I literally went to see this new Spiderman film because I saw the trailer and thought it looked great.

I’m Johnny Come Lately when it comes to this franchise. The first time I saw Spiderman on the big screen was in 1980 when I saw Spiderman: The Dragon’s Challenge when it was showing as part of a double bill with a Kirk Douglas/Arnie movie called Cactus Jack when I was five. The last Spiderman film I saw was the Sam Raimi film in 2002. I told you the franchise has largely passed me by!

Would I be able to pick up on what was going on without having seen the films that came before? Thankfully, yes. Peter Parker is learning to live his life without MJ or Ned being in it after he erased their memories of him. His DNA is mutating which means he has to readjust and learn to assimilate to new powers (one of which is that his body can actually make their own webs now). But there’s a new villain on the horizon who can use telepathy to their advantage.

I’m trying not to ruin the film for anyone and so there will be no real spoilers here. But there’s amazing action sequences, genuinely heartwarming (but never mawkish) moments and plenty of character arcs.

Theres also plenty of moments that reminded me of other cult films such as Carrie, The Fury, Firestarter and Silence of the Lambs. There’s a great subplot that shows that organisations that try to portray themselves as the good guys are anything but.

The majority of the film is excellent. The last half hour is genius! Let’s just say it delivers on every level possible. I was blown away at how intelligent it was especially regarding a character arc involving a new character who is introduced. And Matrix Spidey is really something to behold.

Whilst Supergirl was terrible, whilst WW84 was appalling, Spiderman: Brand New Day, the umpteenth film in a well established superhero franchise is fresh, intelligent and breaking new ground.

Brilliantly directed, dialogue that crackles and pinpoint perfect casting, this is fantastic cinema. If you have the chance to see this in 3D, do so.

4.5 out of 5 stars