Brand New Day plays all the hits. And we love the hits.
Spoilers ahead.
They might have this poor motherfucker Tom making these movies till he’s 55.
Spider-Man is the superhero for young people. Sure, other gifted teens and twenty-something heroes are making an impact on the screen, but not like our guy Petey here. Brand New Day is perhaps the final amalgamation of what makes this character, and these movies, so beloved. The movie has heart, style, quips, and pristine action filmmaking. Tom Holland turns in his best performance. The greater Marvel world oozes through in .. mostly .. the right ways. Most importantly, the struggles of Peter Parker haven’t been this well portrayed since Spider-Man 2.
It’s not a perfect comic book movie by any measure. Some of the choices that director Daniel Destin Cretton makes are odd, and some parts feel pulled together rather awkwardly. However, the deliciously served fanfare, fight scenes, and heartstrings make up for it in spades. It’s a little uneven, but it’s the 11th Spider-Man movie we’ve cranked out in less than 25 years (although weirdly many villains and storylines remain unexplored). It also needs to set up the greater Marvel Universe for future installments. With those constraints, it’s still punching above its weight.
This movie attacks the issue of “keeping the freshness” from so many angles, mostly with great success. Among the storied franchise, BND features perhaps the best Spider-Man suit (controversial, but I thought it looked so fucking good), perhaps the best fight scene (vs. Hulk at Damage Control), and perhaps the best romantic plot (high-level execution from Zendaya and TH, could’ve easily been really corny). Now, these are debatable takes, sure. But the fact that it can be in the conversation in all three of those pivotal spidy-isms … good sign. On top, it’s all the little shit. Comic-accurate frames. Web tech deep dives. Hormones. The Hand. And speaking of little shits...
My favorite moments in BND seemed to happen when Jon Berthal’s Punisher was on screen. He has instant chem with Holland, and gives the movie the extra little spice that it deserves. Plus, he’s weirdly funny and sweet here, which is like, not really the Punisher’s thing. But it works for me. Lots of people, both on the internet and the slightly less hellscape-ish place we all call reality, told me that there was too much of the “others” in this movie and all of the Holland movies. Many have said that the Holland movies have a main-character problem, in that they divert the action away from him in favor of villains, heroes, and everything in between. Sure, we get some Punisher and some Hulk and lots of Jean Grey here, but to me, the “others” are actually a strength of the film and the franchise. The second time I watched it, I realized it never felt like anyone but Peter’s movie. Even when we go to Jean’s backstory for like 20 straight minutes, it all circles back to Peter helping Jean navigate her future. I really felt like the scope of attention was never far enough away from Spider-Man. Instead, I saw it as all these cool, already fleshed-out characters getting to bounce off Spidey and make scenes better.
If Tom Holland (as this character) was an NBA guy, he’d be like a Jrue Holiday type. Just a winning player. Makes everyone better. Has a deep bag, but adapts to his differing roles and environments. Mmmh, okay, you probably don’t want Jrue as the focal point of your offense, so let’s switch it to a Devin Booker or Jayson Tatum. Holland has a consistency that seems immune to the varying levels of centrality he exhibits across his various appearances. BND is probably his “Okay shit, I am the best guy, lemme cook here for like 37 minutes, I’ll still dish out some nice dimes, but I’m going for like 42, 5, and 8 rebounds tonight.” Sure, he’s got plenty of sidekicks as he often does. But hey, you gotta have depth in this league. The “others” shining doesn’t take away from the lead showing out. I don’t think the guy is Leo, or even Damon, or, okay sorry, even like a Chris Pratt. He struggles to find natural charisma and “movie-starness” outside of the mask. Those traits aren’t non-existent, but it’s telling that he hasn’t produced any other notable Holland-led vehicles that people like. But he’s fucking good as Spider-Man. And this is his best work.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is just a blast. It’s good for the diehards, it’s good for the casuals, and it’s good for the movies. It’s got flaws you can pick at like a scab, but it’ll make you feel like you’re trying too hard to knock it when you do. Plus, picking at scabs is bad for you. BND’s got too much heart to hold on to any of that minor criticism for too long. Plus, two Billys? Like not just one, but then another Billy? Cue a Larry David impression. Pretty good. Preeeeetty good.
