Tom Holland is back for his seventh appearance as everyone’s favourite web-slinger, already breaking records in cinemas with Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Breaking a five-year absence from the big screen, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s newest instalment sets a more mature tone ahead of Avengers: Doomsday and also gives us what is arguably our most comic-faithful view of Spider-Man yet.
Aside from being a development for Peter Parker, this is a film full of emotion, memorable action and, most importantly, heart.
Some spoiler warnings apply.
Our most mature Peter Parker yet
For years, Peter Parker has been a character who exemplifies the struggles of teenage youth.
Whether it be through his romantic interests, his friendships, even his immaturity, Peter has often been seen as an angsty teen grappling between his relationships, morals and crime-fighting life.
That’s the first thing we see at the start of this film.
Peter is alone; he’s unable to interact with his friend Ned or his love interest MJ, putting his responsibilities over any remaining crumbs of a social life.
It’s comforting to see that the film doesn’t brush aside any issues set up by No Way Home’s conclusion, where Peter wipes the world of his memory.
Instead, this film embraces them and uses them to drive the plot, where Peter’s personal development and emotions are key.
He’s truly alone in this one, and you can feel it (more on that decision later).
A fantastic ensemble of characters and cast
Aside from Holland’s usual strong turnout, there’s no shortage of talent in this film.
Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead, The Odyssey) returns as The Punisher, a hardened vigilante driven by a dark past and a desire for justice, and brings soul and comedic relief to the story.
His performance is as you’d expect, but still works well within the plot and never really feels out of place, especially in more personal scenes where Peter is down and out.
Zendaya (Dune, The Odyssey) once again delivers a great, emotive performance as an MJ with no memory of Peter, which she and Holland unsurprisingly play quite well throughout.
Major spoiler
Sadie Sink of Stranger Things fame is also here to kick off the MCU’s take on mutants with a bang.
Playing fan-favourite Jean Grey (who is finally depicted on screen with her mind-reading powers), Sink’s performance is solid.
The casting just feels right for this film.
Acting against her is Tramell Tillman (Severance) as head of Damage Control William Metzger.
Tillman is strong in the role, but the character ultimately fails to serve the story well.
There’s also another “character” that is expressed fantastically throughout: New York City and the civilians living there.
Spider-Man is classically a New York hero, and this story plays out within a city full of character and culture.
It’s fantastic to see the city itself get some real love here.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day also has some wonderful nods to classic villains, including Tombstone, Boomerang and Tarantula.
One villain that appears a little more is Scorpion, played by the fantastic Michael Mando (Better Call Saul), who has been teased since Holland’s first lead role in Homecoming.
It’s nice to see his character finally get some decent screen time, but I do question whether an actor of his calibre could’ve offered more in a bigger role.
Oh, and Mark Ruffalo returns as the Hulk for one of the character’s coolest fight scenes we’ve seen in years, all while still serving the plot well and not at all feeling forced.
The story of ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’
This story, as previously mentioned, is a heartfelt take on Peter Parker’s maturity in a way that (finally!) pushes aside any mentions of Tony Stark or the Avengers, and allows Peter to get a grip on being his own hero.
He’s living in a dingy loft feeling sorry for himself, pining for friendships that quite literally might as well have not known him, and really having no life outside of what is finally a street-level Spidey.
The film establishes this well through its opening montage, showing us that this is a grounded Spider-Man with a unique catalogue of enemies, doing everything on his own.
The cinematography is exciting throughout this montage and sets the scene well.
Peter also contends with his mental health deteriorating; we also see him undergo changes that see him overstimulated and aggressive at times, in one instance injuring a police officer during a fight against Scorpion where he snaps.
This nod to the ‘Man-Spider’ storyline in the comics is great, and it adds a real level of personal crisis to the character that isn’t solely based on the world around him, instead looking internally.
It’s a story that can only be described as heartfelt, and a love letter to the character of Spider-Man as a whole.
Other positives
The music in this film is brilliant.
There’s Tame Impala (who actually appears in the background) on at Ned and MJ’s house party, and a great soundtrack in the credits, too, most notably Steve Lacy’s “oh yeah?” that plays as the credits roll.
Another nod has to go to the swinging sequences, which are arguably the best seen in a Spider-Man film yet.
The film is visually amazing outside of the swinging too, with some nice shots throughout, and a wide range of colour palettes also on show, particularly in the new suit.
Credit goes to director Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi) and director of photography Brett Pawlak (Wonder Man).
READ MORE – Film analysis: Can Avengers: Doomsday rescue the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
The cons
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a great film, but not without flaws.
While the crime-fighting sequence was great to start the film, it felt like a lot of the characters could’ve been utilised more.
Tombstone, for instance, is such an iconic character for many fans, and is only seen briefly, somewhat leaving a desire for more.
Of course, there’s only so much they can include without dragging things out.
Another issue, which may also jeopardise the character of the story, is that there doesn’t really feel like there’s a real villain here.
We want to see Spider-Man fight a proper bad guy throughout, building up to an epic battle at the end. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?
The point could be made, though, that the strength this story has is its personal touch, with the true conflict being Peter Parker’s internal battle, rather than yet another villain in tights for the umpteenth time.
So it might be a little unfair to complain. The Hulk battle also gave us a bit of that cheesily-cool action, too.
Also, the dialogue. It’s the MCU, so it can be expected, but now and then some of the lines felt a little forced or out of place.
Final thoughts on ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’
Spider-Man: Brand New Day has taken the cliches of Spider-Man and Peter Parker as a character, and played with them in a way that exemplifies the character completely.
It tweaks things to feel like something new, while playing on the usual characteristics and making them better than they’ve been in a long time.
For once, he finally feels like his own character in the MCU, maturing past being a kid and going through his own journey properly.
It proves once again just why the character is so popular, and restores faith in the future of the cinematic universe with a character that audiences can trust not to disappoint.
Ahead of Avengers: Doomsday in December, it feels like the perfect time to make that tonal shift and growth in maturity, with a great film that has got people excited again.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day has swung into cinemas with great success; go see it for a heartfelt film about love, loss, and growth.
Rating: 7.5/10
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