Review: Spider-Man: Brand New Day – Spinning a new tale
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
Starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Mark Ruffalo, Saddie Sink, Jon Bernthal
7/10
This film marks the seventh outing for this iteration of our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man and the first chapter of a new direction after Spider-Man: No Way Home finished the previous trilogy with a devastating finale that stripped the character of much of his emotional support network. As the story moves forward, it’s exciting to see where this will take Spidey and the Marvel Cinematic Universe overall.
In the years since his actions nearly collapsed the multiverse, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) has made some degree of peace with sacrificing the memories of his friendship and dedicating his life to being a full-time superhero. He’s formed working relationships with the New York Police, the government organisations of Damage Control, and even with the extreme vigilante The Punisher (Jon Bernthal). However, his body is turning against him, and the reoccurring headaches are just a sign of other changes that are happening to his powers. To aggravate the situation, a new supervillain has appeared, a powerful body-hopping telepath (Sadie Sink) that seems set upon finding something hidden deep within the Damage Control facilities.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day understands the character of Spider-Man and is able to hit the right beats with him. We see more than just his menagerie of villains and his arachnid agility; we see the deeper aspects. We see how Parker struggles with his work-life balance and the sacrifices that he makes to be a hero. We see his wise-cracking attitude and his lightness in dealing with danger. We see how he befriends and cares for his community (both the superheroic community and New York in general) and how that’s repaid in return. Finally, we see how he balances his compassion and his responsibility in using his power, which is perhaps the most central tenet of the character.
Where Brand New Day suffers is that you can see the wheels turning in the overarching metaplot of the next Marvel phase. Not only are there a number of guest appearances from past MCU characters, but also they are setting up the future saga, moving beyond Avengers Doomsday and Secret Wars. At times it verges on intrusive, but at others it reminds us of the vast tapestry that the Marvel Universe is. Here, that interconnectivity is highlighted more than in the previous trilogy, pushing it more to an ensemble cast and diluting some of the chemistry that made the other films special.
The interplay between the gruff Punisher and Holland’s quipping Spider-Man captures some classic buddy cop energy. Seeing this mismatched pairing bounce off each other is a joy to watch, and it’s great to see Bernthal bring some lighter tones to the grizzled vigilante he’s been playing so well on the smaller screen. Holland does well as the old Web Head, bringing a bit more menace and physicality to the role in parts. Sink gets a role that’s filled with pathos and manages to nail the emotional turmoil.
In short, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a fine Spider-Man film hampered by its obligations to world-building and narrative setup for the greater franchise. It feels more adult than the previous trilogy but, in turn, lacks some of the punk vigour it had under Jon Watts. Still, director Destin Daniel Cretton brings us a slightly more emotionally mature film while dealing with both the mountain of previously established backstory and giving us a glimpse of the path going forward.
DAVID O’CONNELL