reinforce the public’s love of the character as it is peak Marvel and one of the best Spidey stories yet to hit the screen.

Peter Parker aka Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is intensely lonely after being made to wipe any memory of himself from everyone’s minds in order to save the multiverse at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home. He is still fighting crime, working alongside NYPD detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas), and he has developed a somewhat adversarial relationship with Frank Castle aka Punisher (Jon Bernthal), but he still only watches his old friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and love interest MJ (Zendaya) from a distance.

He receives an alert that a hijacked tank is rampaging through the streets of New York and sets out to stop it. But it proves more formidable than he expects and he is unable to prevent it from crashing through the walls of a Department of Damage Control (DODC) holding facility. When it stops, he and the building’s security team surround it and open the door, only to discover a confused woman at the wheel. Whatever had been controlling her immediately leaps from her body and possesses someone else, and then proceeds to hopscotch through employees on its way to the rooftop helipad, where prisoner Mac Gargan (Michael Mando) is being readied for transport. Peter is the only one who can see what is happening and picks up the pursuit but is once again a shade too late.

Working with DeWolff and DODC director Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman), with some assistance from the New Avengers’ Yelena Belova aka Black Widow (Florence Pugh), Peter attempts to figure out who or what was able to jump between people and eventually zeroes in on a mysterious, angry young woman (Sadie Sink) who appears to be looking for something named V-Max that may be in the DODC tower, and which she will stop at nothing to obtain. All while Peter’s spider abilities suddenly seem to be growing stronger and interfering with his life, for which he turns to Dr. Bruce Banner aka The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) for help.

It sounds like it’s a lot but this is actually one of the MCU’s more streamlined and focused stories and it’s all the better for it. Peter’s personal struggles add a great deal of emotional weight to the film, conveyed by Holland’s top tier performance in a role he was seemingly born to play. That it’s so delightful to see him reunited with his old friends in the few brief moments it happens only adds to both his and our sadness at his having had that taken away from him. He plays very well against all of his scene mates however while still allowing them all to shine in their own ways as well.

His plight serves to nicely mirror that of the villain, with Sink nailing the tragic and dangerous, morally gray character. As she grows stronger throughout the movie, the threat she poses is very clear, but unlike so many films of its ilk Brand New Day keeps the threat at a refreshingly local level which also enables them to create one of the franchise’s more interesting villains.

This is one of the darker, sadder, and more thought-provoking stories to come out of Marvel Studios but it also never loses the sense of high-flying fun that makes Spider-Man one of their most popular characters. It remains thrilling as ever to witness him zipping through Manhattan’s skyscrapers and the action sequences here are some of the series’ best, often featuring striking, almost painterly cinematography by Brett Pawlak. For as much as the filmmakers successfully tackle more serious themes, it’s almost impossible to resist the urge to smile throughout much of the movie’s runtime. Summer spectacle of the highest order, packed to the brim with thrills and an infectious air of hopeful optimism, this spins a web you’ll be glad to get stuck in. ★★★★★

Rated PG-13 for sequences of action / violence, and some language.