'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' review: Meandering plot saved by some sensational and amazing performances
Full of heartache and regret, 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' (in theaters nationwide starting July 31) is perhaps the first legit 'Spider-Man' film in decades, as the friendly neighborhood hero deals with the loneliness of fighting crime on his own.
In short: A forgotten Peter Parker (Tom Holland) lives alone as a full-time Spider-Man until mounting pressure triggers a dangerous change and a powerful new enemy emerges. Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando, and Mark Ruffalo also star.
As always, this will be a spoiler-free review - no plot details, character cameos or big reveals will be discussed in this review. First things first - 'Brand New Day' only includes a 'post-credits' scene - one that is a tease at best - however, the movie does not have a 'mid-credits' extra scene. MCU die-hard fans will be amused by the post-credits scene, but everyone else can freely exit the theater as soon as the credits start to roll.
It's weird to say, but, 'Brand New Day' is arguably the first true 'Spider-Man' story in almost 25 years - going all the way back to the Sam Raimi 2002 original. The preceding Marvel Cinematic Universe trilogy - 'Homecoming,' 'Far from Home' and 'No Way Home' - effectively served as a trilogy-long origin story of sorts, all to get the web-slinger back to what audience's know him as: a masked vigilante fighting crime, while he is isolated and alone in his private life. 'Brand New Day' is truly the first part in a new chapter of Spider-Man's life.
'Brand New Day' is co-written by the duo of Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, but director Destin Daniel Cretton ('Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings') gets to tell Peter Parker's continuing story from a new perspective. The previous films were all directed by Jon Watts, so they have a pretty uniform aesthetic that continues through all three films. Cretton’s film has a very different tone and texture - one that is (for an MCU flick), far more grounded relative to all the various other stories of gods and science. The colors are muted and often tilt more toward the darker tones. A fair amount of hand-held camera work pulls the audience in as observers in Peter’s life. Even composer Michael Giacchino puts a radically more mature spin on his familiar motiff for the MCU Spider-Man - same character theme, but with more melancholy, pathos and hope.
At its core, 'Brand New Day' finds Peter Parker as a man who has all but given up on being Peter Parker, and made Spider-Man his defacto identity. After the events of 'No Way Home,' the world has forgotten who Peter Parker was - leaving Spider-Man without any support or allies ... no Tony Stark, no Avengers, no Aunt May - and perhaps most critically - no high school best friends, Ned or MJ.
The strength of 'Brand New Day' is the story's selection of characters whose own journeys complement and conflict with Peter Parker's journey. Dr. Bruce Banner has managed to banish his Hulk-persona since the events of 'Infinity War.' Frank Castle fights a never-ending war against criminals as The Punisher, seemingly disconnected from society. As Peter Parker's own powers begin to evolve without warning, he learns that Banner and Castle have made massive sacrifices in their own lives. Ned and MJ re-enter Peter's life just as feels the most isolated, further impressing the sacrifices Peter has made to embrace the great responsibilty of being Spider-Man.
For a movie that is almost two and a half hours long, the basic overall plot of 'Brand New Day' is the weakest aspect of the film. At times the movie "feels long," and whenever a movie "feels long," it's because the audience doesn't have a solid bearing of where exactly the story is going. This is clearly a byproduct of the film's misguided insistence on keeping the identity of the character played by Sadie Sink ('Stranger Things') a state secret. Even the threat targeting multiple Manhattan buildings for Damage Control (the U.S. agency tasked with collecting alien technology and apprehending enhanced individuals) is left as the film's main mystery box.
While the plot itself is needlessly convoluted at times (and rarely in a clever way), at least the overall story remains consistently true to the themes of where 'Brand New Day' finds Peter Parker. Years of isolation have forced him into a lonely, secluded life (much like The Punisher) - the direct opposite of his earlier life, where he always had Aunt May, MJ, Ned and the Avengers. And this emotional turmoil is manifesting itself, turning him into a monster of sorts (much like the Hulk), where his surprising new powers completely destablize his basic web-slinging abilities.
The strength of 'Brand New Day' is the web of character interactions. The MCU has often been a hodgepodge of incongrugous characters having what amounts to "meet cutes" and exchanging some funny dialogue. It's often cute and entertaining. But having Peter genuinely interact with Frank Castle - a man who isn't a crime fighter due to some greater responsibility - becomes a powerful scene because it contrasts Frank's utter committment to his relentless war on crime, with the underlying despair he lives with after the loss of his wife and child. While Bruce Banner has found a way to live a fairly normal life as a university professor, it comes with the ever present danger of his inner monster emerging. And one incredibly powerful scene occurs between two characters who may never have crossed paths in all of the Marvel Comics long history - but it's the absolute most beautiful and powerful moment for a particularly critical moment in the story.
It’s fun watching the Punisher take on the Hulk. It’s entertaining to finally see the Scorpion take on Spider-Man in the streets of New York. But it’s truly amazing to see what Holland, Zendaya, Bernthal and Sink bring to their characters - in the fantastic moments wherein their characters simply emotionally confront and connect with each other. If the plot is a means to get these sensational character dynamics, then so be it. Spider-Man is an iconic character and ‘Brand New Day’ doesn’t treat him as a character isolated in his own story - in this MCU, he is not alone on his path of redemption, loneliness and heroism.
Final verdict: Tom Holland is now the definitive Spider-Man - and this is a 'Spider-Man' flick that gets to tell a compelling personal story of sadness and regret, while also play in the sandbox of the greater MCU.
Score: 4/5
'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' opens in theaters nationwide July 31. This comic book adventure has a runtime of 145 minutes and is rated PG-13 for sequences of action/violence and some language.
