A scene from ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’

Spider-Man: Brand New Day review: Self-denial reshapes web-slinger

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ is darker than fans are used to, but big feelings inspire maturity and self-reflection.

This the fourth standalone Spider-Man movie in the current iteration of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since the first happy-go-lucky picture in 2017, Peter Parker has been through the wringer. He fought alongside the Avengers; he found and lost a mentor — twice; he went out and came back in the Blip; his friends and family found out he was a superhero; he ripped a hole in the multiverse; he lost a loved one; and now, no one knows Peter ever existed. And all that was before he turned 20. Consequently, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a darker film as he copes with his self-imposed anonymity.

After losing May (Marisa Tomei) and casting a spell to protect his remaining loved ones, Peter (Tom Holland) keeps everyone at arm’s length. Instead, he watches the years pass in MJ (Zendaya) and Ned’s (Jacob Batalon) social posts about their MIT adventures. While they’re away, he spends all his time improving Spider-Man’s suit and catching criminals. Peter works closely with an NYPD captain (Liza Colón-Zayas) and tries to keep Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), a.k.a. The Punisher, on the straight and narrow whenever their paths cross. But when a new villain emerges that can effectively infiltrate anyone and anywhere by body jumping, the stakes get higher.

Following the heartbreaking events of the last film, this picture has an understandably sombre start. After making the ultimate sacrifice, Peter (and his more pronounced New York accent) is left alone in the world he gave up everything to protect. He won’t let anyone get close again, fearing any connection could put that person in danger. He feigns contentment, but years of isolation start to weigh on him. The “Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man” remains one of the most relatable superheroes, dealing with feelings even heavier than those inspired by Tony Stark’s death. Watching his friends lead the life he was also meant to have is painful for Peter and audiences alike — especially when MJ and Ned return to the city, and are once again within reach.

Now that Spider-Man is officially back in the Marvel sphere, there are a lot of drop-ins by other MCU characters. The lines between franchises continue to blur, leading to amusing exchanges and stand-offs. Consequently, the closest thing Spider-Man has to a friend is another New Yorker, the crotchety Frank Castle. They have a delightful odd-couple dynamic in which Frank wants to kill the bad guys and Peter politely asks him not to.

It’s unclear how Peter is funding his life of seclusion, since he doesn’t appear to have a traditional job. But he’s been quite successful at keeping his crime fighting venture going solo. He’s grown into a mini-Tony Stark, using a small lab and his own AI to develop genius-level stuff that could be a potential revenue avenue. Most impressive and dangerous is a power dampener capable of muting someone’s special abilities — a technology that harkens back to some of the worst oppression tactics in the X-Men franchise.

To keep his loneliness at bay, Peter buries himself in his work. With nothing else to distract him, he takes down all the major crime syndicates in New York. But wearing the Spidey suit all the time is taking its toll, emotionally and physically. Even when all they see is the mask, people can tell the guy underneath it is not doing well.

While funny exchanges between Spider-Man and Punisher break some of the melancholic tension, there is also chaotic action sprinkled throughout the picture. With more experience, Peter has grown more adept at taking down his adversaries. He makes clever use of his web shooters, whether it’s to apprehend his opponents or stop mass destruction. He’s more strategic and much stronger. In fact, shirtless Peter looks buffer than ever. He seems to be spending a lot of time working out to compensate for his now low-tech suit. Though other unexpected developments may also tip the scales in his favour.

While Spider-Man is performing his run-of-the-mill hero work, he comes across this new supervillain. The body jumper is using chaos to try to find the answers they seek. However, Peter seems to be the only one that can recognize and resist their possession. Once introduced, the villain dominates the narrative, particularly in the second act, before returning to Peter’s struggles. However, the parallel plots evocatively illustrate the film’s themes of loneliness and loss. Peter and this baddy obviously choose to do vastly different things with their crushing grief, but their stories are sewn using thread from the same spool.

Unexpectedly, this film fixes one of Marvel’s worst cinematic storylines. This wronged character gets a much-improved reboot by going back to an origin story that had yet to be depicted on the big screen. Though the commitment to telling both stories well creates a bit of fragmentation, it still works overall.

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya and Jon Bernthal

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