Spider-Man: Brand New Day successfully taps into the tragedy and drama of the comic-book character, yet the films’ emotional impact is constantly derailed by the usual Marvel tactic of synergy over storytelling.
Spider-Man is not only a part of the Marvel Universe; the character is a universe unto himself. More comic-book panels, TV airtime, and movie reels have been dedicated to the adventures of Peter Parker/Spider-Man than any other Marvel character and with good reason: he has the drama, the villains, the action and the stakes. So why in Spider-Man: Brand New Day couldn’t Marvel (in the words of todays kids) let the film cook?
Set four years after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spider-Man: Brand New Day begins with the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man (Tom Holland) doing his duty as a beloved New York City superhero ridding the streets of crime. Behind-the-mask, however, 22-year-old Peter Parker lives a lonely existence without his close friends MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) and the loss of his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). When a new threat arrives in the form of powerful teen mutant Jean Grey (Sadie Sink) Peter must stop her quest for vengeance with the help of urban vigilante The Punisher (Jon Bernthal.)
Taking on directing duties for Spider-Man: Brand New Day is Denis Daniel Cretton who has previous comic-book movie experience with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Cretton’s real calling card, though, is his acclaimed drama’s Short Term 12 and Just Mercy, and he successfully brings that character driven storytelling to an emotionally mature chapter in the life of a superhero whose obligation to protect his city often trumps his personal wellbeing.
Holland delivers his best performance yet in his seventh outing as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, portraying the heartbreak, loneliness, and stirring conviction that is part and parcel of Marvel’s most heroic and tortured characters, the moments without the mask just as high-stakes driven as those with the mask on.
Then comes that MCU anchor to bring things down a notch. Marvel Studios always focus on the long-term strategy, which means interjecting characters in their movies to set-up the next phase of MCU shenanigans. The introduction of X-Men character Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the latest case in point that proves to be a distraction from what is an engaging central story, not to mention an odd-pairing considering the rich volume of villains in the Spider-verse yet to be tapped.
The great thing about individual comic-book titles (and the movies based on them) is they are a world within their own with their own stories, their own characters, their own stakes and adventures. Marvel’s obsession with character crossover not only robs the identity of these individual worlds but also dilutes the impact of when these separate worlds eventually do collide.
There is much to like in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, especially the emotional weight that Cretton brings to the franchise. Yet until things change, this movie should instead be known as MCU: Same Old Tricks.
