Spider-Man: Brand New Day

I have been anticipating Spider-Man: Brand New Day ever since the trailer dropped because it looked really good! I finally had a chance to see it last night at a Thursday preview I am happy to say that it lived up to my impossibly high expectations!  In fact, it equals Spider-Man 2 (with Tobey Maguire in the title role), my favorite movie featuring the web-slinger.  Four years after Dr. Strange made the world forget Peter Parker (Tom Holland), Spider-Man anonymously protects New York City from villains such as Mac Gargan/ Scorpion (Michael Mando) and members of the Hand as an unofficial liaison to NYPD Det. Jean DeWolff (Liza Colon-Zayas) and an uneasy rival to Frank Castle/ Punisher (Jon Bernthal).  He is feeling increasingly isolated and an emotional encounter with his former friends MJ Watson (Zendaya) and Ned Leeds (Jacob Balaton) triggers a mutation that enhances his spider senses.  He eventually turns to Dr. Banner/ Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) to help him control his new abilities and to Yelena Belova/ Back Widow (Florence Pugh) to help him uncover a powerful new villain (Sadie Sink) for Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman), the head of the Department of Damage Control.  I really enjoyed this more grounded and character-driven story as Peter grapples with the personal sacrifices that come with being a superhero (the message that no one is really alone is a powerful one) and I think this is Holland's best performance as the character (I also think this is the most comic book accurate depiction in the MCU).  I especially loved several poignant interactions that Peter has at various times with MJ, Castle, and Sink's character (Zendaya and Bernthal are really great and have palpable chemistry with Holland but Sink gives an amazing performance and I am really excited to see more of her character).  I also loved the fun action set-pieces, particularly a spectacular sequence between Spider-Man and members of the Hand.  My only minor criticism is that the scenes with Black Widow don't really add much to the narrative and seem shoe-horned in to set up future events in the MCU (the Hulk's inclusion is a bit more organic).  Still, I really loved seeing this with a large and enthusiastic crowd (I'm actually more excited for Avengers: Doomsday) and I highly recommend it.