REVIEW: 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' finally pushes the MCU forward
When we last saw Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (Tom Holland, The Odyssey), he was living with the consequences of a spell cast by Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock) to erase Peter Parker from the world’s memory. Four years on from the magically induced amnesia, Peter protects New York as Spider-Man nearly full-time, haunted by the memories of his loved ones. When a series of attacks on the Department of Damage Control’s offices point to a mysterious teenager (Sadie Sink, Stranger Things), it falls to Peter and a reluctant Punisher (Jon Bernthal, The Bear) to restore order and open an exciting new chapter for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool and Wolverine were enormously crowd-pleasing blockbusters, they relied heavily on pre-existing nostalgia that didn’t necessarily push the multiversal storyline forward. With the overall franchise being hastily rewritten around Doctor Doom (due to the legal troubles of Kang actor Jonathan Majors), only December’s Avengers: Doomsday will reveal if Robert Downey Jr.’s controversial return is an act of desperate stunt casting or a stroke of brilliance. That being said, the MCU has a lot riding on Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Now, it’s no secret that we’re some years removed from the MCU’s glory days; while titles like Spider-Man: Far From Home, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness, and Guardians of the Galaxy 3 were enjoyable, they were (largely) continuations of pre-Avengers: Endgame storylines. At the same time, attempts to introduce new characters (Marvels, Shang-Chi, Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four), were divisive, and the introduction of streaming content made keeping up with everything too exhausting (and convoluted) for all but the most devoted fans. Even assuming one was up to date on the lore, far too many of the studio’s post-Endgame output (The Eternals, Thor: Love and Thunder, Ant-Man: Quantumania, Captain America: Brave New World) just weren’t any good. In fact, they were pretty terrible.
In the case of Brand New Day, it’s not good—it’s great.
For Holland’s fourth mainline Spider-Man film, much of what characterized his previous MCU tenure has been stripped away, bringing the hero back to basics in a way that grounds him, for the better. In the hands of new director Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi), this Spider-Man and his New York feel lived-in and tactile in ways that previous entries weren’t. Sure, his days are still full of superpowered action and wisecracks, but Brand New Day takes the time to show us the emotional and physical tolls said derring-do has on the young hero. Still reeling from the loss of Aunt May (Marissa Tomei) and the removal of Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya) from his life, Peter’s constant activity as a form of self-inflicted penance is relatable to anyone for whom grief has become a way of being.
Holland is brilliant as the tortured Peter, and the decision to wait a few years between films adds gravitas to his take. Even if his adventures are (now) more street-level than superhero civil wars or intergalactic crises, his Spider-Man is no longer the wide-eyed boy trying to prove himself among legends. He’s grown up, moving well beyond Tony Stark’s shadow in more ways than one, and it suits him. It should also be said that this is Holland’s first Spidey film where New York City truly feels like a supporting character, its steel and glass canyons proving the perfect backdrop for everything from web swinging and animal-based supervillains to much-needed introspection.
Power and responsibility will always loom over Peter Parker, and the glimpses he gets into the lives of the friends who no longer know he exists are agonizing in their wholesome ordinariness. At the same time—the real-world pairing of Holland and Zendaya notwithstanding—the scenes between Peter and MJ feel genuine, based on the actors’ years with these iterations of the characters. For this lifelong fan, they nailed the relationship (or lack thereof) in ways that even the comics have lacked in recent times.
The film’s themes may be heavy, but the screenplay (by returning writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers) never forgets to be fun, interspersing great character moments with some of the most inventive action we’ve seen this year. Indeed, with 24 years of live-action Spider-Man movies to choose from, it’s honestly impressive that the filmmakers are still finding new ways to show the ol’ Wall Crawler doing his thing; blending practical stunts and acrobatics (courtesy of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team) with real-world locations and seamless CGI, it genuinely feels like a comic book come to life (oftentimes, literally). The fact that cinematographer Brett Pawlak (Wonder Man) deliberately eschews the flat lighting and desaturated colors of most modern blockbusters is the rich, vibrant icing on the cake, and it is glorious.
Despite Bernthal’s recent ultraviolent One Last Kill special lacking any sort of build-up for Brand New Day, his integration here is actually one of the film’s high points. Brash, reactive, and growly as ever, Bernthal is enjoying the hell out of this role, and his Punisher’s contrast to the family-friendly Spider-Man is honestly delightful. Whatever concerns one had about the decidedly R-rated vigilante’s appearance are negated the moment he shows up, and he somehow manages to remain entirely in character while providing some of the film’s biggest laughs. This guy’s got chops, and bless the filmmakers for giving him the chance to show off his range.
As for the scattered worldbuilding that most post-Endgame MCU entries have struggled with, Brand New Day expertly lays a foundation for the franchise that this writer is genuinely more excited for than the recent Doomsday trailer. Sadie Sink’s character is front and center of it all and, suffice it to say, her storyline is engaging in all the ways that the first Iron Man’s iconic post-credits scene was, and then some.
Big things are on the horizon for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it all begins here, with Brand New Day.
Disclaimer: PhilSTAR L!fe attended the special advance screening of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, courtesy of Columbia Pictures and SM Cinema. Watch the trailer below for the film, which opens in Philippine cinemas on July 29.
