Spider-Man: Brand New Day – The BRWC Review. By Jake Peffer.
It has been five years since the last Spider-Man movie hit theaters. Spider-Man: No Way Home was one of the biggest post pandemic movies and was able to capitalize on bringing together all three live action Spider-Man actors. After taking some time off, Spider-Man is back with a new director and a new look at not just the superhero but Peter Parker himself.
Picking up right where the last movie left off, everyone has not only forgotten that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, but everyone also has forgotten Peter Parker altogether. Now, living on his own and mostly keeping to himself Peter tries to live a life without his aunt, his best friend and the love of his life. Continuing with his duties as Spider-Man, he has been collaborating with the local police to help track down any villains that try to destroy the city. He still keeps tabs on Ned and MJ as they are now attending MIT and living their life post-Peter Parker.
A new threat makes its way into the city, and it is something that Peter has never dealt with before. This new threat can take over the body of anyone that it wants to, making it even harder for Peter to take them down. While this new threat emerges, Peter deals with his own problems as his body starts to change. His spider side is starting to take over his human side causing some side effects that make him angrier, more violent and sometimes out of control. It will take Peter everything that he’s got to try and fix his own problems while also defeating this new threat to the city that he loves.
Brand New Day is the first of the MCU Spider-Man movies that mostly focuses on Peter and his own personal journey. The other movies have a little too much involvement from Tony Stark, Happy Hogan, and previous Spider-Man heroes and villains. That’s not to say that this movie doesn’t feature other characters and tries to expand the MCU, but its focus is set on Peter and how he must deal with being alone for the first time in his life. This adds more depth to Peter, and it finally gives him time to shine and not feel like he is being overshadowed by other characters.
Director Destin Daniel Cretton does a great job behind the camera. He has a great flair when it comes to directing the character of Spider-Man. Watching the character swing around the city and web sling from building to building has never felt more immersive. The cinematography during these scenes is some of the best in any Spider-Man movie and it really makes the audience feel closer to the character.
The rest of the visuals throughout are mostly solid. At times there is some questionable CGI, just like there is in all these movies. Thankfully, it looks better more often than it looks wonky. There are some fantastic action set pieces mixed in with some good-looking fight choreography. In the beginning of the movie, Peter is shown fighting and saving the city from a variety of different villains. The character designs look great with most of these villains looking just like they do in the comics.
After playing the character seven times already, this may very well be Tom Holland’s best performance so far. Holland dives deeper into the character than he’s done before and this bodes well as the story requires more from him than in previous movies. His chemistry with the rest of the cast is top notch. Without much spoiling, the scenes Holland shares with Zendaya are extremely well done. Obviously, they have a lot of chemistry given that they are a real-life couple, but with MJ having her memory erased it adds a new dynamic to the characters that makes everything feel fresh.
Jacob Batalon returns as Ned, and he is as good as ever. The movie allows him to be even funnier than he typically is and seeing Batalon in scenes with both Holland and Zendaya makes for a great trio. As has been revealed in the trailers there are some other heroes that make appearances. Jon Bernthal returns as Frank Castle and the story utilizes him quite well despite being an R-rated character in a PG-13 movie. Mark Ruffalo is back once again as Bruce Banner. While he isn’t given as much to do, he does well with the time he is given. Sadie Sink adds a new element to the storyline once she is brought into the picture. Her character must remain a mystery, but she is a nice surprise and is a great addition to the cast.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a top tier Spider-Man movie. It manages to walk a fine line between focusing on Peter Parker but also expanding the MCU without overshadowing Peter’s personal journey. The action sequences are a lot of fun, and the character interactions make for some of the best moments of the movie.
Grade: A-
