Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the return of the mid-tier Marvel movie

It’s a bold move to subtitle your Spider-Man movie Brand New Day, then spend most of the run time fixated on the previous films.

A quick recap for those who missed No Way Home: Peter Parker (Tom Holland) has erased himself from collective memory to protect his friends MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon), leaving behind no trace of Peter and committing to being full-time Spider-Man.

He is beloved by New York City, but completely anonymous beneath his mask. Without Parker’s billionaire benefactor or Avengers connections, Spider-Man’s remit is now “small potatoes”, according to a New Avenger in her requisite cameo.

But after an opening montage jam-packed with recreations of classic Spider-Man comic covers, the film quickly falls into Peter reconnecting with MJ and battling a telepathic villain who presents an existential threat to humanity, while undergoing his own transformation into a literal Spider-Man. It’s not small potato…