Ask any Spider-Man comic book fan and the Brand New Day title is sure to elicit a response. Created as a new chapter in the life of the wall crawler after a massive status quo-altering event, the 2008 storyline brought changes to the legendary character and the choice by Sony to co-opt the title for its fourth Tom Holland-led film is a brave one, setting up various types of expectations for fans, as the last film changed everything for our friendly space-faring, multiversal wall crawler.
But despite a change of director, from Jon Watts, who did the last three Spider-Man films, to Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), the new team, which sees the return of Zendaya (as MJ Watson), Jacob Batalon (as Ned Leeds) alongside Holland, delivers one of the best Spider-Man films ever, addressing everything from heroism, duty, responsibility, loyalty, to pain, suffering, lonliness and the desire for revenge. In doing so, it rightfully returns Spider-Man back to Earth and within the realm of a New York City that he has been protecting quietly – and anonymously – for the last four years, since Doctor Strange’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) spell made everyone forget Peter Parker.
With no tech and backup support from the Avengers to Stark Industries, no friends nor family since the death of his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), Peter is truly alone but still protects the street every day and night, and Cretton indulges fans with faithful comic book recreations of popular Spider-Man comic book covers, which sees him take on the likes of Boomerang, Tarantula, Tombstone, implying that Spidey has been building his rogues gallery quite a bit. And in a nice bit of world-building that has been missing in the wider Marvel Cinematic Unverse (MCU), he’s not the lone hero operating in New York, so he crosses paths with some familiar faces, including Bruce Banner aka Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal).
While Spider-Man: No Way Home introduced lawyer Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) from the Netflix TV shows in a small cameo, Brand New Day goes even bigger by bringing in another icon from the now-defunct partnership – The Punisher. Within the opening act, Cretton delivers everything you need to know about the neighbourhood hero, as he continues to good fight and at times, even needs to battle or connect with our superheroic natives of New York, to show us, and even himself, that he’s not alone.
But sadly, he is in every way that matters. From dropping flowers off at Aunt May’s grave, to dealing with work-only calls with detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas) and in some ways, keeping tabs on but not interacting with MJ and Ned, this wise-cracking Spidey is lonely and hiding under a huge amount of pain, until the darling of New York City meets a threat he cannot beat, played by Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink.
She can take possession of individuals and make them do things that they won’t remember, and her goal is to infiltrate the Department of Damage Control (DODC), and she’s not against risking the lives of anyone and everyone in NYC, including MJ. That’s because her abilities don’t allow her to take control of Spider-Man, so she has to grab the next best thing, and we won’t spoil her character’s identity in this review, though it’s clear that she, like Peter, has to deal with the anguish of loneliness and seeking revenge, to find the only family she things she has left. The only plot hold is why, if she can possess anyone, does she need to create such a ruckus? Doing what she does, but quietly, without drawing anyone’s attention, seems like the better way.
It’s clear that this film tries to juggle a lot of characters, story beats and emotions, and Cretton hasn’t even touched on the fun stuff yet. Our web-slinging hero is also undergoing a metamorphosis, as his arachnid DNA is mutating, bringing a new level of acute senses and pain, oh and organic webbing. Off he goes to seek the help of a Banner, who now wears an inhibitor to suppress the gamma radiation and transformation into the Hulk. Can one be made to help Peter suppress his emerging, evolving DNA?
While the film cracks a few laughs, there’s nothing funny about MJ admitting that she’s looking for something that she knows she lost, or seeing Ned continue on his unexplained obsession with tracking Spider-Man with an app that crowdsources sightings of our amazing hero. This exploration of emptiness might seem like a slowdown in the pacing of the film, but Cretton understands that the emotional development of our trio of friends is that’s key here, and spends calibrated moments with the three, culminating in an impromptu moment when they are finally together in MJ and Ned’s apartment, but so many things cannot be said.
This leads to a rooftop scene withere a possessed MJ is revealed and to save her, Peter has no choice but to leave her with someone he can trust to protect her – Castle. Four movies in, there is undeniable chemistry between Holland and Zendaya and they display enough to the love and care just under the surface, but not revealing too much. But the biggest surprise is seeing how a mad killer like The Punisher can fit into the world of Spidey. But it does. Bernthal and Holland trade punches and gunshots, share rips and insults, but therein also likes their shared experiences, of losing loved ones and feeling so alone while doing what they each feel they must, to change the world.
And by the time the quick reveals occur, of a possessed Savage Hulk taking on the team-up of Spider-Man and the Punisher, to who Sink’s character is, audiences have little to complain, except that Holland, Zendaya, Batalon and Cretton has left us wanting more. While his appearances are only a small handful, Batalon continues to show us why he’s the most deserving of all of Spider-Man’s best friends, especially in the film’s closing moments, when a determined Peter reveals himself to Ned without saying a single word.
Cretton has imbued the film with a new sense of style and motion reminiscent of the Sony Spider-Man games, adding a touch of fluidity and perspective that brings us even closer to the main character, as he leaps across buildings and swings throughout the city. The action has a greater purpose, showing us the best that this Spidey can do, and here’s hoping he returns for another swing at the character.
Holland remains of the most talented faces of the MCU, with his ability to connect with audiences the reason why he is so beloved, and it is really an amazing thing to see that one of Hollywood’s young princes climb to the top of the box-office in an amazing film, The Odyssey, only to be taken out by this well-deserved entry.
Sony might have messed up its expanded Spider-Man film universe, but with the mainline entry, it is swinging hard, and consistently coming out on top.
GEEK REVIEW SCORE
Summary
Sequels can get overwhelming but Spider-Man: Brand New Day brings us the most grounded, balanced and emotional Spider-Man live-action entry. It’s a day in the life of our amazing hero that shows us his challenges and triumph, and director Cretton delivers on an emotional journey that makes full use of Holland and Zendaya’s amazing chemistry.
Overall
9/10
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Story - 8.5/10
8.5/10
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Direction - 9/10
9/10
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Characterisation - 9/10
9/10
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Geek Satisfaction - 9.5/10
9.5/10
Hsals needs more space in his house, and more money in his bank account to pay for all the toys, collectibles and other geek related items that companies are churning out. Free-time? Girlfriend? Who’s got time for those?
Kevin Low
Si Jia
