****
Never mind England fans bleating about their world cup woes, it's almost 65 years of hurt for the great arachnid superhero, Spiderman, who first appeared in 1962, in comic-book format.
The film series is now in its 24th year. The ever-popular Spidey's enduring qualities include vulnerability, a boyishly unimposing physical stature, feelings of guilt and emotional insecurity, and of unrequited love – the stuff of the average human, in other words. He also has very special talents that enable him to be brilliant, not always, but sometimes – just as we would dream of ourselves.
Tom Holland is ideal for the part, and is exceptional in Brand New Day, the latest iteration of the Marvel franchise. This is a fast-action, often thrilling narrative with great set-pieces and sequences. Holland, small but stylish, is everything that Spiderman should be.
This brand new day involves a lonesome, almost reclusive superhero, the memory of him wiped out of his former friends, including girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and the engaging Ned (Jacob Battalon). Likeable also is Frank Castle, aka The Punisher (John Bernthal), the brawny, ham-fisted convert to goodness.
Enjoy, too, the Hand, a team of scarlet clad Ninjas, whose sequence echoes Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and even has the threatened but awestruck Spidey gasp: ‘Wow, that’s cool.’
Visually, director Daniel Cretton’s creation excels throughout. If the first half of the film feels overloaded with action and special effects, the second half slows a little to allow for more contemplative, emotional and empathetic consideration of the characters and the issues at stake. The villain in this piece, as in so many science-fiction stories, is science itself. In particular, unrestrained, callous scientific experimentation that disregards human suffering and sees scientific knowledge and control as the ultimate aim. The victims, as ever, are outcasts, people who are different. Hence the part of Jean Grey (Sadie Sink), whose telekinetic powers are a threat beyond understanding, until Spiderman understands them.
By the end of the film, we are left wondering whether there could ever be a sequel to this.
Of course there could.
