The MCU isn't expanding; it's contracting into an endless cycle of diminishing returns
Two weeks ago, we saw them in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and this week real-life husband and wife Tom Holland and Zendaya reunite in the latest instalment of Marvel's Spider-Man franchise.
Holland is, of course, Peter Parkour, sorry, Parker, the unassuming and occasionally bungling hero of the piece and Zendaya is MJ, his now lost love, her memory erased at the close of the last movie, 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home.
In this hit-and-miss third outing, poor old Pete is left dangling in a web of his own making. The last time we saw him, he was set to begin all over again, having used Dr Strange's psychic powers to zap everyone's knowledge that he is, in fact, Spider-Man.
This means that MJ has no idea who he is, while his super-nerd bestie Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) has taken his Spidey obsession to its obvious conclusion and set up an app that alerts users any time the web-spinner is close by.
In an effort to forget, just like his friends have, Peter is now a workaholic, despatching bank robbers and hoodlums before crawling back to his dingy one-room apartment to feel the burden of his Spidey-ness and pine over his former life, while essentially stalking MJ.
And not unlike Tony Stark and his recalcitrant body armour in Iron Man, Peter is also contending with a malfunctioning super-hero suit and some strange physical ailments that are slowly sapping his considerable powers. Don't expect body shock schlock, but is Peter turning into someone and indeed something else?
Watch our interview with Zendaya, Tom Holland and Jacob Batalon
Naturally, there is a new super-villain to confront, an invisible entity who - in a move that is uncomfortably similar to James Cameron's far superior Terminator 2 - practices body transference and possession. And just what is really going on in the grandly named Department of Damage Control, a hush-hush government agency run by bureaucrat Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman). Throw in some hokum involving a young woman with telekinesis and there is very little brand new going on here at all.
At two and a half hours, it is the longest Spidey movie yet and the formulaic contrivances creep in very quickly. However, it all leads to a pay-off that does offer something different - a kind of kinetic mash-up of Tenet and The Matrix and maybe even a touch of Stranger Things.
Director Destin Daniel Cretton balances emotional depth with impressive set-pieces, not least a concrete-crushing ding-dong between Spidey and the Hulk in an art deco skyscraper, but a face-off with a multitude of marauding Ninjas owes a little too much to The Matrix. There are also some fun run-ins with Scorpion, and Spidey's gnarly vigilante frenemy, The Punisher (Joe Bernthal).
Cretton also makes the very most of the New York backdrop, with swooping (what else?) drone shots of Roosevelt Island and plenty of upper-skyline action that lend proceedings a sense of scale and magnitude.
The chemistry between the two star-crossed leads brings a rare sense of jeopardy (emotional trauma will scar Spidey and not the tremendous body blows he endures) and Zendaya's sheer presence and acting skill are as magnetic as ever.
Under the usual Marvel noise and bluster, there's a strong human story about the importance of friendship and how Peter Parker must sacrifice it all for the greater good.
But as ever, the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn't expanding; it's contracting into an endless cycle of diminishing returns. Just how long can they keep spinning this stuff out?
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in cinemas on Wednesday, 29 July
