The fourth film is Spidey at his most exposed and emotional.
Courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing.
Tom Holland’s Peter Parker returns with a time jump as he faces an elusive threat in Destin Daniel Cretton’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, zeroing in on the superhero in his darkest phase yet.
Our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man is no longer a happy-go-lucky, nerdy high-schooler. As the stakes got higher in the previous chapter, No Way Home, a multiverse glitch forced him to put his public duties first. In a heartbreaking conclusion, Peter chose to protect his loved ones — and everyone across all possible universes — by asking Doctor Strange to cast a spell to erase any public memory of him as the web-slinging superhero.
Brand New Day picks up four years after the events of the third film as we’re reunited with a reclusive Peter. He’s been throwing himself into crimefighting to squash his grief over Aunt May’s (Marisa Tomei) death and the impossibly hard separation from MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon), who still don’t remember him.
The hero might be stretching his webs a little too thin this time around. He spends hours on his best pal’s social media, peeking into Ned and MJ’s content and holding onto what little closeness this digital window into their lives can offer. Determined to continue living in anonymity, even if it means keeping his distance from his friends, Peter is taken aback when a new villain seems to know exactly who he is.
Courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing.
This unknown, invisible baddie wreaks havoc on New York City with some not-so-mysterious mind-snatching abilities. As he’s the only person who’s immune to this immense power, Spidey is recruited by Damage Control, a department specialised in post-battle cleanup. But there’s more to this villain than meets the eye, with Peter finding himself pulled in different directions right as his powers undergo a dangerous, extreme transformation.
Returning Spider-Man screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers draw from body horror staples for this new chapter, with the superhero’s tingling Spider-Sense at its most alert in a Fly-esque evolution. As Peter’s mental health deteriorates, the human-arachnid balance in his DNA is thrown off, with Holland playing this duality with convincing inner turmoil.
The superhero might be lonely, but he’s not alone, and Brand New Day welcomes a host of talent from the small screen to play an ensemble gravitating around Peter.
Jon Bernthal reprises the role of Frank Castle/The Punisher, with his tough-as-nails, foul-mouthed vigilante making his big-screen debut and fuelling an amusing, bickering dynamic with Spidey.
Meanwhile, Bernthal’s The Bear co-star Liza Colón-Zayas appears as no-nonsense, dependable NYPD detective Jean DeWolff, who provides an unlikely lifeline to Peter, and Severance’s Tramell Tillman brings a whiff of that undecipherable corporate charm to the MCU as the head of Damage Control, Bill Metzger.
And then, of course, there’s Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink. Despite her being absent from all the promotional material, Sink’s role is but the latest of the MCU’s many worst-kept secrets. Still, her on-screen reveal comes with all the gravitas you’d expect from it and sets the stage for the star’s return, unconfirmed at present, in future movies.
It may wink at fans with a long-overdue reintroduction of an iconic character, yet Cretton’s film doesn’t settle for a low-hanging fruit of a conventional happy ending. Every emotional moment of Brand New Day, and there are more than a few in between acrobatic fighting sequences, feels earnest and earned.
Courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing.
Zendaya’s pragmatic MJ holds her own opposite Peter, keeping him in check and forcing him to confront his responsibilities, while struggling with complicated feelings of her own. The chemistry of the central trio is largely untarnished by Doctor Strange’s incantation, and it’s great to see the film also giving Peter and Ned’s friendship its rightful place in the spotlight.
May’s aura also permeates the movie, with Brand New Day electing Tomei’s late character — a social worker who’s spent her life helping others — as Peter’s moral compass to navigate an especially rough patch.
A film about embracing change and cherishing the most unique parts in ourselves and others, the latest Spider-Manis affecting without being sappy; poignant without resorting to predictable resolutions.
There are still layers of goofiness and humour, but the new film is Spidey at his most vulnerable, relatable and character-driven. As Peter isn’t the only one battling growing pains, Brand New Dayunveils a political subtext, raising questions about who truly benefits from pitting the marginalised against each other.
No need to remind longtime Marvel fans to stay put through the credits. Hold your bathroom breaks, if you can, for after the 145-minute movie, as a post-credits scene is guaranteed to have your jaw on the floor and leave you with some pressing questions, not least why the sequel zoomed out of the bigger picture and didn’t drop this bombshell earlier on.
An introspective fourth chapter, Brand New Day confirms Spider-Man as the beating heart of the MCU and brims with anticipation for whatever lies ahead. It’s not clear where we go from here, but it sure looks electric.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in cinemas now.