What’s It About

Follows an adult Peter Parker living alone and forgotten, four years after No Way Home. He acts as a full-time, isolated Spider-Man in New York, facing a gang war led by Kingpin and a mysterious “physical evolution” that threatens his existence as he faces street-level villains like Scorpion.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

Spider-Man: Brand New Day might be the best movie we have ever gotten about this hero. I have sat in a theater for almost every Spider-Man movie made since 2002. This film carries real emotional weight, gives its actors work that actually matters, and delivers action that will make your eyes go wide. Right after Doctor Strange’s spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home, wiped Peter Parker from everyone’s memory. Tom Holland’s Peter is alone now. He built his own suit. He lives in a run-down apartment. He throws every bit of himself into saving New York because he has nothing else left. This is not the wide-eyed kid who used to get compared to a mini Iron Man. In this film, Peter depicts a young man with tons of grief and loneliness, and Holland makes sure that specific pain translates on his face even when it’s covered by the mask. If you’ve ever lost somebody close to you, this performance will touch your heart as well. Grief is truly something that turns a person almost into a zombie, and the film demonstrates that truth. This movie is a cut above the rest because of how well it handles every character who crosses paths with Peter. Sure, many superhero movies will throw a bunch of big names into the film and call it a day, but Brand New Day actually gives its cast something to work with. Finally, Zendaya is able to showcase the many sides of her character MJ, a woman who has lost her memories of being in love with Peter. Unlike her mind-blowing performances, this situation is burdensome. The emotions displayed by Zendaya are so real that they may even surprise you. Sadie Sink’s character in the movie is meaningful. I won’t spoil what role she plays. What I can say is that she doesn’t overshadow Peter; she reflects his experiences and makes each character richer. Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers showed great skill in maintaining balance in the storyline. Jon Bernthal also returns in his role of Frank Castle; his chemistry with Holland makes their duo one of the most entertaining parts of the film, even though Castle behaves too casually for a guy who is usually angry. Supporting cast members are also the heartbeat of this story. For example, Marisa Tomei stars as Aunt May and, at the start of the film, she has died. However, Peter begins to feel her presence. Similarly, in the film, character Ned (Portrayed by Jacob Batalon) and Detective Jean DeWolff (Portrayed by Liza Colón-Zayas) serve as a reminder that community gives strength to fend off despair. Director Destin Daniel Cretton deserves most of the credit for pulling this all together. He already proved himself with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and here he brings that same heart while raising the bar for what a Spider-Man movie can look like on screen. You can spot influence from the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield films, the Insomniac Spider-Man video games, and the animated Spider-Verse movies, but Cretton blends it all into something that feels brand new. Watching this movie in a packed theater, then glancing over and seeing other moviegoers’ faces light up with the same excitement we felt when the Marvel franchise was at its highest, told the whole story of how great this movie is. Now, this movie is not perfect. Some of the MCU-mandated plot threads feel like they were dropped in to set up future movies rather than to serve this one, and that adds some unnecessary bulk to the runtime. A few critics have pointed out that the marketing team built up the mystery villain plot to feel bigger than it actually turns out to be. Once you watch it, you realize this story is smaller and more personal than the trailers made it look, closer to a regular comic issue than some giant crossover event. Honestly, that choice works in the movie’s favor. This is not really an action-packed blockbuster. It is a character study about a young man trying to do right by everyone around him while barely holding himself together, and that focus on Peter’s inner life is exactly what recent Spider-Man movies have been missing. When action shows up, it shows up hard. Packing a punch and visually stunning. And yet, what shines through in the end is something even more significant- the losses that come from friendship and asking for help. Peter is not fighting some cosmic enemy, but he is trying to keep his head above water with a good heart in a world that pulls him down. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is not an ideal movie, but possibly the most genuine and complete Spider-Man movie we have ever seen. Tom Holland finally shows us what he is capable of as Spider-Man in this fourth film while Zendaya shows what she can do only if given the opportunity.

OUR RATING – AN EMOTIONAL 9