Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Writer: Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers

Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Tramell Tillman, Marisa Tomei, Mark Ruffalo

Spidey swinging in clutch to save Marvel’s day…again

In these strange and unpredictable times, the power of a reliable hero cannot be underestimated. As the world lurches from crisis to crisis, we need the safety of dependability to help us through the darkness, and there’s no one more heroic nor dependable out there than Spider-Man.

While tweaks have certainly been made to Spider-Man/Peter Parker’s story through the years, the hero’s beauty and universal popularity stems from a dependability that lies at the character’s core and has remained largely untouched since Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created him back in 1962. There’s a pleasing comfort and a reassuring safety in old web-head and it’s led to the character coming to Marvel’s rescue on more than one occasion.

Whether it’s his movie rights being sold off to save Marvel from financial disaster or No Way Home making almost $2 billion at the box office during a global pandemic that was laying waste to the film business, it’s safe to say Peter Parker can always be relied upon to come in clutch when needed. And with Marvel’s much documented troubles posing an ongoing existential threat to the studio, Spider-Man is here with a new movie to save the day once again.

Living anonymously in New York City, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) throws himself into full-time crimefighting. However, the intense pressure triggers a painful genetic mutation in his radioactive DNA, giving him erratic heightened senses and organic webbing. As he struggles to control his changing body, a mysterious mind-controlling entity emerges. This threat plunges the city into crisis, forcing Peter to team up with the Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and confront the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) to protect a populace that has completely forgotten him.

While no one is claiming it to be perfect, Tom Holland’s Home trilogy managed to resuscitate a superhero that, after the disaster of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, looked out for the count. In going back to basics, folding him into the MCU, and offering a much needed fresh take on the iconic character, Marvel Studios and Sony put Peter Parker on the road to redemption, one that has led directly to where we are now.

There are a great many things that Spider-Man: Brand New Day gets right, but perhaps its greatest achievement is to take every one of Tom Holland’s Spidey films to date, together with all his previous MCU appearances, and use them to not only inform this one but to spring both the character and the actor forward in a brand new direction. And all without giving us the feeling of having to do too much MCU homework beforehand.

As the title suggests, Brand New Day is precisely that for both Peter Parker and Tom Holland, yet it’s one that never forgets the strides and work that both have made on the journey so far and uses everything that’s come before to enhance this one in a way that’s both satisfying and exhilarating. Whether it’s direct plot points from No Way Home that continue into Brand New Day’s narrative or the continuation of character work that’s been growing over Holland’s previous six Marvel Cinematic Universe appearances, this latest film is the perfect blend of what’s gone before, what Spider-Man is now, and what the character has to offer in the future.

Marking Tom Holland’s fourth full film as Spider-Man, Brand New Day feels like the first time this version of the hero has felt fleshed out and emotionally mature in a way that takes the lessons learned and the scars earned from the previous trilogy and uses them to evolve. From civil wars to high school shenanigans to European trips to multiversal showdowns, each MCU Spider-Man appearance to date has added an extra wrinkle and a little shading to the character, and while it was never a guarantee that this would lead to anything particularly spectacular, Marvel and Destin Daniel Cretton have managed to harness it all and utilise it magnificently in what is one of the most wholly satisfying live-action Spider-Man movies to date.

Powered by Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna’s deftly executed script and Cretton’s creative, kinetic direction, Brand New Day covers a lot of ground and a lot of interweaving plot threads before blending them all into something with a level of emotional weight that few other comic book movies can touch. And, despite all of this going on around him, Holland’s Spider-Man is undoubtedly the biggest beneficiary of this character first approach.

Without a doubt Tom Holland’s finest moment in the Spider-Man suit, the actor feels as comfortable with the hero as he ever has, and this comfort in the role gives the entire film an impressive swagger and unerring confidence. With the entire world no longer aware of Peter Parker’s existence, Holland must go to a surprisingly dark emotional place, and it lends some serious thematic heft to proceedings.

