Spider-Man is as popular as superheroes get, meaning we've seen him star in a long list of iconic tales over the decades. The wall-crawler not only has a rich comic book history that began in 1962, but he has appeared in many acclaimed video games, and multiple cartoons have his name in their titles.
Peter Parker had two previous live-action franchises with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in the lead, and most recently, we witnessed these two versions of Peter Parker join forces with Tom Holland on the big screen. With such an extensive background, Marvel was faced with a difficult question: Where do you go when you've done nearly everything with the character?
Fortunately, the answer is "back to basics."
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is exactly what its title suggests—a new chapter for Tom Holland's iteration of Peter Parker filled with familiar beats and plot points we've come to expect from the friendly neighborhood hero. Better yet, director Destin Daniel Cretton executed his vision to perfection, and the result is not only one of the most mature Spider-Man tales we've seen in live-action but also one of the character's most iconic movies as a whole.
A street-level tale that focuses on Peter Parker
Prior to the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, I was really worried that Marvel would be keen on replicating the No Way Home success by crafting a huge project whose main selling point is the appearance of other characters. After all, both the Hulk and the Punisher were confirmed to join the hero's latest adventure, and multiple reports indicated that Marvel had even more surprises in store. We know Spider-Man movies can get overcrowded really easily, but I'm happy to say this isn't the case here.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a Peter Parker tale first, a Spider-Man epic second, and an extensive MCU adventure third (which is just about the right order of priorities), and it works extremely well. This iteration of Peter Parker had a pretty forgiving and easy life up until the events of No Way Home. Now, all the tragedies that hadn't befallen the character suddenly came swinging right at him. Fortunately, Brand New Day does a wonderful job of paying off the heavy lifting done by its predecessor and introducing us to a version of Peter who is at his absolute lowest.
As revealed by the film's trailers, Peter is now living on his own; his friends have forgotten about him; he doesn't have Stark Tech to rely on; and he has to live with the burden of knowing that Aunt May died due to a multiversal problem caused by him. But despite all the pain and hurdles... Peter stops at nothing to be the best hero he can.
And I loved that.
Being Spider-Man is definitely a burden, but it feels like most stories try to make it an outright curse. Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 beautifully adapted the Spider-Man: No More! comic book storyline, in which Peter gives up the superhero mantle. Similarly, Andrew Garfield's version of the character hung up the red and blue suit for a moment after Gwen's death, and Tom Holland's Peter wanted to put a pause on being Spider-Man to go on a vacation in Europe. No matter which way you put it, the "superhero" persona is always pictured as an obstacle.
Most of the time, we've seen Peter trying to distance himself from being Spider-Man, and Brand New Day presents us with the exact opposite scenario. What happens when being Peter hurts more than quite literally fighting villains? Human troubles, dilemmas, and hurdles are at the center of this film, which works wonders. One of the main points of Spider-Man is that anyone should be able to relate to everything he goes through, and fans will certainly be able to see a bit of themselves in Peter this time around.
On the other hand, Peter never considers the possibility of quitting being Spider-Man, and that makes him a true glimmer of hope in the movie. Granted, there's a point when trying to bury human emotions in favor of being a hero is a big detriment. But still, this is a refreshing take on the character that definitely hits all the right notes. Fortunately, it doesn't stop there.
Peter Parker has finally been allowed to grow on the big screen
When you think of Peter Parker, chances are you imagine a timid teenager going through his high school years. We've seen this story play out countless times before, and I'm pretty sure the Marvel Comics editorial team is insanely afraid of letting Peter grow for... no apparent reason. But thanks to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, we're finally presented with a more mature version of the character.
Peter's troubles aren't related to whether he can go to the homecoming dance this time around. After all, he's not even in high school anymore. Instead, his biggest hurdle is that he puts his social life aside in favor of dedicating all his attention to his "work."
At long last, the friendly neighborhood hero has been allowed to grow with the audiences who watch his adventures on the big screen. Now more people can see themselves in the shoes of the wall-crawler, which is exactly why the character was created in the first place. That only makes me more excited for the future of the wall-crawler, especially if director Destin Daniel Cretton stays at the helm of the franchise. Because, let me tell you, he was definitely successful in bringing the superhero fantasy to life.
