I’m Trevor with the Sasquatch Movie Minute with a look at SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. In the 4th Tom Holland Spiderman movie, a forgotten Peter Parker works alone until stress from a powerful new enemy causes odd personal changes.

3.5 out of 5

The first 2/3rds of this movie are excellent; with creative action, heartbreak, and pitch-perfect use of outside guest superheroes. This is a much more grounded, street-level film than the last three, with less CGI splatter. What seems like a natural ending just keeps going for 30 more minutes into pure extended MCU setup for DOOMSDAY later this year. Spiderman becomes a side-character in his own movie. The last third is still good, with some amazing ninja action and a character breakthrough for Peter, but it takes away from the core theme of the film; Spiderman and his friends, and how human connection is the only way to survive what the world throws at you.

Best Scene. A mid-film rooftop scene with Tom Holland and Zendaya was extraordinary. All the weight on Spiderman’s shoulders sloughs off and you see his desperate need laid bare. Lovely stuff. And only made better by a cruel twist at the end.

Best Performance. With only a few scenes, Zendaya gives us a stunning example of her range; from terrified to sarcastic to weird to flirty. She makes her character MJ sing; worth all the pain Spiderman endures to find her again. Jon Bernthal is having a blast, even as a toned-down PG13 version of his usually hard ‘R’ character.

2nd best of the Tom Holland Spiderman movies; some great stuff, but too much MCU interference.