NFL
By: Matt Overton
This might be a brand new day for Spider-Man, but it is still very much the same old, same old from Disney/Marvel.
If there was any hope left at Marvel, it all rested on Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Their slump era has been a perpetual state of disarray and confusion ever since Endgame. The studio has been scrambling ever since. Announcements, cancellations, a lack of a clear North Star, and other factors have plagued this billion-dollar IP machine. It leaves their state of affairs in a mess. This latest release seems to course-correct a bit. However, it is still very much par for the course for the current version of the MCU.
As the second MCU hero to earn a fourth film, Spider-Man has always been one of their most billable stars. Tom Holland has had the benefit of growing up with this character over the last nine years. It gives his performance a lot more depth and nuance. It has been a long five years since No Way Home, when Spidey was left in isolation and uncertainty. Brand New Day starts strong as it explores Peter Parker’s new social circumstances. However, it ultimately loses all of its steam throughout its bloated runtime.
Picking up where we left off, Spider-Man continues to rock as New York’s friendly neighborhood superhero. It is refreshing to get an MCU film that does not deal with any cosmic-level extinction events. However, the main antagonist does present some disappointing setbacks. The trailer definitely made this movie look like it was going to be overstuffed, which, luckily, it isn’t. Still, it doesn’t exactly juggle all of its elements well either. Brand New Day is at its best when it is developing an emotional through-line with No Way Home and expanding on the relationship between the trio of best friends from the initial trilogy.
It’s not often that we get an MCU project with such well-written characters. The decade of buildup is playing in its favor. This might be the strongest Peter/MJ dynamic we’ve ever gotten in a live-action Spider-Man film. Even Ned’s dynamic is beefed up here. Holland is undoubtedly the glue holding it all together. It’s a truly dedicated performance and a love for this character that shines brightly.
His charisma is off the charts. The dynamic between him and Jon Bernthal is the strongest aspect of the film. Including The Punisher in his first mainline MCU film was an exciting development. Bernthal is by far the strongest performer. As Disney-fied as Frank Castle is—why couldn’t we get more action like there was in his Special Presentation?—a sanitized Punisher played by Bernthal is still a very gruff, angry, violent man who acts as a nice foil to the young Spidey.
But with Sadie Sink’s addition to the roster, this film really stumbles over itself. It has become expected that Marvel movies set up later projects, and Brand New Day is no exception. Once Sink’s character is introduced, it is painstakingly obvious what direction the narrative is taking. There are virtually no stakes, no tension, and most of the film’s heart is lost. I appreciate a more grounded Spider-Man, and I feel like if they really committed to that, this could have been one of the best. But with the direction they need Sink’s character to take, and her involvement with the MCU at large, Brand New Day is nothing more than another stepping stone. Villains in superhero movies can really make or break the whole thing, and for me, Sink completely tarnishes the story.
Exploring how Peter Parker grapples with the sacrifice he made at the end of No Way Home presents many interesting avenues, and Brand New Day almost succeeds in following through. His emotional trauma creates new problems related to his powers, and I was very much interested to see how that played out. This is where the Hulk’s only reason for being in this film comes into play. He introduces inhibitors that are meant to control super-powered DNA, which Peter runs with. The role these inhibitors play in the story is so lame, and I can imagine they’re only introduced here to play a part in later MCU stories. There are a handful of other major characters who play minor roles, but they are mostly pointless to the overarching plot.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day succeeds in continuing this cinematic universe of mid-ness without offering anything all that exciting. Destin Daniel Cretton brings new eyes to this character, which is refreshing after Jon Watts’s three attempts. The action choreography is some of the best this character has ever seen—Holland’s gymnastics background is really effective because this is the most agile we’ve ever seen this Spidey. I’m coming away not disappointed—because Marvel has made themselves very clear with how they view these films as products—but more or less unaffected by this attempt to draw people back in before Doomsday.
