Spider-Man Brand New Day Spoiler Free Review

This is a movie that was on everyone’s most anticipated lists at the beginning of the year, including mine. I have always been a defender of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, though I get and even agree with some of the criticisms (like why is there no mention of Uncle Ben in the MCU). Spider-Man Homecoming quickly became my favorite Spider-Man movie for its street level feel and giving us aspects of Spider-Man that we had not gotten onscreen before or that were done poorly/rushed. Holland brought a youthful energy that we had gotten a bit with Andrew Garfield (who deserved better scripts) but also a naivety that was refreshing to see and fit a more youthful version of the character. He was and is a Spider-Man who makes mistakes and is constantly having to relearn the lesson of responsibility.

With No Way Home ending with everyone he loves forgetting about him, it created an interesting launch pad where the character could be taken in any number of directions. Enter Destin Daniel Cretton, director of Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, who brings a whole new flavor to Spider-Man in a movie that feels like an issue of the comic come to life.

The first thing that stood out in the trailers were the visuals and man does the movie bring it in this department. I did not mind the look of the other Spider-Man movies by Jon Watts but Cretton and cinematographer Brett Palak take it up a notch or ten with how good this movie looks. This may be because it is the most recent thing I have seen, but I daresay it may be the best looking MCU movie that we have gotten (Though Ragnorok, Eternals, and the last two Avengers movies have some good visuals as well). Every scene is shot and framed like it’s a comic panel and as a result we get some of the best visuals of Spider-Man and his world that had me grinning ear to ear. There was talk that they tried to do more practical stunts with this one, including the swinging, and it shows.

This also translated to the action which made it easy to see and I never found myself overwhelmed or straining to make out what was going on. The way Spider-Man moves in this feels like something you would see drawn in a comic and they are sure to use his full power set in order to show off moves fans have only dreamed of. There were definitely a few from the Playstation game that I recognized which made me geek out. I also noticed some obvious green screen in certain scenes but it did not take me out of the movie.

It helps that New York feels real and lived in. It’s grimy in certain places but it never feels over the top. You really feel like you could be walking around in this version of NYC despite all the comic book craziness going on. There are a few skyline shots that could be a painting. It reminds me a bit of how Gotham was depicted in The Batman, a city that feels real yet other worldly all at the same time.

The cast here is stellar with Tom Holland bringing all of his acting experience to bear in this one as we get a Peter Parker who has isolated himself from everyone else after the events of No Way Home, instead putting all of his time and energy into being Spider-Man. His arc here reminded me of Tobey Maguire’s in Spider-Man 2 (there a quite a few parallels to that movie that are here) but what I appreciated here is how Holland conveys Peter’s loneliness and depression in subtle ways while pushing forward as Spider-Man.

I will be honest, I do not like Maguire’s version of Peter Parker (sacrilegious I know) because of how put upon he was while also never really acknowledging that it was his choices that got him there. In contrast, Holland’s Peter knows he put himself in this position by choice which the movie deals with head on. It also helps that there was a buildup to this state of mind for Peter. There are still some light hearted moments that feel earned where that optimistic side of Peter shines through and make him easy to root for. Contrary to what Marvel editorial would tell you, Peter Parker is not, nor should he be, sad all the time and I am glad the MCU movies realized this.

Zendaya returns as MJ along with Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds in reduced yet important roles. Zendaya grew on me as MJ throughout the “Home” trilogy but here it finally fully felt like she was comicbook MJ. Obviously, she and Holland have chemistry but they do such a good job here as almost Shakespearian star-crossed lovers without ever making it feel like I am watching a soap opera, instead having mature conversations about what they once had like real people would do. They share a couple of scenes that almost brought a tear to my eye from how real the emotions felt between the two actors, especially the one involving the photo above. Without spoiling it, all I will say is that it was a roller coaster of emotions.

It is the same with Ned to a lesser extent, with a few scenes with him being important emotional beats as well. It is like all three characters know something is missing from them and it becomes obvious when they interact. It also helps that movie does not have the usual Marvel humor issue of ending a serious scene with a joke that comes out of nowhere so we get to let these scenes breath and impact the viewer.

MCU alum Mark Ruffalo and Jon Bernthal reprise their respective roles of Bruce Banner/Hulk and Frank Castle/Punisher here to great affect, especially Bernthal. Punisher never feels watered down which I appreciated and his banter with Spider-Man generated most of the films laughs in my screening, all earned in my opinion. He is the perfect foil to Peter in that he represents the end of the path Peter is going down by choosing to isolate himself. My only issue is that based on Daredevil and One Last Kill, Frank is wanted by the police yet here it seems like he is able to go around in his battle-van uninhibited. Just seemed a little weird to me after what had been established in those shows.

