Film Review | Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Another fantastic spidey film
Spider-Man: Brand New Day takes Peter Parker to a darker place after No Way Home
Author | Greg S
Spider-Man: No Way Home ended on a bleak note, with Peter Parker (Tom Holland) asking Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to erase him from everyone’s memory in an effort to protect the multiverse. The spell saves the day, but it also wipes Peter from the lives of those closest to him, including his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon).
Brand New Day picks up with an increasingly isolated Peter throwing himself into his work while secretly keeping tabs on MJ and Ned through social media as they spend four years at MIT. He lives rough in a New York tenement, patrols the city and takes painstaking care of his suit and web shooters with the help of a homemade “fabricator”, described as part sewing machine and part 3D printer.
Peter’s only real friend is Detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas), and even she is becoming concerned by how relentlessly he is pushing himself as Spider-Man.
Things take another turn
Peter finally summons the courage to attend a party in disguise, only to see MJ kissing her new boyfriend. The emotional strain appears to trigger a disturbing change in his Spider-Man persona.
His senses become exceptionally heightened and he grows far more aggressive when confronting criminals, with his eyes turning black during battles.
More significantly, he develops organic web shooters, echoing the version of Spider-Man played by Tobey Maguire.
To make matters worse, Peter is confronted by an entirely new threat, an invisible psionic villain capable of taking control of people’s minds and bodies while targeting the Department of Damage Control.
Peter appears to be the only person immune to the mysterious force, making him a crucial ally for DODC chief Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman), who turns to the web-slinger for help in tracking down and capturing the elusive enemy.
We're not going too much into the plot. Go and see the film for yourself!
A summary | The great and the not so great
Frankly, the film’s biggest weakness is the number of forced tie-ins being introduced in preparation for Avengers: Doomsday. Jean Grey’s arrival works, largely because this version of the character is not yet known as one of the X-Men and is travelling through an emotional journey that closely mirrors Peter’s own.
Frank Castle’s Punisher is a stranger fit, given his typically R-rated exploits, but Cretton has fun finding ways to make him work within a PG-13 setting. One particularly amusing moment sees Spider-Man webbing his mouth shut in the middle of a swear. Frank also proves to be more important to the central story than his initial appearance might suggest.
Cretton also makes effective use of The Hand, now working under the DODC and just as easily manipulated by Jean. Even Peter cannot resist admiring how cool they are in the middle of a fight. Bruce Banner and the Hulk are another sensible choice, with Banner able to offer Peter some guidance as he deals with his mutation. But the decision to have Banner Hulk out while under Jean’s mind control feels like an unnecessary complication.
Despite the overcrowded cast and a couple of glaring plot holes, it is Peter’s personal journey that remains at the heart of the film and ultimately proves its strongest element. Brand New Day has now crossed the $1bn mark and is continuing to break records.
Overall, not the perfect film but still very enjoyable. Great for superhero fans and those who just want to experience a memorable adventure.
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