Spider-Man: Brand New Day review by Bobby Blakey
After the events Spider-Man: No Way Home fans have been eager to see how Peter’s life was going to move forward. With the fourth film in the series, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, this time with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton at the helm it looks to change Peter’s world. The new film brings back the entire cast and some fun additions including Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando and Mark Ruffalo. Could this latest entry be worth swinging back into theaters or will it fail to stick the landing?
Spider-Man: Brand New Day follows four years since the events of No Way Home, and Peter is now an adult living entirely alone, having voluntarily erased himself from the lives and memories of those he loves. Crime-fighting in a New York that no longer knows his name, he's devoted himself entirely to protecting his city — a full-time Spider-Man — but as the demands on him intensify, the pressure sparks a surprising physical evolution that threatens his existence, even as a strange new pattern of crimes gives rise to one of the most powerful threats he has ever faced.
Often the longer a franchise goes the weaker the films start to get. Thankfully this problem has not happened with the MCU’s Spider-Man with this latest chapter once again delivering on almost every level. I was concerned how they would weave through the nightmare that was left behind of wiping everyone’s minds with so much history already in place. To my joy they dealt with it not only using some simple dialogue to let the audience know that everything did still occur, and they knew but also allows it to take Spider-Man back to the grounded hero he is typically known for.
I know some were concerned about the overstuffed villains and ideals of the trailer teases but have no fear they sue them for more history and homage to
Spider-man’s history in comics while still allowing the rest of the story to move forward. There are some callbacks to the previous films that I was glad to see as it kept some of the familiarity of what came before while still establishing a new direction for the web slinger.
The cast are all great with this easily being Holland’s best outing so far. He gets so much more to chew on with most of the other cast sidelined for big chunks of the film by design for the drama he is going through. Much like the Punisher: One Last Kill it sets the tone to take the character in new directions further giving us the Spider-Man we all know and love. Most were concerned about how they would make Bernthal’s R rated Punisher work in this film and they pull it off. The real-life friendship of Holland and Bernthal shines through in their dynamic, making their interactions some of the highlight of the film.
This is easily some of the best Spider-Man visually of the entire franchise with every element full on leaning into the true nature of the character. From beautifully shot sequences that are direct homage to various famed Spider-Man comic covers to the creative nature of taking the audience along with the web swinging, it embraces the character in every way. Add to the mix some great action and visuals and it elevates the film to a higher level than it already is.
This might be my favorite Spider-Man film to date. As brilliant as No Way Home is that film relies on the nostalgia of the other film series whereas this one is a tale all its own that not only captures the essence of Spider-Man history but also injects some new life into the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Getting to see more Hulk destruction but taking on The Punisher and Spider-Man is a total blast and felt like something right out of the comics.
Despite the heavy drama here they kept a lot of it light and didn’t fall into the trap of feeding us an only sad Peter. There are plenty of the usual quips and fun to be had that is perfectly balanced with the heft of where they take the story. For those hoping for a ton of after credit scenes to keep the surprise coming you will be disappointed as there is only one at the end of all the credits that while doesn’t give us much does give you something that will no doubt have the fans already speculating the future.
Decide for yourself and swing into theaters to check out Spider-Man: Brand New Day in theaters now from Sony and Marvel Studios.
