Adapting a video game into a film isn’t easy, especially when the game in question has a dedicated fanbase hoping the film stays as faithful to the source material as possible. In fact, when word got out that Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil would include point-of-view shots, fans quickly pointed out that the first Resident Evil game isn’t played from a first-person perspective. Fans hoping for a flawless film version of the game should keep their expectations in check. Cregger’s film isn’t so much an adaptation as it is an entirely original story that happens to be set in the world of Raccoon City.

I kept hearing that Destin Daniel Cretton's Spider-Man: Brand New Day was a more pared-down Spider-Man story because, unlike 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home, it is not a multiverse film. That description made me realize what I had been missing from the recent string of Spider-Man movies. Growing up, Spider-Man was my favorite superhero, but somewhere along the way my enthusiasm for the character began to fade. Watching Brand New Day helped me understand why while also reminding me why I fell in love with the character in the first place.