Take 80: Spider-Man: Brand New Day
When we last say Tom Holland in the red and blue PJs, in order to save the day, he agree to allow Dr. Strange cast a spell that would cause every one who ever knew Peter Parker to forget him. As Spider-Man: Brand New Day opens, four years have past and Peter has been living in relative isolation. With no friends and/or loved ones, he has had little reason to lead a civilian life so has pretty much been Spider-Man full-time. Fortunately, he has made at least one friend/ally in the form of Detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colon-Zaras.) When a body thief targets the Damage Control corporation, the are in the case. Unfortunately, Peter finds himself experiencing some bizarre physical struggles which might jeopardize the investigation of the mysteriious figure behind a string of attacks thoughout the city.
Hot take: I liked but didn’t love the first couple of Holland Spider-Man movies. This is no way due to his portrayal- he’s always been great. It was more the high school, teenage aspect and the amount that they led into that. I enjoyed No Way Home and this a lot more because we are finally getting a college aged Peter. Gone is the hero struck character with puppy dog eyes for Tony Stark. Peter is coming into this own and it’s glorious. There is a fight sequence early on that shows how much he has improved and he should. At this point, he’s living this life 24/7 and his Peter Tingle is in full effect. Holland shows this newfound confidence wonderfully. He also exudes so much heart. He IS well-meaning kid from Brooklyn. He’s learned some tough lessons and it shows. He is the first of the Spider-Men to make it to his own fourth movie and he is carrying the load well and I can see many,many more films down the road for him.
MJ is still MJing and Ned is still Nedding. There is nice subtle change to them without them interacting with Peter. They both do feel like there are slightly incomplete and they play it well. It is sad not seeing them all together,but it’s a Spider-Man hallmark.Something aspect need to be off with his life and currently, they are it.
Special shout out to Liza Colon-Zaras. Love her on The Bear so it’s great to see her here. The character of Jean DeWolff is definitely a name familiar to Spidey fans and she is going to have a moment sometime down the line, but she here, her role is small but highly effective. She is Pete’s only real connect to the outside world and also serves a something of a surrogate mother figure to Peter in lieu of Aunt May. Can’t wait to see more of her as her role will no doubt become bigger.
There are guest stars a plenty and I don’t want to spoil them. Ever since Spideys introduction was spoiled in the trailer for Captain America: Civil War, I have pretty avoided them like the plague. As such, I was legit surprised by all of the guest appearance for the most part so I don’t want to ruin in for anyone who has gone this far without having those revealed. I will say, there was one character that was subjected to a lot of conjecture. It was… interesting. I really want to rewatch this soon now knowing what we know because it will definltely color somethings differently. Let’s just say they open a WHOLE can of worms and it will be interesting to see where they are going. As. Ait’s been a few days, I feel better about it as presented, but I was absolutely worried at first.
As I said before, I was thrilled to finally get college-aged Peter, but unfortunately, we don’t really get college Peter. He’s not really in the position to be in school right now and MJ and Ned are nearing graduation. I had really hoped that college would mean meeting some of his major supporting cast like Harry Osborne and a certain blond. I am hoping that this crucial period in his life is neglected because that really is a lot of prime real estate.
The acting is top-notch here, but I will admit the story, as good as it is in most instances, does have some minor issues. Although it really does feel the MOST Peter Parker yet, some things, like the lack of college Peter does concern me. It really does feel like a lot of set up for things that are going to play out later, unlike No Way Home which felt more like a culmination. Still there is plenty of character development and enough amazing, spectacular, and sensational action to rank this among the best of the Spider-Man films and I absolutely recommend it!
My score: 9.1
What do you have to say about Brand New Day? Let’s see it in the comments. And until next time…
