by Jake Hjort, Contributing Writer
Who doesn’t love Spider-Man? One of the oldest and most popular superheroes in all of pop culture, Spider-Man has been slinging webs for over 60 years across thousands of comic books, countless cartoons, and now 11 feature length films, (and three major cameos) across multiple franchises. Brand New Day, the fourth Spider-Man film in the MCU, is the latest entry in this cultural legacy; into a pantheon of movies which vary in quality from great to terrible. Can this new entry continue on with the momentum of No Way Home, or is this yet another forgettable entry in the MCU, following last year’s duds like Fantastic Four: First Steps and Captain America: Brave New World?
In the aftermath of the memory spell from No Way Home, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) finds himself in a world where no one knows of his existence. With MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) off to college without him, Peter fully devotes himself to his Spider-Man persona and to cleaning up the streets of New York City. Confronted with evolving powers and a mysterious new threat of someone able to possess people in their nearby vicinity, Peter is forced to reckon with who he really is in order to save the day. Helping him in his journey are several familiar faces from the MCU, including Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), and one or two surprisesw.
Ever since I was a little kid Spider-Man has been my favorite superhero. I was never much of a comic book reader, but I did grow up on the 90’s cartoon and the Tobey Maguire movies. At his best, Spider-Man is a very inspirational character: a normal kid granted with tremendous power who uses his abilities to stand up for the little guys. Though the MCU was quick to partner him up with the Avengers and put him up against universe-ending threats, the Spider-Man that I love is the street-level hero, helping the people of New York with smaller, more personal villains.
In many ways, Brand New Day is a return to this form for the character, making this easily the most traditionally Spider-Man story that the MCU has had yet. Although the antagonist may not be a traditional member of the Spider-Man rogue’s gallery, the story is firmly set on the streets of New York, explicitly kept separate from the “big potato” problems of the Avengers (heck, Tony Stark isn’t even mentioned a single time!). This is also the first time that the city of New York has felt like a distinct character in the story, a key feature of other Spider-Man media. Some of the best moments in the Maguire and Andrew Garfield films are those in which New Yorkers rally to support their local hero, showing how even the strongest amongst us need community, and this is the first of the Holland films where I’ve really felt those moments.
I would also say that this is easily the best performance that Holland has given thus far. Holland has been a great Spider-Man since he was first introduced in Captain America: Civil War, but this is the first film in which I feel like he really elevates the character and brings a new level to it. Peter is often a character who struggles with darkness—see Maguire in Spider-Man 3, Garfield in No Way Home, or even Jake Johnson in the Spider-Verse movies—but Holland’s portrayal of loneliness and isolation here is a depth I haven’t seen in the character before. Much of the film centers around the last vestiges of Peter Parker being consumed by the literal essence of Spider-Man and, though it steers a bit too far into Marvel pseudoscience for my taste, I found this to be an interesting take on losing oneself in one’s work after tragedy.
In terms of supporting performances, my first shoutout has to go to Jon Bernthal. He’s been doing a great job playing the Punisher on various TV series for the past decade, so it’s great to see him get the opportunity to make his cinematic debut, even if the character has to be a bit watered down. Sadie Sink is also great in her role, equal parts intimidating and sympathetic as you learn more about her character as the story progresses. As she plays a character that will likely continue to play a big role in the future of the MCU, it’s good to see that the franchise is starting to lay down some seeds for what may come next after the Doomsday saga.
As Brand New Day’s release was approaching and more and more casting announcements were made, I was beginning to grow increasingly worried that this film was going to pull a Spider-Man 3 and stuff in way more characters than the story could handle. Overall, I’d say that the movie handled all of these characters better than I had expected, with many of the characters featured in marketing or trailers in very small or cameo roles. However, I still can’t help but feel like the movie is a bit overstuffed. At two hours and 25 minutes this is the second longest of all the Spider-Man movies, behind only No Way Home, and I can’t help but feel like a two-hour cut of this film with much of the broader MCU fat trimmed away would have been a much more effective, intimate story. While certainly not as intrusive as Tony Stark in the earlier trilogy, I don’t really understand why Bruce Banner has to play the role that he does here, aside from reminding the audience that this story is set in a larger universe.
I have a lot of respect for a filmmaker whose willing to take some swings and try something new with visuals, but director Destin Daniel Cretton tries to film Peter’s web swinging in a new, more dynamic way that really didn’t work for me. We see a lot of POV or very close-in shots of Spider-Man as he swings around New York, and frankly it made me feel more nauseated than awe-inspired. I don’t know if it was an issue with the projection I saw (though I saw the film in a Dolby cinema, which are usually pretty good) or an intentional choice but these scenes were often quite blurry as well. Not motion blur to highlight how fast Spider-Man is travelling, but just blurry as though the camera wasn’t quite focused properly. I appreciate what he was trying to go for with putting the audience right there in the action, but I sighed every time the camera flashed into Peter’s perspective as I knew the execution just wasn’t there.
Like many other Spider-Man films before it, Brand New Day is a flawed film that is still a ton of fun. Peter Parker continues to be one of the greatest characters in all of pop culture and I’m never going to turn down an opportunity to spend a few hours watching another chapter in his saga. At this point no one really knows what the future looks like for the MCU and the superhero genre as a whole, but I’m hopeful that Spider-Man’s lasting legacy will allow him to persevere the storm and come out on the other end, even if once again disconnected from a larger cinematic universe.
Rating: High Side of Liked It
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently in theaters.
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