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Towards the end of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is seen laying on a beam suspended over the city, contemplating the chaotic week that he’s had and finally getting some rest. This would’ve been a great shot to end the movie on; not only does it symbolize the peace Spider-Man has now that’s he’s found some work-life balance, it’s also beautiful, with the sunset lighting up Parker’s beloved New York City. But alas, Brand New Day still has some ends to tie up, namely Peter re-introducing himself to his friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), whom he had brainwashed in the previous Spider-Man movie to protect him. The end of Brand New Day encapsulates the movie as a whole: it has a tough balancing act to uphold between juggling plots, picking up on old storylines and creating new ones. But it mostly succeeds, resulting in an above-average Marvel movie, particularly with dynamic performances from its lead cast.
When we first catch up with Spider-Man in this film, he’s busy fighting crime, as usual. But as time passes, his rigorous schedule begins to take a toll on him, made even worse by the fact that his best friend Ned and love of his life MJ (Zendaya) no longer remember him after last-movie’s memory wiping. The stress Spider-Man faces is very relatable–everybody can relate to struggling with work-life balance at some point in their life. It takes a very real toll on Spider-Man, and starts to alter his arachnid DNA as he begins shooting organic webbing (OK, maybe that part is not as relatable). On top of that, an entity is trying to jump into his mind to mess with him even more. Eventually, the two plots converge–to mixed results.
Throughout his struggles in the movie, Peter is assisted by two of his friends from the MCU–Florence Pugh reprises her role as Yelena Belova/Black Widow and Mark Ruffalo reprises his role as Bruce Banner/The Hulk. Pugh provides much comic relief (her office is a sauna), and she breezes through her often cringey lines with confidence. Ruffalo’s Banner, always a welcome supporting presence in any Marvel movie, meets with Peter (whom he also does not remember as Spider-Man) and ends up helping him–while perhaps endangering the rest of society. Dr. Banner, now teaching at a University, wears a device to suppress him from Hulking Out when he gets upset. Peter deduces he can do the same for his web-slinging woes, crafting a device (with MJ’s help) to alter his DNA that will help him shoot non-organic webs again. He is warned though that this inhibitor technology could eventually be used for evil rather than good. And this foreshadowing brings us to the most confusing plotting in this movie.
In Brand New Day, we are introduced to one of the most hyped-up characters in the MCU yet: Jean Gray. It’s a little baffling to have her introduced in this film given that she’s more a part of the X-Men than the Spidey Universe, but surely Marvel can explain this as “sure, it’s the multi-verse, why not?” Sadie Sink is fantastic–she was in the music video for Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version)(Taylor’s Version)(From the Vault)”–but the plotting here might be more complicated than the title of Swift’s song. First, Jean goes from being perceived as the villain for all this mind-boggling mind-jumping, to being the victim of a horrible experiment that went awry and killed her sister, to being a villain again for turning against Spider-Man who accidentally had her captured in the first place, to being saved by Peter and grateful when he takes a bullet for her. All of this plotting seriously had me turning into Charlie from Always Sunny:
And it doesn’t help that the more serious themes of the movie are under-explored in this plot. Marvel could have made really great points concerning using technology for good versus evil, as it’s brought up throughout the film, but in the end, they write it off when Spider-Man realizes he can have both a work life and personal life, fixing his personal problems and rendering his DNA-altering technology basically moot.
But honestly, post Avengers: Endgame, I don’t think plotting has really been a strong suit for Marvel. Once again, everything confusing seems to just be written off with a “multi-verse” explanation and a shrug. So maybe Peter’s technology will be brought up again…or maybe the Avengers will hop to a different version of Earth and everyone will forget what it was in the first place (this is not entirely implausible as Spider-Man did seem to be in space in the post-credits scene).
What is Marvel’s best strength though in this movie is the performances. Tom Holland and Zendaya, now married in real life, radiate chemistry in every scene they are in. It appears they graduated from The Christopher Nolan School of Film™ after being in The Odyssey, and the depth they provide their characters in this film is marvelous. Furthermore, Jon Bernthal, who was also in The Odyssey, plays Punisher in Brand New Day, and his chemistry with the latter two is also great–I imagine they just spent an entire year together filming two movies back-to-back. Punisher also provides some of the best comedic relief in the movie as the ultra-aggressive character grovels at being teamed up with Spider-Man but ultimately bonds with him; I would certainly watch a buddy comedy with Holland and Bernthal.
Overall, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a worthwhile installment in the Spider-man franchise and larger MCU. Marvel is always best when it embraces a combination of action and comedy, and even in its more serious moments, Tom Holland and Zendaya provide the film with its emotional peaks. While the special effects are questionable (as usual), the plot centering around Peter Parker’s work-life balance feels much more grounded, making the film better as a result. When it attempts to mix this plot with the plot centering around Jean Grey, the results are not as strong. That being said, I look forward to when the MCU integrates Jean Grey further into the franchise as I think she will be an interesting superhero to watch interacting with everyone else. Spider-Man: Brand New Day may not represent a completely new chapter for the Marvel franchise, but it is certainly an improvement on its previously lackluster entries post-Endgame, and I can’t wait to watch Doomsday in December. If only we didn’t have to wait that long!
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