Spider-Man: Brand New Day | A New Spider-Man For An Anxious Generation
or how I learned to forget the plot and embrace the themes.
In recent years, Marvel has shown audiences that the company isn’t full proof. What was once known as the single biggest franchise in history, which each movie gaining strong critical praise and billions of dollars we thought maybe the Marvel machine was invincible, maybe these movies would be a part of our cultural consciousness forever. You can read a lot of editorials online about how Marvel, and superhero cinema at large, over saturates the market. I agree to a certain extent, I don’t love all of these franchise films and find that some of them feel very vanilla, but I also believe that as people who appreciate the movie going experience we must sit back and acknowledge in the grand scheme of things how fundamentally important the Marvel universe has been in keeping movie theaters around. As a fan of the big screen, I know we need movies like Spider-Man Brand New Day to make a ton of money so companies can then have the confidence to release a film like Obsession and have it be a surprise hit in the market as well.
That is to say, Spider-Man Brand New Day’s earth shattering 355 million dollar opening is nothing short of a miracle. We have claimed several films coming out and saving the market over the last few years since the pandemic, but this seals the deal that the movies are back and I couldn’t be more excited. That being said, is Spider-Man Brand New Day a worthy film to have the title of “movie that saved the market”? Let’s discuss.
Spider-Man Brand New Day stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker who is in the middle of an identity crisis. In the last film, in order to save the multiverse he had to reverse the memory of those closest to him including the love of his life MJ, played excellently in this film by Zendaya. When a new threat makes its way into New York City, Peter has to balance how much Spider-Man can realistically do by himself.
Brand New Day is one of the most introspective films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A lot of films in this Universe get lost in the plot, so concerned on setting pieces and easter eggs for fans to get that the poignancy of the stories being told can get lost in translation in the process. Thankfully, this is a hurdle that Brand New Day is able to escape from. This is easily one of the more emotional Marvel movies that has a lot to say about the male loneliness epidemic. I think it’s a really bold and powerful stance for the studio to make a story that will reach a universal audience and craft themes that are very therapeutic. The fact that a lot of us ignore taking care of ourselves because we believe we are set out to only take care of others. When ambitions get in the way of simply living every day to its fullest and appreciating what is right in front of you. That is what makes Brand New Day feel like a fully fleshed out movie with something to root for. I do believe with this film, Thunderbolts and Fantastic Four: The First Steps the studio has figured out that they cannot simply make movies with characters people recognize with no emotional core. They must engage the audience on a more profound level if they want the same enthusiasm for the source material they got pre the Endgame films.
Director Daniel Destin Creton, who previously made films like Short Term 12 and Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings gives this film a visual flair that was lacking in the previous trilogy. The action set pieces here look a lot more dynamic this time around. Sequences are so bold and over the top at times it reminded me of what the direction of the Wachowski’s Speed Racer. The first twenty minutes of the film throw you into the action similarly to what Speed Racer did, dropping you into this universe with little set up. I really loved that approach to the material, we are watching Spider-Man fight some of his rouge gallery of villains and it’s an absolute blast to watch.
This is also where some of the issues of the film start to unfold as well. Brand New Day is two and a half ours long and stuffed with a lot of plot. There’s so much going on in this movie and it can’t help and feel unfocused at times. Marvel continues to get in their way in being so concerned in furthering the universe that the films pacing and plotting lacks as a result. Characters just end up places in a way that feels very convenient at times. While the film tries it’s best to justify why every character needs to be here and how they contribute to the overall narrative, it’s still a lot to track and some moments ring effective while others suffer as a result.
However, where this film excels is in its characterizations. Peter feels fully fleshed out in the film- where the other films he feels more like a Spider-Kid here he feels like a Spider-Man. He no longer has the billions of dollars that Tony Stark has to keep him afloat and to mentor him. Stripping him of literally everything in the previous trilogy allows the film to start fresh and create its own identity outside the confines of the MCU. The film still is concerned in setting up future installments (specifically in the lead antagonist of the film being spoiler Jean Grey setting up the further X-Men universe) but the film only presents her as a threat for Spider-Man’s universe and isn’t too concerned about her future as a character. There’s a scene towards the end of the film where that Grey has a revelation while being in Peter’s head that is one of the most poignant things I’ve seen the MCU tackle and it is something that got me emotional, it’s the first time this iteration of Spider-Man felt like he was finally the hero I’ve come to know and love. I do enjoy the previous Jon Watts trilogy for its Freaks and Geeks in the MCU approach but this more tactile, street level filmmaking is appreciated. The cinematography, the color grading and the overall choreography here is much better realized. I didn’t feel like I was watching a video game unlike the previous trilogy where at times it felt dynamically a little more flat.
Spider-Man Brand New Day is an interesting film because walking out of it at first I was a little underwhelmed. Not because I didn’t like it but I found the high points of it so high I was a little frustrated by how clunky its plot mechanisms came across. But this movie continued to stay with me and resonate with me. It’s the first Marvel movie since the Guardians trilogy where when I thought about it, it’s not because of what it meant for future movies but it was because of what the film was saying thematically. Specifically about male loneliness and the constant societal pressures for men to be emotionally capable. I think the exploration of that toxic ideology is quite profound and for Marvel to be tackling that subject matter and sprinkle in some sugar along with it with fun and cool Marvel cameos? There’s worse things- it’s almost at times too much of a good thing but that’s a vast improvement from what we’ve been getting from superhero movies in the last few years. Even the overwhelming nature of the plotting actually accurately conveys Peter being overwhelmed in his own life, we are juggling everything he is. Overall, this is a remarkable film and one I’m excited to watch again.
