Spiderman returns for his 4th Solo outing as link in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) chain. One which Marvel has a lot to be thankful for. As many may know Marvel does not own the rights to the spiderman character or any of the related Spidey characters e.g. Venom & Morbius, these are owned by Sony. However, there has been a successful link created between Marvel & Sony over the last decade and a bit, to share the live action version of spiderman, so that he can be used within the MCU.
This link has made money for Sony and also helped Marvel in that they can use Spidey within the main MCU movies such as Endgame and Captain America Civil War. This link does mean that characters can also go the other way, most notably Iron Man in Spiderman Homecoming and this film, we see Dr Bruce Banner make an appearance.
This has created a partnership which has helped both parties and this is very much on show in this latest outing. Tom Holland returns to play Peter Parker returning after the events of No Way Home, where no one remembers who Peter Parker is. Though they do remember Spiderman. This means his best friend Ned and his girlfriend MJ, cannot remember who he is. This is the starting point for this film and where we see Peter now living a solitary life watching on as his friends move on without him. Plus he is missing the guidance and love of his Aunt May.
Spiderman is also going through some physical changes, but will they help or hinder him. You guessed it, a bit of both 😉
Now, this is not a spoiler review, so that’s enough of the story. However, I must say this may well be the best Live Action Spiderman film to date. I certainly feel it is the best of Tom Hollands run of films and that is no mean feat as all of the John Watts Directed films are all very good, especially No Way Home, where we had the 3 live action Spidermen working together. This latest outing is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. If his name is familiar, you might remember that he directed the excellent Shang-Chi also for Marvel. Unsurprisingly then the action here is top notch in terms of fight sequences and choreography.
Holland certainly has also matured as an actor and as spiderman. He knows what he is doing here and his performance certainly helps you believe in the pain that his characters is going through. However, this is also this is spiderman movie and as spiderman he wants to do good in his beloved New York. If you have seen the trailer then you know that The Punisher is also in this film. Marvel couldn’t have two more diametrically opposed characters that are trying to make a difference, but in very conflicting ways and this makes for an excellent buddy cop style matchup. Jon Bernthal, is back again as the punisher, but you do also get to see a softer side to his character here.
As I mentioned above MJ & Ned are important to Spidey and they are also Pivotal to this film and played by Jacob Batalon & Mrs Holland aka Zendaya. 3 of the 4 actors mentioned above have already had a very busy July selling the Odyssey for Christopher Nolan (of which I already have a review on this site) and they are all excellent here.
Now this wouldn’t be a super hero film without a super villain or at least a super antagonist. I won’t spoil who this is or the character they are playing. However, I felt once they had found their feet this actress turned in a great performance and they will certainly have a good future within the MCU. The cast in general are all top notch.
Spiderman is also known as the Web Slinger and there is some of the best slinging action you will see and you can tell this aspect has been heavily influenced by the recent Spiderman games.
It is scary to think that Spiderman is now one of the older characters within the MCU, but this version is not finished yet and I am sure there will be at least another couple of Solo Outings for the Web Slinger and I am pretty sure he will have a big part to play in next year’s Avengers Secret Wars.
With great power comes great responsibility and I would say responsibly that if you love a good super hero film, go a see Spiderman Brand New Day. You should not be disappointed, as it was Awesome….
The Film Engineer 