Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Full spoilers ahead.

I promised myself as I’ve matured to not always write online about how certain films relate to and affect me on a personal level and blah, blah, blah – but I’ll say this much; the previous Tom Holland Spider-Man films each came at the right time for me over my adolescence, relatability and resonance and nonesuch. I’m glad to say that Brand New Day continues that trend, and tells a fantastic Spider-Man story too.

Peter Parker has it tough. Other than the spider-bite, it’s arguably his defining trait over the past sixty years. Brand New Day starts him off in a tough place – he’s got the suit, the powers, the tech, the apartment, the entire city supporting him, but he’s alone. His sacrifice at the end of No Way Home wiped everyone’s memory of him – four years later, everyone loves Spider-Man but no one knows Peter Parker. He seems to be taking it fine – until a reunion with his lost love breaks his heart to such a degree that he goes off the deep end into possibly transforming into a Man-Spider. There’s a lot going on this one.

The eternal struggle of Spider-Man is the same as many other flagship superheroes – can he be the hero and the regular person both? Can he be Peter Parker and Spider-Man? This film takes that concept to its physical extreme, where Peter begins to experience a variety of symptoms not limited to – physical spinnerets growing, blinding headaches, sensory overload, and explosions of webbing (suppress the puberty metaphor…). All the while, he’s passing out and keeling over as Peter Parker. The film suggests seeing MJ again triggers such a profound emotional response that his arachnid hormones (I’m not making this up) go haywire and begin mutating. It makes for an interesting thematic concept of repressing powers and our own inner evils – compare that with the film’s villain and a brief appearance from the Hulk, and voila, you have a central theme. It all culminates in the always-appreciated resolution of embracing our darker sides that we use to justify hiding ourselves away, to move forward and reach out to others, to choose to have friends again. Most of all, it saves our villain in a very moving vicarious flashback/memory (again, comics), and the simplest thing a superhero can do – be there for someone.

Speaking of the villain – woah, Jean Grey! An actual, honest-to-god, X-Men mainstay here as the central, threatening, downright evil at times villain of a Spider-Man story. No wonder I couldn’t guess who the villain was. Sadie Sink is great – sinister, spiteful, and sympathetic. I admit X-Men comics are probably my biggest comic book blindspot (sorry, Jonathan Hickman) so I don’t know much about the character, but I do find it interesting seeing such a prominent X-Men character like her get to be the villain for once. Maybe the upcoming MCU version will actually be interesting?

Thankfully, a film like this filled with comic book-y jargon and arse-kicking action is buoyed by excellent acting performances. Tom Holland can play Spider-Man in his sleep at this point, but he’s still bringing his A-game – this version of Spider-Man feels so lived-in at this point, thanks to Holland’s performance which mixes the typical youthful energy with a wiser maturity that comes with being in a fourth entry of a franchise. His chemistry with Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle/The Punisher is a definite highlight – wonderful odd couple pairing. I’ve never been the biggest fan of The Punisher as a character, but the combination of pairing him up with a nice guy like Spidey and Jon Bernthal’s affably comedic tough-guy persona results in some delightfully funny interactions that had me laughing.

For me though, the most emotionally affecting performance comes from Zendaya as MJ. She’s fantastic, through many different layers and complicated emotional beats. There’s still elements of the sarcastic, abrasive teen from the previous films, but like Holland’s Spider-Man she’s matured. The centrepiece scene between her and Peter about the letter is the film’s best scene – the long-awaited payoff to the end of No Way Home. Zendaya’s performance feels appropriately confused and complex, navigating this messy, magical fallout as best as someone who had their memories removed could do. But, thankfully, MJ sticks around in the film – I was fully expecting that to be it, for us to never see her again, but instead the filmmakers choose to allow Peter a small salvation. Of course she doesn’t love him because she doesn’t know him anymore, but maybe the friendship can start again. That last bit also applies to Jacob Batalon’s Ned, who I think never quite got the props he deserved for being a very welcome friendly and comedic presence in the other films. I’m so glad we get to see him again, and Ned’s as likable as ever thanks to him.

This may sound like nonsense to people who don’t read comics, but bear with me – Destin Daniel Cretton’s direction, through its use of slow-motion and holding on poses, often replicates the vibe of comic book panels. So many great action scenes feel like they could be broken up into panels and grids, which is a massive plus for me – far too much of the MCU feels embarrassed of its comic book origins, whereas this leans into the way imagery flows and develops visual punchlines the same way comic book panels do. Does any of that make sense to general readers? The point is, Cretton knows how to film how Spider-Man moves.

For all this film’s emotional triumphs, I do think it is messy at times. It’s full of great ideas, but not all of it flows seamlessly. My biggest nitpick is that I would’ve liked more time and development dedicated to the Man-Spider/mutation plotline – it’s initially setup as Peter’s primary conflict, but then feels like it drops in and out of focus. It’s the Peter Parker or Spider-Man theme taken to its physical extreme, but it’s not always given the focus it needs. My favourite scene was the fight with Scorpion where he loses control and brutalises him – more conflict within himself beyond sensory overload and bad web shooting would’ve lent the film more dramatic stakes for Peter. There’s a frankly bizarre sauna scene with Black Widow that’s laden with exposition, but is made bearable by the eminently watchable Florence Pugh. Mark Ruffalo as Hulk is always brilliant, but how many times have we done Hulk losing control at this point?

But despite the imperfections, I think it’s still a great piece of work. It has a tangible, resonant emotional centre performed by excellent actors, with awesome comic book-y action and good humour. And if that’s not good enough for you, we finally got sad Spider-Man in the MCU. Is that comic accurate enough for you?

Post-credits: This is the tiniest of nitpicks, but obviously these films’ environments are green screened and VFX-ed within an inch of their lives (they’re shot in a cupboard) – so why, 99% of the time, is the sky in the MCU always grey, flat, and overcast? Do they never paint in sun, or the occasional clouds amidst blue skies? Must it always be cloudy? Lots to think about.