Just two weeks after The Odyssey caused audiences to swarm to theatres, we have the summer's other massive blockbuster with Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Following the heartbreaking conclusion to 2021's No Way Home, this delivers the fourth standalone Tom Holland Spider-Man movie and the first film in the MCU we've gotten this year. Like many, I've started to grow skeptical with each new Marvel movie, but I'm happy to report that this one is a hit.
I'm going to be very brief with the synopsis here in order to avoid any spoilers. All you need to know is that Peter Parker is fighting crime in the streets of New York where everyone has forgotten him. The stress of handling the weight of his responsibility on his own starts to create strange changes within him, something he must figure out while taking on a foe unlike any he has before.
Tom Holland has always been great as Peter/Spider-Man, but it truly feels like his performance is levelling up each time. He delivered some loud and devastating emotion in No Way Home, but this sees him in a much more somber place. He moves through the world pushing the quiet sadness he holds to the side in order to help people, and the clear effect on him is pretty heartbreaking. We've had three films where one of my biggest criticisms is the large amount of people around Peter, and while he still enlists the help of other heroes this is the most we've seen him take on by himself emotionally. I think on the whole Holland has room to grow as an actor, we just saw him be among the weaker performances in The Odyssey, but his performance as Peter is about as close to perfect as you can get.
We actually don't get nearly as much of Zendaya and Jacob Batalon as MJ and Ned as I expected, but in the moments they do appear they continue to do great work. One of the most fun inclusions here is Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle (The Punisher), a character he made his own on the small screen and now has the chance to showcase on the big stage. The Punisher's murderous anger makes for a perfect juxtaposition with our friendly neighbourhood hero, not only making for some hilarious moments of conflict between the two but also offering a darker side to the vigilante life to essentially show Peter why he shouldn't completely isolate himself.
I won't spoil who Sadie Sink is playing just in case you haven't seen yet, but I think she is a pretty perfect choice for her role and her performance here was frankly fantastic. Other additions include Trammell Tillman as the head of "Damage Control", a role that feels pretty in line with his breakout performance in Severance, along with The Bear's Liza Colón-Zayas as a detective who works alongside Spidey. Neither necessarily blew me away, but they do solid work and it's great to see them having the chance to take on bigger roles.
Narratively I was really impressed with how well the team behind this managed to include other characters without it feeling inauthentic. I found the first two Tom Holland films relied a bit too much on other MCU characters (Iron Man and Nick Fury for example), while No Way Home leaned largely on nostalgia. Here we see a handful of characters aside from Spider-Man, but the way they are weaved into the story feels like how you'd use them in a comic book. We get to spend some time with Hulk and Punisher, but their inclusions service the story whereas the additions of the older Spider-Men and their villains in No Way Home felt more like fan service than anything else. Seeing old favourites pop back up in theatres is admittedly a ton of fun, but I have found that it takes away a bit of the rewatchability of these movies. They feel like big events in a theatre full of fans, but watching them again down the line feels a bit hollow and forced. I do still wish we could get a Tom Holland Spider-Man movie where he just fights crime in the city on his own, but I really appreciated how this naturally moved the overall franchise along.
I also appreciated just how emotional this entry is. Director Destin Daniel Cretton is someone I trust to deliver on real human connection in his work, and his tenderness as a filmmaker allows Holland's emotional range to shine. There's a bit less action than you may expect, but the payoff in my opinion winds up being a lot stronger. When we do get to the action it's also pretty great, including some filmmaking moments that bring the web slinger to life in a way we haven't really seen before. I also have to shout out the new suit, bringing a fresh representation of the iconic look that I just thought was perfect.
I do have some gripes, largely in the film's visuals which often find themselves lost in the recent MCU trend of dull greys. There are moments where the colour gets to pop, but for the most part the film leaves something to be desired in terms of cinematography and lighting. All in all though I had a great time with this, it's a satisfying emotional ride that offers some of Holland's absolute best work in this role. 4/5
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