With power comes great responsibility. And with great responsibility comes great loneliness.
Following on from the events of No Way Home, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) lives in extreme solitude, his daily life populated by fighting crime, web swinging and visiting Aunt May’s grave to leave fresh flowers. Whilst the city of New York adores the webhead, there’s not much else going on for Peter, having now fully embraced the moniker of Spider-Man on an almost spiritual level. It’s an overcorrection, with the last lesson of “great power comes great responsibility” from Aunt May haunting him into keeping his distance from anyone he could make even the faintest of connections with. Of the few interactions he has, it’s either with the police he helps, lead by Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas) or fellow isolationist Frank Castle, aka The Punisher (Jon Bernthal). And even in their presence, with those that he fights side by side with, he forever leaves his mask on, because the very idea that anyone could be hurt by knowing who he is is too much to bear for the young webslinger.
When you look at Destin Daniel Cretton’s past work, it’s clear why Spider-Man: Brand New Day works so well on a human front. Beginning his career in shorts, Cretton was able to utilise all he had learned, parlaying it into the critically acclaimed Short Term 12, followed by the likes of The Glass Castle and Just Mercy. It isn’t until 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings that he even touches a franchise entrance, veering his way through what is considered the rockier trajectory of the MCU’s phases 4 and 5, to the acclaimed Wonder Man. Cretton is a boon for Marvel Studios, and, along with the likes of Thunderbolts* Jake Schreier, demonstrates exactly what Marvel is desperately needing at this juncture – creatives with an intense focus on the human element above the fantastical. In fact, there’s more than enough parallels between Brand New Day and Thunderbolts* – broken and lonely heroes who are forced into ally ship with similarly broken comrades. Cretton may have lost out on Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, but his work on Brand New Day proves that everything happens for a reason. It’s a match made in heaven as the Short Term 12 director fully understands what’s at the core of the beloved character – a kid with incredible abilities just trying to do the right thing with the power he has.
If No Way Home is an examination of Spider-Man through his rogues gallery, then Brand New Day flips it on its head. For the majority of the film, Parker actively alienates himself from everyone and everything so’s to lessen the collateral damage of his super heroism. His active isolation is chum for the fans who believe suffering is part of the character’s DNA. But Cretton and writers Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna actively challenge that notion by populating the world with Marvel’s finest, who also actively isolate themselves from the broader public to avoid any further tragedy. But, much like the Avengers, some assembly is always required and Peter quickly learns that there’s no prize in self flagellation. It’s especially poetic, then, to encounter a villain who’s power centres on their distance between people – hopping from body to body, mind to mind, puppeteering anyone to advance their nefarious goals. The mechanics of these powers and the more grounded tone make for some of the more darker and deeply devastating moments this iteration of the character has endured thus far.
Admittedly Brand New Day cements Tom Holland as my favourite of the Spider-Men. Whilst the previous webheads hold a special place in my heart, Holland embodies the very spirit of Spidey, even incorporating the stronger aspects of the previous versions of the character. The nerdy bravado of Garfield, the dorky softness of Maguire, Holland is able to mix both of these traits into a webby concoction and, with his own unique charm, doing for the beloved character what Downey Jr did for Iron Man. And his love for the material is clear and ever present, from the physicality, down to the emergence of a distinct Queens accent. Holland wasn’t kidding when he said numerous times in interviews over the years that he didn’t want to do another Spider-Man just for its own sake, and it shows. Brand New Day is a distinct and compelling human tale. If you removed the costumes, the action and the comic book of it all, it would still be a deeply engaging story of one kid’s mission to shield everyone around him from his own damage.
In fact, humanity is always at the fore in Brand New Day, and each character, big or small is given their own moment to shine. So, it’s not especially surprising that it’s Zendaya that nearly steals the film out from under her husband. MJ isn’t just Peter’s lost love, but a missing piece of himself – the better piece. A little smarter, a littler wiser, even with spellbound amnesia, she hasn’t lost her ability to call people out on their bullshit. Which makes Pete fall deeper in love, albeit from a distance. The real surprise is Bernthal’s Frank Castle. Again – humanity at the fore, and Brand New Day brings out a side of the trigger happy psycho seldom seen elsewhere. Frank and Spidey clearly have history and their relationship plays out like annoyed and begrudgingly respectful siblings. Much like MJ, Frank is no stranger to calling a spade a spade, and his penchant for pushing back on “soft serve bullshit” adds a flavour to the character that is wonderfully refreshing. He says what’s needed to be said – his lifestyle is not a choice but a sentence that shouldn’t be compared nor emulated. Holland and Bernthal utilise the chemistry they’ve built up over the years to astounding effect. Their pairing is the highlight of the franchise, which shouldn’t be shocking considering The Punisher made his debut in a Spidey comic back in the 70’s. Bernthal is bringing maximum “lemmetellyousumthin” energy and any fan upset over this characterisation needs to touch some grass and breathe some air.
The less said about Sadie Sink’s involvement, the better, but know – the iron clad mystery built around her character catapults the overall narrative, with the redhead providing some of the more brutal gut punches in the film. Sure, fighting the Hulk can hurt, but words can cut like a knife.
Stan Lee would often say that Marvel comics is “the world outside your window” and Spider-Man: Brand New Day takes Stan’s words to heart. Cretton and his collaborators including cinematographer Brett Pawlak, production designer Charles Wood and supervising art director, Thomas Brown give their world depth and texture. New York City is a character in itself, a living, breathing organism that – in this film – feels especially central to Spider-Man’s own identity and you can feel the love that the city has for Spidey coursing through its veins.
Following the highly kinetic action design of Shang-Chi, Cretton has kicked it up several notches, injecting an upgraded vitality to the franchise, once again utilising the immense talents of stunt co-ordinator and action designer, Peng Zhang. The fight sequences are fluid and frenetic, the web swinging has a ferocious energy so much so that you can feel the wind as Spidey whips past the camera. Fans of the Insomniac games will be delighted with the live action, combo happy renditions of Spidey’s fighting style, with a Spider-Man vs The Hand fight sequence an all timer.
Part of the reason why Spider-Man has endured for so long, and has maintained such a blinding popularity is that he’s a deeply endearing figure that anyone can root for. It goes to show the complexity of the character that we’re four films into this iteration and there’s still so many layers to Pete and his alter ego to discover. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a love letter of the highest order. To the fans, to the character, to those who still believe in heroes. It shows that a webhead’s suffering can sometimes be a choice, and there’s no shame in asking for a helping hand in the abyss of loneliness.
It’s a Brand New Day. And it is shining. Brightly.
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