Cert – 12, Run-time – 2 hours 25 minutes, Director – Destin Daniel Cretton
Having been forgotten by the world, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) lives his days alone, wishing to reconnect with old friends, until an anonymous body-hopper and strengthening spider-sense cause chaos in New York.
Alongside great power and great responsibility, Spider-Man is often a character defined by those around him, and a sense of loss. Both have been battled in the MCU trilogy focusing on Tom Holland’s iteration of the character, particularly 2021’s No Way Home which confronted the cost of being Spider-Man from a multiversal angle.
Now, with Destin Daniel Cretton taking over the director’s chair from Jon Watts, having been forgotten by the world Peter Parker has spent four years in isolation. A montage shows us he truly is the street-level friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. After facing universe-ending threats there’s a sense of fun seeing him combat, albeit powered, villains whilst swinging through the streets of New York City and casually communicating with police captain Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas).
However, loneliness affects his spidey-senses as they intensify, leading to bursts of anger and mutations amidst taunting from a mysterious figure jumping between bodies they possess whilst threatening the city’s safety. Half character drama, half Marvel flick there’s a maturity to both aspects as an older and bruised Spider-Man, and Parker – both of whom Holland has effectively played as one for a decade now – starts to lose his place in a world that only knows the mask.
It’s the character drama, especially surrounding Peter’s attempts to maybe rekindle his relationships with Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya); dialogue-based scenes involving the three can be quiet and heartful or leaning into the character drama at hand without disturbing the louder action. Of which there is plenty. Enemies come in various forms, as seen in the aforementioned catch-up montage, and each brings a new kind of battle style, well captured by Cretton who was behind 2021’s Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings – a highlight of Marvel’s Multiverse Saga. A layered skyscraper battle following multiple characters, giving Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner time to shine, is a particular highlight
Marvel Studios has managed to base much of their Spider-Man films around the character. Homecoming was as much a coming-of-age teen movie as it was a superhero flick; Brand New Day also doesn’t forget the humour. That’s continued as we’ve followed Peter, MJ and Ned through the following stages of life and we see the weight that separation has on Holland’s character, watching them via Instagram reels. Character and superhero narrative continue to be well paired here from start to finish, allowing for the shift into further action in the third act to avoid a dip or major change in tone with the focus still on the mentalities of not just the titular hero but those he’s trying to help, too.
Saving the day is still high on the agenda for the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. It’s an isolating responsibility to carry, but that weight is effectively lifted in Brand New Day with engaging character arcs working in-hand with the swift-moving action.
A more mature character-driven venture, not without its chuckles, for Peter Parker, Spider-Man and co. Brand New Day features plenty of slick, web-slinging action amongst the engaging character dramas.
Just A Little Bit Random 