by G.E. Uke, Reporter
I recently had the pleasure of seeing an early press screening of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and after a full night of rolling around on the floor in a post-ComicCon nerd daze, I’ve managed to master myself enough to write this review.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is very good. Tom Holland does an excellent job as usual, but Spider-Man isn’t “just” about edifying him. If that were true, the fanbase would just be a personality cult. Spider-Man movies are very much about the writing, and it’s quite possible to have a great actor bomb a movie because they were asked to depict something that simply didn’t jive. BND doesn’t have that problem. It jives quite well on many levels.
But before I expand on that, I’d like to say that…getting Peter “right” is hard, because he isn’t a creature of ego. Behind all the jokes and banter, beneath the guilt and loss, he’s essentially pure. This purity shines through in everything he does, and it gives him a warmth that can’t be faked. It also makes him a “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” rather than a “Bombastic Rambo Spider-Man.” The only other superhero who comes close in this regard is Ant-Man, but Ant-Man is more of a reluctant hero. Peter isn’t reluctant. He gives off underdog vibes, but those who know the lore understand he’s immensely powerful. His restraint is simply a major part of his heroism.
I had a checklist in my mind as I walked into this movie: awesome action scenes, emotional growth, personal loss, unexpected characters, plot twists, and the humanization of the villain. Every Spider-Man movie has these things. The challenge the writers face with each new film is blending them together harmoniously.
Shallow spoilers ahead.
The action scenes were plentiful and well spaced. Spider-Man fights a good variety of villains, heroes, and thugs potent enough to challenge him. These combats take place in an attractive array of environments, and are some of the best I’ve seen in any Spider-Man film to date. I have no complaints here.
Spidey’s growth was well conceived. At no point were his feelings and need for personal connection ham-handed or contrived. He wasn’t a childish angst-poodle, and always tried to deal with things in a mature manner. The script gave Tom room to show Peter’s growth, and he did just that. While Peter incurs no significant losses in this film, his effort to live down the events of prior movies feels real. The story also delves into body horror, which adds a nice element of anxiety and instability to complicate the unfolding narrative.
Unexpected characters are a favorite element of mine. Every Spider-Man movie tosses them in to give the impression he isn’t operating in a vacuum: Iron Man, Nick Fury, Doctor Strange, etc. This time it was the Punisher and the Hulk: bold choices that paid off in spades. Picking Jean Grey as the main antagonist was a shocking move that had me at the edge of my seat, and I LOVED the job Sadie Sink did portraying this character after her role as Max in Stranger Things.
I also really enjoyed the job Jon Bernthal did as the Punisher. I think they added him precisely because he doesn’t ‘belong’ to the usual Spider-Man paradigm, which gives the impression Spider-Man is operating in a living, breathing world. Zendaya (Mary Jane) deserves praise for conveying realistic, mature emotions that both humanize her character and give her agency.
There were several major plot twists, but most of them were things you could see coming. The discovery of the villain’s true identity was a surprise to me, because I chose to live under a rock and avoided spoilers. But apart from that, there weren’t TOO many unexpected turns in the course of this particular movie. Nothing like the revelation of Mysterio or the surprise introduction of the previous Spider-Man actors. This part was okay, but I’m forgiving. You can’t have crazy plot twists in every single movie, or they lose their potency.
Finally, there’s the humanization of the villain. This was very well done. They did a better job with Jean Grey than they did with the Vulture, and that’s the gold standard in my mind. Mysterio and the Green Goblin were both mentally unstable, but the Vulture was not. His refusal to reveal Peter’s true identity was what made him stand out in my mind, and they did something similar with Jean Grey. X-Men fans will know she’s destined to be a hero, but…oh, what a villain she makes.
Rating: 
ComicsOnline gives Spider-Man: Brand New Day – 4.5/5 spiderbites. It’s a worthy continuation of the franchise, which builds on its predecessors in a satisfying way.
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