“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” follows Peter Parker, who fights crime full time as Spider-Man in a world that doesn’t remember him. When a powerful villain whom no one can see emerges, he must step up to save the city and those he loves.
Opening in rapid fashion, “Brand New Day” quickly covers several years of Peter Parker’s life in isolation. The editing from Nat Sanders, Gina Sansom and Harry Yoon is on full display, delivering a compilation-style reel of events in quick succession. While the approach is somewhat scatterbrained, it immediately achieves something that has been so desperately missing from the MCU’s superhero: a smaller scale. If there’s one thing the film gets right (don’t worry, there’s more), it’s that New York City loves Spider-Man. Jon Watts’ trilogy often overlooked this aspect, but director Destin Daniel Cretton makes it a priority here. Whether it’s police officers or civilians, NYC is his home and he’s there to protect it — world-ending stakes aren’t a requirement.
Even after the fast-paced opening, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” continues to have a lot going on. Peter grapples with not having MJ and Ned in his life. His arachnid DNA continues to evolve. There are appearances from Frank Castle, Yelena Belova and Bruce Banner. This doesn’t even count the central narrative. All of this is to say… it’s messy. With a 145-minute runtime, it’s undoubtedly overindulgent with subplots and backstories.
Getting to see Spider-Man and the Punisher team up is a dream for comic book fans. Their scenes together add to the movie as a whole, providing a well-earned mixture of banter and emotion. As for Yelena and the Hulk? It’s the classic Marvel formula, with unnecessary characters being added for the sake of cameos. As usual, Florence Pugh and Mark Ruffalo play them well, but their appearances actively stunt the film’s momentum more often than not.
As “Brand New Day” progresses, this mixture of various plotlines causes it to feel uneven at times. Nonetheless, the focus never shifts away from the titular character. Peter Parker is at the heart of the story. And by the end of it, most of these ideas come back around full circle.
Director of photography Brett Pawlak injects movement into the camerawork. As Spider-Man swings through the city, combinations of close-ups and wide-angle shots are used to show the simultaneous scope and intimacy of it. There’s also a broad blend of POV-style imagery and handheld footage that brings the action to life. Slow motion is over-relied on, though. When emphasizing Peter’s “Spidey senses,” this makes sense. “Brand New Day” goes back to the technique over and over again, however, pausing in key moments during the choreography. When the film attempts to be more grounded, this detracts from that experience.
The work from the visual effects team and costume designer Sanja Milkovic Hays takes the appearance of Spider-Man himself up a notch. This is the first time that the MCU’s Spider-Man doesn’t look like a constantly digital character. The suit isn’t always glossy, featuring wrinkles from movement and ripples while swinging. Cretton isn’t afraid of getting up close and personal either, constantly making it a priority to capture the detailed stitching and patterns of the suit itself.
Tom Holland (Spider-Man) delivers his best performance as the character to date. Coming off “The Odyssey,” this is shaping up to be a big year for him — and Zendaya (MJ) too, of course. Fully grown up, it’s is a more mature rendition of Peter Parker. Dealing with grief, isolation and a lack of identity, Holland takes the character to lower depths while still maintaining his charm. The real-life married couple translates that connection to the screen, with Holland and Zendaya capturing a spark that fans can continue to root for. Jon Bernthal (Frank Castle) is the film’s other major highlight. Bernthal is perfect in the “tough guy” role, and that’s no different here. Amid his bickering with Holland are a number of touching moments as well. Alongside Pugh and Ruffalo in the extended cast are Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon (Ned), Liza Colón-Zayas (Detective Jean DeWolff), Tramell Tillman (Bill Metzger) and Marisa Tomei (May Parker).
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” goes back to the basics. Despite juggling too many ideas, it effectively roots the superhero in his classic role: your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Rating: 4 out of 5