Spider-Man finally does whatever a spider can
Now that we've talked in depth about Peter, it's time to acknowledge his alter ego. But before we do so, I have to be honest for a second and admit that I've always had the same problem with most live-action Spider-Man movies: their titular character isn't nearly as acrobatic on the big screen as he is in comic book pages, cartoons, or video games. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was perhaps the entry that most succeeded in this aspect... and yet it failed at most other things. Fortunately, Marvel finally put more love and care into making sure the wall-crawler's every movement feels taken straight from a comic book.
There's more to this than just visual spectacle. After all, the movie sells us on the idea that Peter Parker has left his social life aside in favor of webbing up bad guys all around New York. Well, this concept is also reflected in the way he moves across the city. It feels like most of his movements have been carefully practiced for months now, which means audiences get to see him be more acrobatic than ever before. It also feels like Peter has memorized the layout of the city and knows which vantage points to jump from, on which buildings he can slide, and how close he can get to the ground after a free fall before making a last-minute swing. Not only does it look fantastic, but there's a narrative reason for this.
In terms of action, the "Homecoming" saga has always been pretty underwhelming, which is one of the reasons why Destin Daniel Cretton was a perfect fit to take over the franchise. The fight choreography is just as good in Brand New Day as it was in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (which Cretton also directed). There are things Spidey does here that he has never done when facing a bad guy before, and it feels like a breath of fresh air.
Unfortunately, one of the costs of watching this ambitious superhero fantasy come to life is that the VFX does not always hold up. At this point, weak CGI should be expected from any Marvel production, but that doesn't make it any less disappointing. While Brand New Day is certainly better than other installments in the franchise, some scenes definitely take you out of the experience.
Every character has a reason to appear on screen
As mentioned before, Spider-Man: Brand New Day features the appearance of many characters from the extended Marvel universe. At first, I was very curious as to how the film would introduce Spider-Man to the Punisher, only to discover that they had already met offscreen. While some people might not enjoy missing out on these first-ever interactions, I have to admit I simply loved this approach. It felt like the Spider-Man Animated Series was brought to life, as other heroes just randomly appeared without the need for an extensive setup or any big explanations.
I will say audiences who haven't watched The Avengers or the Daredevil and Punisher shows may be confused about where these other characters come from. However, Brand New Day does a fairly good job of getting you up to date on who these people are and how they are similar to Spider-Man himself. After all, there's a reason why the likes of the Punisher and Hulk are the ones who get to share the spotlight with the wall-crawler.
A common theme throughout the entirety of Spider-Man: Brand New Day is how to deal with loneliness, and that's where Frank Castle comes in. After all, if Peter were to completely leave his humanity aside, he would risk walking down the same path as the Punisher, which would only make him more broken and relentless in the future. In this way, Frank serves as a warning sign for Peter.
On the other side of the coin, Peter struggles to determine how to deal with his emotions and new abilities, and that's where Bruce Banner comes in. The friendly neighborhood hero could attempt to completely suppress the negative feelings causing him to undergo a physical transformation in the movie, but if the repressed stress were ever to come out, it would be as disastrous as when the Hulk is left on the loose. As such, the Green Goliath is also another example of what Peter shouldn't do.
We won't go over how other surprise characters have a similar arc to Peter Parker in order to avoid spoilers. However, it's worth pointing out that nearly every single hero or anti-hero from the extended Marvel Cinematic Universe has a specific reason for showing up to the party, which is great, as it is not a cameo-fest just for the sake of it.
Overall, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is one of the most mature Spider-Man movies to date. This time around, Peter Parker feels burdened by his personal life and not by having to be a superhero, which is a refreshing take on the character. Furthermore, the wall-crawler finally moves and fights as he does in the comic book world, even if it comes at the cost of some not-so-polished VFX sequences. And while many characters from the extended Marvel universe join the adventure, each one has a key role to play as opposed to being a glorified cameo.
The five-year wait was definitely worth it, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for Spider-Man.
Add us as a preferred source on Google