Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Note to self: attend early screenings for Marvel films!! This screening was bliss. Yes, I had to get up earlier than I do for work to go, but it was so worth it.

Say what you want about the state of the wider MCU. I don't think it's near as bad as people make it out to be. However, long gone are the strengths of this world as a pioneer in franchise storytelling. The abundance of mediocre projects has facilitated this idea that Marvel is creatively bankrupt. This movie seeks to shatter those perceptions, and shockingly it does so to great effect.

Spider-Man as a character holds a lot of power in the cultural cachet. He oddly feels like one of the only parts of monoculture we have left. One could only assume that from a business point of view, it would be very easy to use this as a platform to get the public's investment back into the MCU. However, it seems like the creatives on board had this responsibility to use this power in a way that serves the audience, not just the business goals.

Interestingly, in the process, they managed to do both, and this all comes down to the script. Having a clear vision for Holland's next instalment and using that as a beacon to guide the future of the MCU, I think is ingenious. Many could cite this as a criticism, which is absolutely fair, but I also think this is the nature of franchise storytelling. It just functions differently to traditional films, which is why I've always had a grievance at the criticisms levelled at the Home trilogy. They have their issues filmmaking-wise, but as an integration as part of the larger universe, I think they're incredibly smart. This film continues that trend.

Packaging characters and iconography we know from the current MCU, lighting a path forward for the direction of this franchise but never losing sight of the core focus of the story and, in actuality, letting these inclusions accompany the core story. I love how indirect this felt as well. It's not shoving it in your face. They are opting for a show, don't tell approach a lot of the time. There's specifically a moment with Sadie Sink, and just her glancing at something that very much could have been explicit; however, it's left up for the audience to interpret. And I know the bar is in hell, but things like that really do make a difference.

Brand New Day feels like an apt title for the film. This is still the MCU; Spider-Man is still involved. However, it feels reinvigorated with an energy that has been lacking in other projects. It very much speaks to the core idea of the film, this idea that our scars and our past don't have to define us; they can inform who we become as we forge a brand new day for ourselves; we don't need to wallow in sadness or isolate ourselves when there are people around us who care.

It's what I love about the use of every single MCU character in this film is that they all exemplify this theme. Frank being this counterpoint for Peter, Peter believing that if Frank can function alone, then why can't he, but we get these really rich conversations about how Frank never chose to be that way and to actively make that decision is really damaging. The isolation of Bruce Banner and wanting to cure yourself of a side of you that you don't like, a side that is dark. But that's not the way to move forward; the way to move forward is to manage all sides of yourself, not cut them out. (This is a very queer-coded movie, as all Spider-Man movies seem to be.)

The inclusion of other characters who I won't name because of spoilers also seems to fit in with this theme. We're just meeting people at different points on their journey. Sadie Sink's villain wonderfully weaves into this story as well and results in this really gorgeous scene towards the end with both characters reckoning with sadness and isolation. It's clear that this was a focal point for the film, and everything anchors to it. It makes for such a wonderfully realised and intentional watch.

This is Tom Holland's best performance to date. While I think he's superb in No Way Home, there may be some higher highs in that film. His consistent dedication to this encumbered version of Peter is really admirable. These characters feel like they have aged. Peter feels like he has this weight that is resting on him, and that's not easy to do with such a large time gap. He's still wonderfully endearing and charming, but there's a heaviness to him now that I really find quite moving. Quite literally, every other performance feels so natural and additive to this film.

I loved Bernthal's dynamic with Peter Parker. Sadie Sink steals the absolute show. She's just captivating in everything that she's in. Jacob Batalon is a much-needed comic relief. And I was so impressed by Zendaya in this. She's so sparingly used, but she is so emotive in the way that she is able to convey deep reflexive parts of herself. Any scene between her and Peter, which I imagine was punched up by Justin Kuritzkes, as it feels very him, are the highlights of the film.

Interestingly, this film could have pushed these ideas a little further, Peter dealing with this inner darkness, contending with the fact that he is so isolated, and it perhaps just skims the surface. But in place of that, we get some of the best action that the MCU has ever seen. It is so clear to me that they were inspired by Insomniac's Spider-Man games because this entire film feels like a mission that I'm playing, and I mean that in the most complimentary way.

The action feels so well realised for the character of Spider-Man; it puts to shame any other fight scene that we've seen with him in the MCU, as everything feels so dynamic and creative in this film. He's utilising his powers interestingly, and the camera is capturing it equally as interestingly.

While a massive step up in cinematography and the visuals that the MCU is often plagued with, we get dynamic lighting, we get real, lived-in environments. There’s still something that feels off. There are moments where it feels a little muddy, and specifically when we're in New York, it feels like a set. This is only emphasised further by the gorgeous end credits, which are photographs of real New Yorkers in New York. It feels so dramatically different from the film. It would be nice to feel that realism, which the MCU did manage to have at some points, but it seemed to have lost its way.

Honestly, I just really admire how this simultaneously managed to be a grounded Spider-Man story that haters of the home trilogy seem to long for, this more traditional story, but didn't forego the elements of the MCU; it managed to weave them in and integrate them in a way that felt not forced. With Doomsday being the next film they easily could have done something to set up that, and I really admire them for not. Really a proper achievement in this genre and it's among my fav Spidey films