Spider-Man: Brand New Day is yet another amazing movie that breathes new life into the MCU Spider-Man series. Jon Watts did a great job with his trilogy, and his work peaked with his most recent Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, it was time for a new director to take on the reins of one of the most famous, beloved superheroes of all time. Who better than Destin Daniel Cretton, who previously turned in phenomenal work in the franchise with the action-packed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and showed off his powerful human drama in Short Term 12 and Just Mercy? He combines the two things he does best, which are ironically the two things that make us keep crawling back to the famous webhead.
From a visual standpoint, Cretton’s work here clears Watt’s trilogy. While I thoroughly enjoyed Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home, they always embraced a lower-stakes “high school movie” vibe that didn’t always match the heightened comic book nature of the character. Here, Cretton quite literally recreates famous comic book covers in live action, as a tribute to the origins of this character. Brett Pawlak’s cinematography is incredibly dynamic during the action sequences, and we haven’t seen the red and blue of Spider-Man’s suit pop quite as much as we have in this film. This is the best-looking Spider-Man movie since The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
But of course, the point of a movie is more than making itself immune to those who like to nitpick poorly rendered shots. Spider-Man: Brand New Day features top-tier visual effects and some of the best swinging sequences we’ve gotten in ages (particularly one nighttime rain scene), but how do the story and characters compare? This movie had such a strong foundation to build off of with No Way Home’s poignant ending that has everyone forget that Peter Parker exists, including his loved ones.
Brand New Day follows the consequences of that choice and the responsibility he faces. This movie does feel like a soft reboot, starting out with Spider-Man listening to police scanners, fighting crime, and webbing up criminals for the police. Nobody knows who he is, and that’s freeing in some ways, but lonely in others. Years go by, and we see our characters at a different time in their life. We’re not in high school anymore—these are young adults in their 20s, and while Peter is always a compelling protagonist, there are a few working-class realities about living by yourself at that age that the movie could have used to humanize him a bit more, but doesn’t fully delve into.
The most compelling emotional core is where we’ve left off with Peter’s best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and his former girlfriend MJ (Zendaya). He had to make the hard choice to leave them behind, so they won’t remember him anymore. MJ even promised Peter that if he didn’t tell her, she’d find him one day and figure it out again. This movie takes that scene and makes some interesting choices with it, forcing Peter to go through the soul-crushing reality that as the years went by, MJ was able to find someone else. The best Spider-Man movies are the ones that understand that the more Peter suffers, the more we relate to him, which is what has always made him such a grounded hero.
Tom Holland once again delivers as this character, bringing the right amount of comedy, drama, and physicality to this role. Zendaya is once again wonderful as the MJ we know and love, but a bit older and at a different time in her life. The two share a few incredibly emotional scenes, including one that hurts so much because there’s no accompanying musical score, and we’re left to just hear everything going on between them as if we’re a fly on the wall.
Another highlight is Jon Bernthal, who has always been fantastic as Frank Castle/The Punisher, and now finds himself in a hilarious dynamic with Holland’s Spider-Man. These two have completely different approaches to protecting the city, and their conflict leads to a lot of hilarious comedy. The dynamic between them is the perfect “older-brother-younger-brother” situation. Mark Ruffalo is also wonderful in his return as Bruce Banner/Hulk, and this is the most serious this character has been taken since Avengers: Age of Ultron. We’ve seen the funnier side of Hulk for a decade now, and it’s great to see a take on the character that makes us once again hope for a standalone film with the character. The film doesn’t give him a good enough resolution by the end, but he makes his impression.
But perhaps the best part of the film is Sadie Sink, playing a new character that has remained a secret throughout all the marketing and promotion, and for good reason. She plays a character that exists only through other people, and the choreography for her invisible portrayal at the beginning is genius. When the movie begins to pull back the layers on who she is, it’s very satisfying and there’s a good emotional core there. Tramell Tillman also gets some good scenes, although, like Banner, he also deserved a stronger resolution by the end of the story.
In many ways, this feels like a new take on the character. It’s a joy to see Cretton’s take on the character, especially in the action. There’s some incredible choreography here, particularly during a sequence where Spider-Man fights a group of ninjas named The Hand. This also feels a lot more street-level than Far From Home and No Way Home. There’s no multiversal threat here; just a lot of personal stakes and danger. It’s also wonderful that Peter spends a good majority of the film in his suit, and we can see the texture and the wrinkles of the suit in the closeups.
Overall, Spider-Man: Brand New Day works very well. It has all of the great qualities that made the Marvel Cinematic Universe so great in the first place and stands out for being a truly special experience that superhero fans will love. I’ve liked every Spider-Man movie ever made, and this one is no different. It’s a movie that remembers that Spider-Man is just as interesting during the emotional scenes as he is during the incredibly fun action sequences. You won’t want to miss it.
SCORE: 8/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 8 equates to “Great.” While there are a few minor issues, this score means that the art succeeds at its goal and leaves a memorable impact.
Disclosure: ComingSoon attended an early screening for our Spider-Man: Brand New Day review.
