Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the fourth solo Spider-Man film starring Tom Holland as Peter Parker, continues a stellar run for the MCU’s wallcrawler, continuing a darker and more dramatic path for the series, that maintains the same sense of humor and fun that audiences have come to know and love.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton, who takes over here from the Homecoming trilogy’s Jon Watts, wisely decides not to top the mystic, multiversal mayhem of 2021’s predecessor No Way Home, and instead follows Peter as he investigates the smaller (though no less spectacular) mystery of a shadowy enemy puppeting thralls to advance their goal.
Along with this, Spidey is dealing with the loneliness caused by his beloved MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) losing their memories of him after the events of the previous film, and a metamorphosis that grants organic webbing, overwhelming senses, and a lust for battle that’s at odds with his kindly nature.
Cretton, and writers Erik Sommers & Chris McKenna, do a great job of exploring the fallout from No Way Home, pulling on another seemingly forgotten consequence to dramatic effect, and of reminding us Spidey isn’t just a hero because he beats up bad guys, but because he’s here first and foremost to help, even if it’s the villain who needs to be saved by him.
Speaking of villains, despite the promotional emphasis on the Hand, the Scorpion (Michael Mando), and others who wind up only being cameos in the opening montage, this is very much a battle of minds and wills between Peter and the main villain, who is dealing with many of the same issues as he is, but hasn’t received the wisdom from the many mentors he’s been blessed with.
Holland is great as an older and slightly wiser Parker; he’s still boyishly charming and messy, but the deep underlying sadness he brings has become more evident with age, and it’s easy to see him becoming the most wonderful teacher to Miles Morales someday. He also does considerably more (some might even say Ryan Reynolds levels of) acting with the mask on this time, and it’s incredible how much personality he continues to exude without his face.
Zendaya and Batalon continue to be great as MJ and Ned, although Ned understandably has less screentime here. There’s a couple of incredibly raw and emotional scenes between Peter and MJ, that really put in perspective how much Holland and Zendaya love each other in real life, and where Cretton is happy to let the camera linger on them because their chemistry is that strong.
However, of all of Holland’s onscreen partners, Jon Bernthal steals the show as the Punisher/Frank Castle: he’s funny but sincere, with his distinctive manner of ranting bringing a very unique quality to the film’s dialogue, and dare I say, even likable as the ruthless vigilante. He fares much better than Mark Ruffalo, whose Bruce Banner/Hulk is largely here to provide another obstacle for Spidey, and a loose end for Avengers: Doomsday, Secret Wars, or another future MCU project.
Speaking of Avengers, another one shows up, and while it’s sadly not Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers (breaking the long series of collaborations between Cretton and Brie Larson), they are an absolute delight. As for actors whose roles weren’t revealed before the film’s release, let’s just say Sadie Sink gives a formidable performance in her undisclosed part, proving she really is the most talented member of the younger Stranger Things cast members.
Cretton brings an appropriately darker look to Spider-Man’s New York for this installment. It takes some getting used to, given how neutral MCU movies tend to look, but you can still follow the imagery without any issues. While the movie doesn’t have the breathtaking one-shot fights Shang-Chi had, the action is still pretty great, with plenty of slow-mo to let you appreciate the choreography. Michael Giacchino‘s score is similarly more low-key, even venturing into synthesized territory for an introspective quality.
Overall, Brand New Day is another strong MCU movie, and a compelling readjustment of the Spider-Man films ala soft James Bond reboots like For Your Eyes Only or Skyfall. The film offers so much closure after No Way Home, that I feel content enough to wait a similarly long amount of time for Marvel Studios to skip to introducing Miles Morales, but what Cretton might do in a sequel or two straight away is such an exciting prospect that you almost (almost) forget he still owes us a Shang-Chi follow-up.
In any case, it’s good to have Spidey back.
PS. The post-credits scene is cute but not very necessary. It’s probably the most disappointing part of the film, besides how Keith David is in it. Not cool being baited like that, Sony!
