Spider-Man Brand New Day - Spoiler Free Review

Film Details

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Run Time: 2hr 25m

Cast: Tom Holland, Sadie Sink, Zendaya, Jon Bernthal, Jacob Batalon, Mark Ruffalo

Synopsis

Peter Parker devotes his life to protecting New York City as a full-time Spider-Man. But as the demands on him intensify, the pressure sparks a surprising physical evolution that threatens his existence.

My Review

Spider-Man Brand New Day places Tom Holland comfortably in 1st place when it comes to the best portrayals of the character, capturing the emotional complexity surrounding Peter’s personal life, whilst perfecting Spider-Mans charismatic charm! Meanwhile Destin Daniel Cretton creates the best looking Spidey film to date, with impressive cinematography and electric combat sequences that were a joy to watch. It’s clear that Tom and the entire creative team attempt to incorporate the best aspects of previous iterations, taking inspiration from live action, animation, games and the comics and this works really well on screen.

I absolutely loved exploring Peter’s isolation after the events of No Way Home and how that becomes the catalyst for this biological evolution that he has to navigate. I am a big advocate for organic web shooters and this film is proof that Peter’s intelligence and tech capabilities can still be emphasised outside of his web shooters. However the genetic evolution is also multifaceted, it initially drives Peter’s individual development, tied to the themes of self acceptance and loneliness, but come the end of the film it marks his transition into being a mentor and leader, which is a touching full circle moment where he can be to others, what Tony Stark was to him.

As I mentioned, the cinematography is significantly improved compared to previous instalments in the franchise. They actually use lighting to their advantage and avoid the over exposure that we see so regularly in superhero movies. The best shots aren’t just manufactured by an abundance of green screen CGI, that physical production design fleshes out sets, provides depth of field and injects authenticity into the frames. Perhaps we have become so accustomed to a low bar for cinematography in these types of films, that competent filmmaking feels like a shock to the system, but regardless it was appreciated!

My main criticism for Brand New Day is that all of Spider-Man’s actual villains are after thoughts, tiny glimpses to make way for Sadie Sink’s character who ultimately has very little to do with Spider-Man. That doesn’t mean that her character wasn’t tied into the narrative effectively, it was executed nicely and she performed brilliantly! But the film needed an out and out antagonist from Spidey’s rogue gallery, one that would be a real danger from start to finish. Secondly, the trailer, I really wish studios would stop revealing so much, literally every confrontation was shown in the trailer, there were no real surprises and that ultimately left me dissatisfied.

Fortunately the world they bring to life is way too captivating to feel disheartened by the aforementioned criticisms! This is in no way a cameo fest, but instead everything that I want from a connected universe. Multiple heroes based in the same location, interacting and assisting where possible, its organic and natural and the chemistry between the characters is off the charts, particularly between The Punisher and Spider-Man. I wouldn’t say Brand New Day is necessarily the best Spider-Man movie of all time, but it’s undoubtedly the best Spider-Man of all time and I find myself desperate for more and I truly hope that Holland continues to play the character until he physically can’t do it anymore, to hell with set trilogies, just give us as many films as possible!

My Rating: 9 out of 10

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