Sacrifice, isolation, and loneliness are hardly new subjects for a superhero movie, yet they’re rarely handled as well as they are here, as Holland’s Peter Parker attempts to fly solo while sinking into himself and his role of New York’s inexhaustible protector. Carrying this burden, Holland is in the form of his life, and even though Peter Parker’s dynamic with MJ and Ned has irrevocably changed going into Brand New Day, the trio offer some of their best collective work to date.

Unsurprisingly, considering their real world relationship, Holland and Zendaya have chemistry for days, and the couple’s comfort with both their characters and themselves as performers really shines through. Acting as both the end of their previous story and the start of a brand new relationship dynamic, it’s the kind of surprising emotional nuance that puts Brand New Day above not only its live-action Spider-Man predecessors but many of its MCU franchise mates too.

Even when dealing with the usual cameos and cross-franchise synergy that have become a central part of every MCU Spider-Man outing, the character work on display here remains refreshingly astute. Although initial impressions suggest roles for the likes of Bruce Banner and Frank Castle may overcrowd the story, their injection into proceedings makes complete sense to Peter Parker’s personal journey and they both work surprisingly well here to strengthen it.

Whether it’s the wise words of Mark Ruffalo or the antagonistic camaraderie with Jon Bernthal, these cameos are not only well thought out but make total sense for the journey Brand New Day takes Peter Parker on. Throw in some fun minor villain appearances and a superb film-stealing performance from Sadie Sink in a mysterious, multifaceted role, and you have the kind of Spider-ensemble you dream of – one that elevates rather than detracts from our hero.

While it certainly has its moments of logic and focus fade, the plot takes the extended cast, ties to the wider MCU, and several narrative strands and uses them to inform rather than detract from Spider-Man. Whether it’s looking to Punisher or Bruce Banner for assistance, butting heads with the Hulk or Scorpion, hunting down a mystery enemy, struggling to adjust to a world without his best friend and girlfriend, or adjusting to his evolving body and mutating powers, everything about Brand New Day combines to level-up both Peter Parker and his alter ego.

Touching on the nature of loneliness, mental health struggles, the importance of asking for help, and finding strength in community, Brand New Day places a heavy burden on both itself and its lead, yet Tom Holland positively embraces the pressure as he shows just what a talented actor he is. It’s not something many performers could handle, especially with such an enormous tentpole movie sitting on their shoulders, yet Holland takes the thematic weight in his stride, all while throwing himself into the film’s physical side with customary enthusiasm.

Of course, this being an MCU movie – and a Spider-Man MCU movie no less – all this thematic weight would be for nothing had Brand New Day not lived up to expectations with its visuals and action, however, there’s little worry here as Destin Daniel Cretton ensures his film delivers on spectacle. Bringing his experience with the eye-popping Shang-Chi to the plate, Cretton offers up one of the brightest and most visually appealing live-action Spider-Man movies to date.

Using a variety of different techniques to let you experience Spidey’s web swinging like you’ve never seen before, Brand New Day feels like it has as much in common with the PlayStation Spider-Man games than it does with previous big screen instalments and the results are thoroughly exhilarating. Paired with some proper colour grading, Michael Giacchino’s swooping score, and the kind of innovative fight sequences that made Cretton’s Shang-Chi such a blast and you have something that immediately swings itself right to the top of the Spider-Man movie rankings to proves that, if the ever-reliable Web Crawler has anything to do with it, there’s plenty more fight left in the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet.

Not for the first time, Spider-Man comes in clutch to help Marvel in their time of need as Brand New Day delivers with one of the best big screen Spidey outings yet. Emotionally mature, deftly written, character driven, and with some amazing, innovative action, Destin Daniel Cretton has crafted a sprawling but spectacular slice of web slinging satisfaction. Now fully embedded in the role, Tom Holland swings to the MCU’s rescue once again with his finest performance as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man, offering a poignant portrayal of loneliness, isolation, and the importance of asking for help.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in cinemas worldwide now.