THE STORY – A forgotten Peter Parker lives alone as a full-time Spider-Man until mounting pressure triggers a dangerous change and a powerful new enemy emerges.
THE CAST – Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando & Mark Ruffalo
THE TEAM – Daniel Destin Cretton (Director), Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers (Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME – 145 Minutes
One could say that the release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” felt like a shift for the Spider-Man franchise, leaving many feeling that it was the absolute pinnacle of what an MCU Spider story could be. The film, to no one’s surprise, was a theatrical phenomenon in the aftermath of a post-COVID year, which certainly shields the Jon Watts-helmed threequel from the most reasonable displays of criticism. Since its release, “No Way Home” has remained locked in a nostalgia-fueled bubble that only highlights the biggest flaws of the Tom Holland-era of the character, one that would need to change if the Marvel machine wanted to breathe new life into the franchise. Cue Daniel Destin Cretton, a filmmaker who has now become a steady hand for Marvel after successes like “Shang-Chi And The Legend of the Ten Rings” and the recently Emmy-nominated “Wonder-Man.”
With Watts gone, there comes a complete shift in the form of “Brand New Day,” almost mirroring Peter Parker’s life in a post “No Way Home” world where his life-altering decision to have everyone forget his existence resets our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man back to ground zero, a narrative decision that makes sense as the inevitable landing spot after three films of team-up adventures. While that doesn’t entirely change here, Cretton crams plenty into the New York City-set opening montage of “Brand New Day,” which only amplifies the lonely lifestyle Peter has reluctantly embraced on his path of detachment from those he cares about. Over the course of his missed MIT years, Spider-Man is seen webbing up iconic villains like Michael Mando’s Scorpion (his first time back since “Homecoming“) while yearning for Zendaya’s MJ and Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds to be back in his life. Peter watches the days go by, taking blows in all forms, whether getting physically pummled by his wonderfully diverse rogue’s gallery of villains or watching couples have PDA on the subway, reminding him of what he can no longer have. His new life is as miserable as it sounds and now, he’s also going through some unexpected physical changes, leading to a mutation of sorts in his DNA, resulting in him becoming a new version of Spider-Man as the superhero and Peter Parker as the person, from boy to adulthood. Still, the beauty of Peter Parker is how he shoulders the responsibility of being Spider-Man to protect the people he loves, especially in the traumatic aftermath of losing Aunt May.
The relationships in Peter’s life now are tied only to his alter ego, mainly Liza Colon-Zayas’s police detective Jean DeWolff, and Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle (aka. The Punisher), who has a bicker-fueled history with the web crawler, mainly revolving around a previous incident the two were involved in at Staten Island. Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers’ screenplay takes the time to establish this new status quo for Spider-Man before he’s launched into a quest to discover a mysterious entity that not only is possessing people, but using any way it can to break into the headquarters of the Department of Damage Control led by Tramell Tillman’s shadowy Bill Metzger. All of this emotional buildup, while prioritized in the first half, is ultimately baked into the structure of most of these Spider-Man MCU outings, as heavyweight characters rotate in and out to deliver exposition and keep the story flowing. To Cretton’s credit, key-jangle-worthy characters like Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner (who has been able to use the inhibitor technology established in “She-Hulk” to suppress turning into the giant, destructive, uncontrollable Hulk), who is now a college professor, are used sparingly to let the story revolve first and foremost around Peter.
The biggest concern going into “Brand New Day” was whether, with Cretton taking over the reins, the visual language of this film would come off as something far less scrutinized than the Watts entries. It’s been a while since we’ve witnessed web-slinging in a Spider-Man film that perfectly captures the energy we’ve felt when seeing this character in other media. There hasn’t been this much discussion around an MCU feature, let alone a Spider-Man film, in which the promises of its production’s practicality have been echoed by its director and lead star, as Holland’s years carrying this mantle have given him the opportunity to further drive his creative input. Those infamous set photos of the film’s opening set piece, with a tank wreaking havoc through the streets of New York, set the internet ablaze. Yet, as with most Marvel films, all these efforts are largely worn down, as Cretton’s vision for the character is at times almost indistinguishable from what Watts did.
Brett Pawlak’s cinematography is put through the same visual blender these films usually go through, even when Cretton dabbles in CGI-heavy sequences intercut with more practically shot POV shots. When the action isn’t mimicking the ultimate slow-motion sequences like an “Insomniac” video game, Cretton does capture some great hand-to-hand combat (no surprise considering his work on “Shang-Chi“), mainly Spider-Man’s interactions with generic goons or enemies like the Hand, a group of ninjas more often associated with “Daredevil.” The physicality Holland brings to the character makes his performance consistently amazing to witness, as does the emotion he taps into, which perfectly embodies Peter’s pain. If anything, we take Holland’s portrayal as Spider-Man for granted. He’s the living embodiment of this character, capturing the charm, energy, and heart that makes this character special for young viewers all over the world. Zendaya and Batalon’s chemistry also flourishes with Holland, as their years of playing opposite one another are given an interesting alteration that makes it easily the best aspect of the film. If Peter’s emotional struggles weren’t as well executed, “Brand New Day” would just falter to becoming a far more standard Spidey excursion.
“Brand New Day” really does drive into second gear once Bernthal’s Frank Castle becomes far more integral to the narrative than his swear-heavy introduction, clearly displaying how Fiege and co. haven’t dulled the knife too far to where everyone’s favorite gun-wielding vigilante doesn’t have some edge. Frank is still as unapologetic about his violent methodology as Holland is about “sneaking” Bero product placement into one of the local bodegas Peter frequents. Holland and Bernthal’s chemistry is one of the highlights of the film, somewhat channeling their real-life energies, which are so opposed to one another. If anything, after seeing that misfire of a television special, “One Last Kill,” having Frank somewhat dance the line between family-friendly grunt and menacing murderer actually gives Bernthal far more freedom with this character than he’s had in years. And he gets to tap into a tenderness the character is not often afforded in the Netflix TV-MA-fueled depiction most people have associated with him since he first stepped into the boots.
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” can feel a bit overstuffed, piled with a rotating cast of antagonists all playing second fiddle to this mysterious entity tied to Sadie Sink’s mysterious character, who is extremely integral to the film’s plot. It’s a tough ask of Sink, who mostly rises above the material as the intentionality behind keeping her hidden hinders the narrative that is just teasing audiences. Luckily, she delivers a stellar performance, as the back half of the film makes her motivations much clearer to audiences and firmly establishes her character for future installments, positioning her as the first of many pieces on an elaborate board in Kevin Feige’s grand master plan for the franchise. It does veer into the same thematic territory that “Thunderbolts*” recently explored, yet Cretton and Sink manage to draw something special out of her character that has been absent from these films for years.
While “Brand New Day” is not the end of the Holland-era of Spider-Man, despite what the marketing has made it seem, it’s a more-than-perfect pivot for the character and the MCU as we head toward “Doomsday” later this December. It’s a Spider-Man adventure driven by character in a way these movies have lacked for some time. Despite inconsistent pacing and obvious product placement, it remains one of the better Spider-Man stories we’ve seen on screen in years.
