“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” spins on a theme nearly as old as comic books: It’s tough to be a superhero.
While the cost of both heroism and being different in a society that destroys individuality are common in the world of men in tights, it’s a bit of an evolution to see them in the Tom Holland version of Peter Parker, one who now understands grief and heartbreak. The problem isn’t that Spider-Boy needs to become Spider-Man—Holland proves more than up to the dramatic challenge of the shift—but that the producers and Destin Daniel Cretton seem often scared of their best ideas, under-developing too many of them on their way to what ultimately feels more transitional than impactful. Affection for the characters who have been around for four movies now goes a long way to holding “Brand New Day” together, but it ultimately succumbs to one of the biggest problems of late-stage MCU: The feeling that it’s just preparation for more movies.
The end of “No Way Home” saw Spider-Man (Holland) making the difficult decision to essentially use the MCU version of the “Men in Black” neuraylzer on the world, including his partner M.J. (Zendaya) and BFF Ned (Jacob Batalon): They remember that Spider-Man saved them a few times when they were in high school, but have no memories of his secret identity, including their relationship to it. Consequently, “Brand New Day” finds Peter deep in his feelings, unable to do really anything but serve as New York’s most popular crimefighter during the day and watch Ned’s Reels on his couch at night. His only contact is a detective named DeWolff (Liza Colon-Zayas), and even she worries about her favorite crimefighter’s intense loneliness.
The isolation of Peter Parker becomes the most interesting thematic thread of Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers’ script as it asks the question: If Peter erases the things that made him a “man,” does that mean the “spider” side will become dominant? As a villain forces him to confront his intense grief over losing M.J., he begins to undergo a transformation in a manner that he can’t always control, leading to a consultation with a man very familiar with having to manage a dark side: Bruce Banner aka The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).
Meanwhile, Spidey battles a deadly new enemy in the Big Apple: A villain who can jump from body to body and has its sights set on something or someone being held at the all-powerful Damage Control. Frank Castle aka The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) appears to snarl while he blows things up, while Sadie Sink plays an essential role that won’t be spoiled here but could indicate a major shift in the MCU that feels overdue.
Cretton, who broke through with the incredible “Short Term 12” and helmed both “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and the Emmy-nominated “Wonder Man” TV series, takes over directorial duties and gives “Brand New Day” a different dramatic sensibility. From the beginning, a lot of the awkward humor of the other Holland films is gone, but it’s a choice that extends to the filmmaking, too. When Spidey swings through the streets of New York this time, it’s almost always overcast, and both the needle drops (TV on the Radio!) and even Michael Giacchino’s score reflect the shift. Holland is invigorated by the dramatic shift, giving a dense, great performance, easily his best in this series. He seems almost more excited about the chance to play the inner conflict of Peter Parker than the outer challenges faced by Spider-Man. And his natural chemistry with Zendaya remains essential to what works here. It’s also refreshing to see her play a different character than her tormented protagonists of late as she and Batalon shift the tone right when the movie is getting too lost in its own feelings.
It returns to those feelings in Sink’s character in a way that Sony has asked critics not to spoil. Suffice to say, Sink’s role becomes a reflection of Peter, another riff on the “great responsibility” of having unfathomable power, and how trauma and superpowers can lead to tragedy. Sink is excellent, arguably repeating a few rhythms of “Stranger Things,” but also developing as a performer. It’s the young cast (Holland, Zendaya, Sink, Batalon) and how Cretton works with them that really hold “Brand New Day” together, and make it feel different from a typical MCU flick.
Sadly, this isn’t “Spidey Term 12,” and Cretton and his writers inevitably have to do a few of the requisite MCU things, including cameos from secondary characters (Florence Pugh!) and regular action beats to keep the kids from getting bored by all the emo. The latter feels almost like an afterthought, as the film’s most notable action sequence comes remarkably late in the film, and hardly any other genre beats stand out. There’s a half-hearted fight with Scorpion (Michael Mando) and a scene with The Hulk that doesn’t really land, but “Brand New Day” is surprisingly light on action set pieces that anyone will remember by the time “Avengers: Doomsday” lands.
It’s also hard to shake the feeling that “Brand New Day” is more interested in tomorrow. The best comic book movies serve both as set-up for what’s to come and stand on their own webbed feet at the same time. “No Way Home” featured such game-changing stakes for everyone involved (RIP Aunt May) that the franchise had to step back, but it doesn’t change the closing feeling in this one that we haven’t gone as far as over 140 minutes should take us, and that we’re again watching set-up for bigger projects in the future.
The truth is that the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t exactly embrace change, and so maybe the baby steps of “Brand New Day” to find a more mature tone as it evolves one of its most popular heroes should be celebrated. It’s a massive action blockbuster that pushes kids to another common but important theme in superhero culture: No one, not even the most powerful beings in the world, can go through this thing called life alone. It’s not a “brand new” idea, but it’s a resonant one.
