Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker walked, and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man ran, so that Tom Holland’s titular friendly-neighbourhood superhero could swing. And swing, he does, in the latest Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
I woke up early morning at six to catch the first-day first-show in Cinepolis so that I could bring you the freshest review, through the eyes of a comic-book devourer.
DISCLAIMER: This review is Spoiler-Free and therefore will not delve into the plot.
To start off, let us explore what made Spider-Man the cult figure he is. Is it his powers? We have way more powerful superheroes in fiction. Is it his goofiness? I think I can give you a list of who are better in this department off-the-cuff—Deadpool, Plastic Man, The Flash, every Green Lantern portrayed by Nathan Fillion, and so on. Is it his story? Every DC mainline comic ever rewritten between the 90s and the 2010s will always reign supreme in that department.
If not these, what makes Spider-Man so special, so accessible? It is the tragedy of the underdog. But it is also the pursuit of something more, a responsibility. And this even has global relatability. South East Asians and South Asians find parallels for this in the concept of dharma. And that is what makes Spider-Man truly special in the comics.
The Sam Raimi movies understood it. Marc Webb’s NY American brain missed it. The MCU made it worse by relegating Tom Holland’s Spider-Man into a high-school comedy thrust into a formulaic western Shakespearean tragedy, all with mind-numbing CGI that did less to progress the story and more to further the larger MCU spectacle. Japanese-Irish-Slovakian Hawaii-born Destin Daniel Cretton has cracked it.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in flux. Its latest moves were a miss; Fantastic Four First Steps was a standout, New Avengers (Thunderbolts) were okay, and they had to bring in RDJ to save the rest of their catalogue movies from blimping into irrelevance. But this Spider-Man movie stands on its own, and Cretton’s marvellous direction, along with the stellar cast putting their weight on it, is all the more visible.
If, tomorrow, Avengers: Doomsday misses the mark, it will not eat into this Spider-Man movie. It is a true Marvel comicbook movie without it really being an MCU movie. And that is the beauty of it.
Tom Holland has finally learned to act beyond the Marvel direction, and this much was clear. Let us take a moment to thank the skilled directors of The Crowded Room, as well as Christopher Nolan, for this. Cretton extends this further and gives us an upgrade on his earlier work in Marvel: the two excellent Wonder Man episodes and the pretty-decent Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which failed because the big mouse decided it did not deserve the relevant marketing budget or outreach, IMO.
Sadie Sink brings her incredible screen presence and acting chops to one of the Marvel Universe’s most powerful beings, and I’m stoked to see what happens to the larger vision after knowing what this could avalanche into. This brought me back to the days of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, where Marvel Studios made us feel such excitement for an upcoming movie. Spider-Man: Brand New Day does this and way more for Doomsday than its horrendous CGI-filled trailer could achieve.
Back to the movie, without spoiling any of it, I can confidently say Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the best Spidey movie to date since Raimi’s 2004 superhit Spider-Man 2. But will it divide the room? Yes, it will.
If you are a Spider-Man fan and loved the lore, the comics—the Amazing lineup, the Ultimate lineup, the Uncanny lineup, and the classic ones—and the excellent PlayStation games, you will love this movie.
But if you are a Marvel Cinematic Universe fan whose first contact with superheroes was when it became socially acceptable to be a fan of something you would have made fun of back in high school, then you might find this film doesn't work for you. But then again, if you are the latter, comicbooks and the films they adapt from were never made for you in the first place.
Now, to the rest of the cast. Florence Pugh’s cameo was an absolute delight, and Zendaya shined as a completely grown-up MJ. And Jacob Batalon finally gets to act like he deserved to.
Liza Colón-Zayas excellently essays Detective Jean DeWolff while Tramell Tillman brings his Seth Milchick-in-Severance energy to give us one more character to really hate with his portrayal of “company man” Bill Metzger. Jon Bernthal brings his best Punisher foot forward. And of course, be it a “memory”, it is always a delight to watch Marisa Tomei on the big screen.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is filmed well; the set pieces are just right, and the cinematography by Brett Pawlak deserves special praise. It is, in fact, a great movie to watch with your friends, family, and/or kids. Spider-Man: Brand New Day does not under-deliver for it did not over-promise. But it gives you an absolute fun movie.
Its flaws are minimal, like using the final act to set up the new MCU direction and not giving Peter Parker more time to delve into his own self. If you can forgive such lack of subtlety, this is a wholesome, complete movie. I’m watching it once more, just for entertainment. It is almost a perfect comicbook movie for me.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Cast: Tom Holland, Sadie Sink, Zendaya, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Florence Pugh, Marisa Tomei, Liza Colón-Zayas
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 | ★★★★✦
