2026, 145 mins, PG-13
*** out of ****
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.
Screenplay by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. Based on “Spider-Man” by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Produced by Kevin Feige, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, and Rachel O’Connor.
Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Tramell Tillman, Marisa Tomei, Mark Ruffalo
Reviewing a movie like “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” as a standalone is a tricky notion. This is because the film is so interconnected with previous entries and other films and characters within the Marvel Cinematic Universe that any plot synopsis would risk making little to no sense without mentioning other films. I haven’t seen many of the films or TV Shows that the movie is connected with, but I’ll give it my best shot.
Peter Parker (Tom Holland) has chosen to protect his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) by not reintroducing himself to her, after a spell that was cast in the last movie has made her lose her memory. He spends much of the movie telling her he’s someone else just to get close to her. Meanwhile, Jean Grey (Sadie Sink) a mutant with telepathic powers possesses the driver of a tank that crashes into a prison holding Mac Gargan and body hops to help him escape. Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal is also in pursuit but is thwarted by Spider-Man who prevents him from causing too much damage in the streets. Gargan escapes.
There is another subplot involving the evolution of Spider-Man’s powers as he ages into adulthood. His senses become super-heightened and he loses control in one fight with Gargan in which he also injures a police officer. He seeks guidance from Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) who has constructed an inhibitor that suppresses his alter-ego, The Hulk. This device also helps Spider-Man gain control over his newly evolved powers.
There is so much plot in this film, a bunch of it totally gratuitous, that to try and explain is a futile effort. It’s best summed up in bits and pieces. What is interesting is how the film remains consistently entertaining while juggling everything. There’s also a positive sense of forward drive and coherence no matter how much the movie is trying to do.
What I liked the most is that the film ends up doing some things with Spider-Man character that haven’t been done before. Watching how he navigates the new complications with his connection to MJ is compelling as he tries to avoid reintroductions to both her and his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) until she discovers his secret and wants answers. The scene in which revelations come to light between them is well-acted and engaging. I also like that Spider-Man ages into adulthood and his powers change which satisfies a development that has always remained a mystery throughout his cinematic journey. We have never known him as anything more than just a teenager or someone in his early 20s at most and we have never seen much evolution with his powers, either.
Central to the film is Spider-Man’s connection with Frank Castle, aka The Punisher. Together their scenes almost function like a 1980s buddy movie with Spider-Man being the more chipper one and the Punisher being the more downcast type. They have some wonderful chemistry and get to team up in some kinetic action scenes.
My problem is the same with all Marvel movies and that is this issue of interconnectivity. There are so many characters introduced that you can’t keep up with where you’ve seen them all before. What’s even more frustrating is that they spend entirely too much time setting themselves up for the future and probably pad the runtime out by at least half an hour doing so. This makes things confusing for anyone in the audience who has just a passive interest in this whole superhero universe and who only bought a ticket to see a Spider-Man movie not an MCU movie. At least the movie never forgets to have fun.
