Spider-Man: Brand New Day - Review
- Jack Aling
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
It Amounts to a Kind of Rebirth.
Review written by Jack Aling
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers.
Starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink & Jacob Batalon.
Fighting crime full-time as Spider-Man in a world that doesn't remember him—and the pressure of seeing his old friends move on without him—sparks a change in Peter Parker he may not have the power to control. But that transformation might also be the only thing that can stop a shocking new threat to the city and those he loves - a powerful villain no one can even see.
It may be nine years since Spider-Man had his homecoming but the MCU's web-slinger is now alone and protecting New York. Just like the good old days.
Destin Daniel Cretton joins to inject some well-overdue energy into the series. Swinging through NYC feels visceral, the fight scenes pack a punch, and for the first time it really feels like Tom Holland is in the suit, rather than his computer-generated double. The vibrancy that Cretton’s practical direction and Peng Zhang’s stunt team brings elevates this instalment as they did with Shang-Chi in 2021.
Tom Holland breaks out of his high school persona, which allows his Peter Parker to evolve in more ways than one. A more serious tone allows the sacrifice of the previous film to set in while sowing the expected seeds for the future in this… 38th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Holland gets to own the emotion, taking on a largely solo role while battling his hero complex and his longing for Zendaya’s MJ and Jacob Batalon’s Ned.
This felt like the most lived-in Marvel film in a long while. Familiar faces show up but with narrative reason rather than cameos that hold for applause even if they are quite overused. Hopefully soon a Spider-Man film won’t require other major characters or crossovers to assist.
All audiences wanted was a street-level Spider-Man story. No trips around Europe, no multiverses, just a man bitten by a radioactive spider dodging pigeons, defeating villains and struggling to pay rent. It will be interesting to see what they do with Peter Parker next, now he’s more of the Spider-Man that audiences have come to expect, especially when the multiverse-altering Avengers films are over. All of that is to come; today is not that (Brand New) day.
Comments