Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Rating: 5/5
By: Nathaniel Simpson
I'm very excited to report that Marvel does in fact listen to its fans. Not only does Tom Holland's fourth solo outing in the MCU, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, have such a fantastic story and the entire movie works incredibly well, but the filmmakers added in elements fans have been asking for for years now. If you are a Spider-Man fan, you are absolutely going to love everything this film does. At times an investigative thriller, other times a story about loneliness and trying to find a place where you truly fit in, Brand New Day is without a doubt the best entry into the Tom Holland Spider-Man franchise, and I can't wait to go see this one again and again.
The movie follows Peter Parker (Tom Holland) as he is trying to adjust to life without his friends and loved ones. After the events of No Way Home, no one knows he exists, and he now must live a life by himself if he wants to stay as Spider-Man and protect the city he loves. However, that doesn't stop him from checking up on his old friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and his former love MJ (Zendaya). Because of this heartbreak and loneliness he is going through, it starts to affect him as the famous Web Crawler, which could prove more dangerous than he thinks. At the same time, when a malevolent force is taking over New York City and possessing people to commit dangerous acts, he must find who is at the root of this and stop them before they hurt anyone else.
This film is without a doubt the most mature Spider-Man story we have perhaps ever seen. This film places Peter Parker in this world that he truly doesn't know how to exist in, and we watch as his loneliness and depression takes a major toll on him. Because of that, I truly would say this is perhaps the best Spider-Man story we have gotten on film yet. I love how the filmmakers were able to make this film feel so incredibly grounded and real, while also leaning into the more superhero-heavy elements of the picture as well. This movie is sort of split into two different halves in regards to the story. The main half shows Spider-Man investigating into this force that is taking over New York and how he can stop it before it's too late. There are aspects in this part that remind me of how they shaped the Pattinson Batman film, in terms of a superhero going on this investigation to save everyone. At the same time this is happening, we see this incredibly emotional tale about the man behind the mask; we start to explore Peter's psyche in a way we have never seen before and I adore the fact on how they were able to combine these two stories and make them work together seamlessly.
Holland, hands-down, gives his finest performance as the famous superhero here. Not only does he have that hilarious, charismatic charm that Spider-Man is known for, but Holland really taps into something deep inside of himself to play Peter. Peter has it rough in this film, and Holland does a wonderful job pulling all of the emotional punches. There were a couple of times where I got choked up due to his performance of what happened to his character in this film. Holland is, thankfully, really coming into this role as a major actor, and I think he does have a very bright future ahead of him. At the same time, I'm really happy they gave Zendaya a much bigger performance than she has had in the other films in this series. They really allowed her to show off her acting chops and make this version of MJ her own here. And, as expected, she has wonderful chemistry with Holland in every single one of their scenes.
I also want to applaud both Batalon and Jon Bernthal, who plays Punisher here. They both serve as sort of comedic relief throughout this movie, and I think both of them are fantastic in their respective roles. While Batalon is hilarious during the few scenes he is in, I really think it is Bernthal that steals the show at various points. I sincerely loved every scene with him in it, and I loved how they shaped this relationship he has with Peter. I also want to applaud Sadie Sink, who I think did a phenomenal job here. I can't say much about her role, but she blew me away and I hope there is a lot more of her in the MCU to come.
In addition to the fantastic performances and wonderful story in this film, the fight sequences are simply awesome to watch. As a Spider-Man fan for years, some of these fight sequences are what I have been wanting for a long time. They simply have you on the edge of your seat and enjoying the ride from beginning to end. There are few major sequences that gave me goosebumps as I watched them, and I think they deserve to be seen on the big screen. In addition to that, there are some wonderful needle drops here that I think work perfectly to set up this atmosphere and environment that Peter finds himself in in New York City.
There is honestly no doubt to me that this is easily one of the best Spider-Man films we have ever received. The filmmakers simply understood what this story was and this place that both Spider-Man and Peter Parker are at, and they were able to craft these two separate stories that worked together seamlessly. I honestly loved every single thing they did here, and I think every die-hard Spider-Man fan will be pleased with this new adventure that everyone's favorite web-sling goes on here.
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