Peter Parker (Tom Holland), forgotten by everyone he loves, has thrown himself headlong into life as a full-time friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. As the pressures of living without a support system begin to tell on him, a new unseen threat that can seemingly possess anyone to do their bidding comes to the fore.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a microcosm of the challenges facing the Marvel Cinematic Universe at this stage of its lifecycle. There is a great central storyline inside this film, featuring some wonderful performances from fan-favourite characters. But then there is a constant need to include, reference and allude to other characters and events, both past and upcoming, within the now vast franchise. Brand New Day is the thirty-eighth film in a series that also includes twenty-seven television series. How much you will enjoy the film will be firmly rooted in whether the balance between those two factors meets your own personal requirements.

Parker’s personal struggles provide the heart and soul of the film. Forgotten as a result of the spell cast by Dr. Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter keeps in touch with the lives of MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) via Instagram posts, whilst daydreaming about perhaps one day trying to introduce himself to them again. His diversionary tactics of throwing himself full-time into his Spider-Man duties appear to be taking their toll, with his Spider DNA asserting itself over his human DNA with negative side effects. His relationships with MJ and Ned provide the film’s high points and the through-line for who Spider-Man is.

The big bad of the film, a mysterious possessive force targeting the Government agency Damage Control, reinforces this central storyline as well. What shapes us as people, and the relationships that help keep our better nature in check, become the central idea of the film. Peter and the villain have both lost the people who once kept them grounded. The difference is that Peter has learnt from those relationships and still carries them with him, whilst the villain has lost that anchor completely, leaving nothing to stop their grief and loneliness consuming them.

So far, so good then.

The issues arise where those compelling and emotionally impactful storylines find themselves sidelined by the need to include Black Widow (Florence Pugh), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Punisher (Jon Bernthal), as well as making the many references to what might be on its way in upcoming movies. I am not saying these characters are not bags of fun and great value for comic book fans, but I sometimes find the balance of the film thrown off for the sake of something cool, rather than something valuable to the plot.

There is still a lot to love here though.

Tom Holland, now in his fourth Spider-Man feature and his seventh film as the character, is still perfect for the role, bringing huge amounts of humour, athleticism and weight to Peter Parker. Zendaya, who is on a fantastic run of film performances right now, is wonderful and her real-life relationship with Holland adds huge weight to their onscreen chemistry. And of course those cool things I mentioned earlier do have their benefits. There is a wonderful montage that comic book fans will especially love, featuring old and obscure villains, alongside a large array of action sequences that also get to feature Hulk and Punisher. There is even a new addition to the cast that hits the ground running despite the obvious need for them to become an important factor in future projects.

Brand New Day is a really fun addition to the superhero genre. It could have been something truly special had it trusted Spider-Man’s own story more than the wider Marvel machine surrounding him. Tom Holland continues to prove why he remains such an endearing Peter Parker, and the emotional fallout from Spider-Man: No Way Home still provides some of the strongest material this series has produced. I only wish the film had the confidence to let those quieter moments take centre stage more often.