As far as Hulk goes, his usage was perfect. We get to see Peter and Bruce interact and then Spider-Man and Hulk fight it out but I never felt like he was shoved in for no real reason. Without going into spoilers, it is very obvious why they included him in this film. Not only does he reflect Peter’s own internal struggles, but he helps set up something big for the future. And yes their fight is awesome.

Before I get into my thoughts on the main villain and story, I wanted to mention a few more side characters that stood out to me. Michael Mando returns as Mac Gargan/Scorpion and he is so cool. I love his design and how he fights. I have been wanting to see this character in a movie and it was nice to see the setup from Homecoming with him finally pay off. Also Liza Colon-Zayes from The Bear plays Detective Jean Dewolf and she is perfect for the role. I loved her banter with Spider-Man and hope she shows up in future projects as she has great chemistry with Holland.

Lastly, even though they do not get much to do, I loved seeing classic Spider-Man villains like Boomerang, Tarantula, Tombstone, and Ramrod of all people, show up in this movie even if it was only for a few seconds. It’s clear the people who made this movie love Spider-Man and it shows. I will also only briefly mention that Sadie Sink did well in her role with what she was given but I will save the rest for my spoiler article.

My biggest issue with the film is with the plot and more specifically two major points. It has a strong first half as we see Spider-Man’s new status quo but it lost me a little in the second half as things really got going. First, we have the idea of Spider-Man’s powers evolving. It wasn’t horrible but seemed rather just unnecessary to introduce into this version of the character. It reminded me of Spider-Man 2 a bit due to the reason that they give as to why the changes are happening but the question that I found myself asking was why is it happening now? I get the thematic reason but the in-universe explanation was a little weak for me.

Secondly was the main villain. It felt very much in the vein of Iron Man 2 where my Spider-Man movie got highjacked to set up future movies instead of focusing on someone who is more connected to the hero I came to see. It did not help that they felt unevenly written. We are supposed to sympathize with them after seeing them do cruel things to the entirety of New York along with Spider-Man himself all because we are given a flashback to show why they are acting the way they are. The motivation is solid but it does not connect with their actions onscreen at times. It would have worked better if they had not gone so far in one direction before trying to move us back the other way. It reminded me of Scarlet Witch in Wandavision where the show seems to forget that she terrorized a whole town while yes, engulfed in grief (though they at least built on it and made her the villain in Dr. Strange 2 which I did like). I know this plot will be paid off in the future but I wish they did not have to use Spider-Man’s movie to set it up, especially when there are other actual villains from his rogues you could have used here.

The secondary villain, which I will also not mention was fine, though I did see some of the twist coming. Also I was a little annoyed at how the Hand were used after being displayed so prominently in the marketing. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed their fight scenes with Spidey but their function in the story did not fit The Hand that has been established in the comics or in the Daredevil show. Again, did not ruin the movie for me but was a bit of a letdown.

Lastly I have to talk about Michael Giacchino’s score (you knew it was coming). Yes I have preordered the CD for this one and yes, it is pretty good. What stood out to me is how he uses synths for the Spider-Man theme this time around, almost like it is evolving the same way Peter is. Adding them gives it a somber tone that fits well in this movie. It also does a great job capturing a lot of the emotional moments without feeling manipulative or beating me over the head with, “Hey you are supposed to be feeling sad now.” Great stuff though the lack of a theme for the villain further confirms my issues with the choices made around that part of the story.

Spider-Man Brand New Day is at its best when it is continuing the story of Peter Parker/Spider-Man and the people in his life. Thanks to some stellar performances and great action and visuals, I would say this is a must see on the big screen for fans of the MCU, Spider-Man, and blockbusters in general. Ironically this film reflects a lot of modern-day Spider-Man comics where there are tremendous highs and frustrating lows but the highs make it worth watching. I will be very interested to see how the plot threads left in this movie are dealt with in the future, both for Spider-Man and the MCU at large. Also, there is one after credits scene at the very end so stick around for that.

As always thank you for reading and if you want to hear my spoiler filled thoughts on this movie, become a paid subscriber and you will access to that article as well as many more perks. I will be back Friday with my news podcast!

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