In all the time I’ve spent reviewing giant spider movies, I never once considered whether the Spider-Man movies should be included. I believe there are 11 of them now, plus another two from the 1970s that may count even though technically they are episodes of a television show.
As Spider-Man has only four limbs, I think that counts him out. But I will provide this largely spoiler-free review of Spidey’s latest outing, Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has gone a little awry since Avengers: Endgame, with identity-obsessed creatives frequently bending over backwards to cater to just about everyone except people who actually watch comic book movies.
But the Spider-Man movies have continued to be a bright spot for the MCU. I have watched each one at the cinema and enjoyed them all. I haven’t felt the need to revisit any of them, but they have delivered solid entertainment.
Each entry has made more than the last. Spider-Man: Homecoming made $880m, Spider-Man: Far from Home made $1.13bn, and Spider-Man: No Way Home a whopping $1.9bn. That’s number 8 on the all-time worldwide box office charts.
When I saw Supergirl on opening day, there were about seven people in attendance. My showing of Spider-Man: Brand New Day was sold out.
If that’s anything to go by, it seems that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will also make bank. I doubt it will match No Way Home, but it seems that Spider-Man is somewhat immune to the general public’s superhero fatigue.
Spider-Man is Marvel’s Batman: ever reliable, always a box office draw, has the best villains, and is way better off in his own movies than any of the team-up efforts.
Spider-Man: Back to Basics
In some ways Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a return to basics. At the start we get a montage of Peter Parker’s alias battling a variety of street-level villains. No multiverses, no magic, no spaceships. Small potatoes, as one character puts it. Well, that’s fine with me.
The reset at the conclusion of Spider-Man: No Way Home sees Peter cutting it as a sad, solitary figure. Everyone knows Spider-Man, but everyone has forgotten that Peter Parker exists, including his lost love MJ and best friend Ned.
It gets you on Peter’s side, if that was ever needed. Tom Holland was born to play this part. He’s so reliable and likeable in the role, and I hope he keeps doing it until he’s 90. Also, the costume has never looked better.
Peter also has to contend with a mutation in his spider DNA. It’s not clear what it might turn him into. It reminded me of Quentin from Earth vs the Spider (2001), but Brand New Day was never going to go the full body horror route. Organic spinnerets are about as far as it goes. Ultimately, the conclusion of this subplot is a little underwhelming.
Spider-Man: MCU Obligations
Unfortunately, Spider-Man: Brand New Day can’t escape the wider MCU for long. The cameos start to creep in, and some are more welcome than others.
Brand New Day‘s villain, who has been kept mostly under wraps, has major MCU implications going forward, but their identity is more of an Easter egg at this point so it doesn’t overwhelm the movie.
It’s not a spoiler to say that Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner makes an appearance. It’s more than a cameo, and shoehorned in for sure, but also delivers a real ‘fuck yeah, finally’ moment that made it worthwhile for me.
John Bernthal’s Frank Castle/The Punisher co-stars in a fairly meaty role. Bernthal plays the role well but his edge seems blunted by his banter with Spidey. It doesn’t ruin the movie, but Frank looks out of place at times. At one point, Spidey points out that Frank fighting a super powered individual is way above his pay grade. I tend to agree.
I complained about Supergirl’s action, where the camera just couldn’t stay still for two seconds. We get some of that here, but thankfully only in a couple of scenes.
Some viewers might like the sweeping video game shots that make it feel like you’re swinging through Manhattan with Spidey and attacking bad guys upside down, but it made me feel disorientated and nauseous.
Other action scenes are well choreographed, such as Spidey’s fight with a team of ninjas.
Overall
Overall, Spider-Man: Brand New Day delivers what you expect from a Spider-Man movie: action, heart, quips and a lead that you can’t help but like. It runs long at nearly 2.5 hours, but it allows the time for Peter to find his way back to MJ and Ned in an unrushed, organic way.
Like all Marvel movies, there is an end credits sting. Not one person at my screening moved from their seat. When it was over, the only comment was ‘is that it?’
Thankfully, the movie overall was more favourably received.
