“With great power, comes great responsibility.”
When you think of Spider-Man, this tends to be the first characteristic that comes to mind. Then it might be followed by the ‘Parker Luck’. A part of the the character weaved into their fabric by co-creator Stan Lee. And then the third might just be New York City. The soaring skyscrapers. The abundance of people and interactions to be had. And the sense that it is as alive as those who walk its very streets. While it may sound like I’m dismissing the previous films, it’s in the sense that one was contained to a neighbourhood block and their school. Before shooting off to Washington. Then they went to Europe. And then they were sort of in New York, but again at school. Briefly in the Mirror Dimension. And then at the Statue of Liberty.
I hope you get the point.
It is indeed a Brand New Day as Spider-Man swings through New York, baring the weight of their responsibility. And because it’s the first feature post-Kang that has been given a reprieve as they slightly step into a reset of sorts. It all might lead to Doomsday. But it also leads to the next day after this.
Tom Holland returns as Peter Parker. A man the world has forgotten after the events of No Way Home. Owning the choice they made, they fill their days reducing crime across the city, while working with Detective DeWolff, played stunningly by The Bear‘s Liza Colón-Zayas. Her motherly presence producing a new facsimile for Peter after the loss of Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). Watching his best friend, Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon), and former girlfriend, MJ Watson (Zendaya), at a distance, the toll of an ever-growing melancholy begins to wash over not only his psyche, but also the thing that gave him his very powers.
Jon Bernthal‘s Punisher is tactfully used, helping ground Spider-Man further. Not only is this a reflection of Castle’s own presence in the MCU, but also in the way he interacts with Spidey. While Holland and Bernthal have worked together many times before, and even as recently as The Odyssey, this feels like the first time I’ve seen someone just ‘be’ with Spider-Man. They acknowledge the weird around them. They clash and quip and remind the other of what they’ve done. But this friendly nature, leaning ever toward familial, benefits both characters as an unseen antagonist strikes at Damage Control. A government agency which has been developing alongside Spider-Man since Homecoming.
Or is that, the ‘Department Of Damage Control’?
Lead by Severance actor Tramell Tillman as Bill Metzger, they assist Spider-Man in tracking down this villain who appears to have it in for the city, and especially the DODC. Thanks to the ‘Peter-Tingle’, Spidey is the only person who can sense what is happening. And these events help Spidey find guidance in the likes of DeWolff, Frank and Metzger. And also in others who further help connect Peter back to the MCU, in what may be the most well-contained film since Captain America’s The Winter Soldier.
Director Destin Daniel Cretton has already shown a knack for composition, action and marrying the fantastic with the realistic, and it really shines in Brand New Day. Not only do they bring New York to life, but they also do so with Spidey. Visual choices like Spidey’s costume stretching and creasing. The action ramping between slow and fast with flair so striking I couldn’t help but gasp. And it’s going back to Insomniac’s Spider-Man games to not only reference how Spider-Man moves, but to also straight up lift moves and finishers from the game. Cross this over with the comic book references and well. It’s an incredible watch.
While Brand New Day suitably offers a path forward for the MCU. It offers an extensive highway for Spider-Man to follow. What may be coming up for Spider-Man may be a ride that we won’t forget. And if delivered correctly, then it’s going to be one helluva time like this movie.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day feels like the first feature in a minute, within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that feels like it has some actual direction for what could come next in the wider story.
If they manage to deliver on Doomsday, then maybe the bad times are finally over.
