It’s a good time to be at the movies, and an even better one if your name is Tom Holland. For the second time in July, the young British actor is starring in a big-budget spectacle that ends up being much more than that. Like The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is rooted in reality and presents a surprisingly nuanced take on loneliness, identity, and the cost of the greater good. It balances the razzmatazz of a superhero film with the complexities of a modern-day tale of identity crisis, and does it with such finesse that you cannot help but…um…marvel.
Event Context
If you’ve read so far, you may be mistaken in thinking Brand New Day is a heavy film. But it is truckloads of fun. And the shift from fun to gritty is never jarring. It is a recipe that Marvel has perfected over 40+ films and shows, and presented again here, piping hot. There are jokes, wisecracks, and one-liners that keep the fun alive. Tom’s Peter is growing up. He is no longer in high school, and the increased sass shows. There are fun little homages to the previous Spider-Man films featuring Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, none of which feel out of place. The chemistry between Tom and Jon (Spidey and Punisher) is a treat to watch as the optimistic young pacifist tries to rein in the trigger-happy veteran, ever so frustratingly. Mark Ruffalo’s extended cameo as Bruce Banner is good, but the film finally gives his Hulk the menacing turn he deserved. Since Mark took on the role of The Hulk, one has felt that his Hulk has been nerfed to rock bottom. Here, the beast is unleashed, even if for a short time. And it gives us one of the film’s most memorable moments.
And despite all these treats, the USP of the film, for me, are the visuals. Finally, for the first time since Tobey’s Spider-Man films, New York gets to be a character in a Spidey adventure. Director Destin Daniel Cretton not only incorporates the energy of the Big Apple into the film, but also brings back the spectacular visuals of Spider-Man swinging through the streets and along the skyscrapers. Brilliantly shot and wonderfully presented, these shots inspire so much awe that it feels like you are swinging along with the friendly neighbourhood hero on his adventure. It evokes the joy of a superhero film, which is so essential today, when the genre is oversaturated.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day follows up on No Way Home, an unenviable task. But unlike its predecessor, it does not bank on nostalgia. It even incorporates more of the MCU than any Spidey film before this. Is this the best Spider-Man film ever? No, but it may make the top 3 of all time. But it is certainly the best Spider-Man film Tom has been in, and the best gift MCU could have given itself before Doomsday rolls in later this year.
Match Outlook
Four years have passed since Peter Parker (Tom Holland) made the hard choice of letting the world, including his loved ones, forget who he is. Now, he is just Spider-Man. But years of pushing down his identity in his own mind have pushed the spider DNA in him to erupt, causing complications. As he investigates a mysterious foe who can possess human beings and make them do their bidding like puppets, Peter finds that the path leads him to a reunion with MJ (Zendaya), possibly putting her in harm’s way. He finds an unlikely ally in The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) as he goes up against this impossible enemy and finds himself biting more than he can chew, including an encounter with The Hulk.
Brand New Day is about Peter trying to be just Spider-Man. He made the world forget him, and for four years, he has been trying to push his alter ego down, too. The film explores what happens when a person suppresses who they really are. What happens when you forget yourself and what you stand for? Are you still the same person, or have you evolved into some monster that you need to fight from within? It also tries to answer the question of the greater good, and when it needs to be answered. It balances, quite deftly, the question of what matters more – an individual’s suffering and rights or the good of the society.
It is not new for Marvel to take on complex emotions and themes. And this film is one of the best examples of how the franchise has balanced entertainment with substance, without ever losing the plot. It is evocative of the best of Marvel, from the days when Iron Man 3 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier did all this flawlessly. It even holds up well against recent efforts by Marvel to portray heavy emotions like grief and solitude in entertaining outings such as WandaVision and Thunderbolts.
