Where could the franchise go from such a unique crescendo – well Marvel had a plan for that as well. In a bid to save the world Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch – Star Trek: Into Darkness) ended up having to do the unthinkable – cast a spell that made the entire world forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Not only that the spell meant that all of Peter Parker’s friends, including his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya – The Odyssey) would completely forget who he is. In a sense they are resetting Spider-Man’s universe without the need of a re-boot and an origins story.
So now following on from that earth shattering event we have the Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) directed Spider-Man: Brand New Day arriving in cinemas.
The film picks up a few years after the casting of Strange’s spell. Peter Parker lives alone while Spider-Man is the toast of New York. Crime rates are down and Spider-Man is considered an allie to the NYPD especially to Detective DeWolff (Liza Colon-Zayas – The Bear) who talks to him nearly every day.
In fact she is really is only human connection in this new isolated world for Peter Parker – although she only knows him as Spider-Man. He watches MJ and his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon – Tarot) from afar but never makes contact with them. Instead he spends his day talking to his AI helper, E.V. (voiced by Naomi Watts – King Kong) while building more powerful gadgets to help in his crime fighting.
That all changes though when two things happen – first of all Peter finds himself in extreme pain as his body begins to change in a way that seems like his arachnid DNA is starting to take over. Then comes a powerful new criminal who has the ability to take over the body of anyone, including Spider-Man’s nemesis The Scorpion (Michael Mando – King Ivory), to conduct a crime spree against government organisations.
With his health failing and his new enemy vowing to hurt people close to him Peter finds himself having to reach out to some much-loved Avengers for help while also having to try to recruit the wayward Punisher aka Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal – The Walking Dead).
Deep themes
Now with all the formalities out of the way I can openly say that any Spider-Man fan is absolutely going to fall in love with Spider-Man: Brand New Day. There is just so much to love here – from a darker more mature Peter Parker through to the involvement of some beloved Marvel characters that are genuine surprises if you haven’t had the movie spoilt for you already. And yes – one is absolutely massive and hints at some big changes coming in the Marvel universe – and yes that character plays an important role in this film they don’t just appear in a post-credit scene.
The inclusion of characters like Frank into the story is also a great way of incorporating more of the Marvel television shows into the movies in a natural way and the scenes depicting Frank and Peter becoming friends are some of the most beautiful scenes in the movie.
Screenwriters Chris McKenna (Ant-Man And The Wasp) and Erik Sommers (The Lego Batman Movie) do an amazing job with this film. They manage to bring real characterisation into the film and explore deep themes such as male loneliness and bonding that is rarely explored in blockbuster films. The scenes depicting the emotionally damaged Peter and Frank are handled in a positive, thought-provoking way. Even better is the fact that the actors involved, Jon Bernthal and Tom Holland, are also allowed to really act which brings a powerful new element to the film.
Of course, a film like this wouldn’t work without its action sequences and yes director Destin Daniel Cretton and cinematographer Brett Pawlak (We Are Your Friends) handle them remarkably well. Pawlak’s artistic film career infused with Cretton’s Asian cinema influenced background come together in a way that delivers a fresh and unique action style that works with the character driven side of the film rather than overpowering it. There are some truly memorable sequences here that are going to impress even the most hardened comic book fans.
It was always going to be hard for Marvel to top Spider-Man: No Way Home but I have to say that Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a genuine crowd-pleaser. The introduction of a more character-driven film shows that just like Holland as an actor the franchise itself has matured – bringing with it some powerful elements that promise an exciting future.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently screening in Phuket and is rated 13+
4/5 Stars
David Griffiths has been working as a film journalist for over 25 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. He currently hosts a film podcast called The Popcorn Conspiracy. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes accredited reviewer and is an alternate judge for the Golden Globes Awards. You can follow him at Facebook: SubcultureEntertainmentAus.
