Cherry

Venturing outside the comic-book realm and into the real world for the first time in almost a decade, sibling filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo stumble with Cherry, a lumbering crime drama with epic aspirations.

Confronting links between psychological war wounds, the opioid crisis, and socioeconomic desperation, the film too often feels like it’s merely checking thematic boxes without a fresh or provocative edge.

As the story opens, Cherry (Tom Holland) is in the middle of a bank robbery that prompts an extended flashback to explain how an average Ohio teenager got to this point.

As it turns out, Cherry joined the Army and served for a year as a medic in Afghanistan, where he witnessed death and destruction while questioning his mission. Back home, the lingering trauma jeopardizes his relationship with his girlfriend (Ciara Bravo) and others, causing him to abuse pills and eventually heroin.

Along the way, his hot-tempered bravado masks an internal vulnerability, causing a downward spiral that doesn’t offer much hope amid the heartbreak.

Visually striking, with an evocative sense of time and place, Cherry reminds us that the Russos (Avengers: Endgame) are gifted craftsman without relying on special effects.

However, the episodic screenplay — based on a semiautobiographical novel by Nico Walker — bogs down in exposition and ponderous narration at the expense of narrative urgency as it details the myriad troubles that fuel Cherry’s desperation on the home front.

The filmmakers strive for gritty authenticity, although overall the film is too emotionally calculated to maximize its impact. It manages some powerful moments yet lacks a cumulative resonance while using Cherry’s story to rail — albeit justifiably — against the medical establishment, the stigmas of PTSD, financial inequities, and more.

Benefiting from the film’s character-driven approach, Holland breaks free from the Spider-Man suit to showcase his versatility with a committed performance. He generates hard-earned sympathy for a character in need of redemption on multiple fronts.

The film captures the harrowing psychological effects of war and how it creates a backlash of cynicism and bitterness toward the military experience among veterans. “My one true accomplishment was not dying,” Cherry laments while accepting a Medal of Valor.

No doubt there are plenty of young men and women who can relate. Cherry’s story is unremarkable, which might be the point, but it also presents some narrative hurdles from which the film never recovers.

Rated R, 141 minutes.