I’m returning faster than Matt Damon to Tom Holland to tell you a little more about … well, Tom Holland. Seriously, is it just me, or does that name already trigger some kind of tic? First we had to hear about him throughout an entire World Cup thanks to his Norwegian cousin (and yes, I know it’s not spelled the same way, but around these parts they sound identical, and his hairstyle is getting increasingly on-topic anyway), then we had to watch him in historical epics, now in superhero films, while my other “favourite” word – i.e. his beloved Zendaya – not only appeared in both, but we’ll be seeing her again in a sci-fi odyssey. But enough with the hate – nothing against the guy. He said he was going to take a break, he did, he came back and exploded onto the scene with top-tier productions, and here we are, five years later (I actually went to the trouble of rereading my old review from back then and having a little laugh) talking about him again – and more specifically, his now-iconic incarnation as Spider-Man.
And why is it iconic? Here are a few quick facts you should know (or remind yourself of) before reading on:
- Tom Holland is the first Spider-Man to get a fourth film. Some others never even made it to a third one (sorry, Mr. Garfield).
- Tom Holland is the first Spider-Man to get a reboot of his own series, which itself was a reboot of the previous one.
- Tom Holland is the first Spider-Man I watched on the infamous Screen X. Well, I wasn’t impressed, but more on that later.
- Tom Holland is the first Spider-Man … alright, that’s enough of that. We’re going to be talking about “Brand New Day” from here on out anyway.
And when I say “Brand New Day”, surprisingly even to me, the film actually lives up to its name and kicks off an entirely new era for the generations-old favourite hero – which, in this case, is much more welcome than it is a downside. The film is everything “No Way Home” wasn’t – or didn’t have – and that works heavily in its favour. After the nostalgic fangasm that was the legendary third film, this one feels like the construction of an entirely new foundation for a literally newborn Spider-Man, one that the story can build upon as the already-promising sequels take shape.
A lot of people thought that this trailer scene had deliberately cut-out characters and shots that would later show up as cameos. Well, unfortunately, there really aren’t any.
And the foundations are pretty easy to spot, but I’ll only list a few here so I don’t get into too many spoilers. Keep in mind that they’re still spoilers, but it’s been almost a month since the premiere, so you’ve had plenty of time:
- As if to cement the end of an era, with Jon Watts and Spider-Man in the shadow of his fellow Avengers, and to some extent that of his previous incarnations as well, Destin Daniel Cretton takes the director’s chair. He gets another shot after the excellent “Shang-Chi” and after the opportunity he never got to make a proper sequel to the Kang dynasty. “Wonder Man” was also one of Marvel’s more unusual and better projects, and another nail was driven into his directorial coffin when they announced there would be no second season, despite earlier reports suggesting one was already in the works. Thankfully, Kevin Feige hasn’t completely buried Cretton’s MCU career, and the beloved hero’s new adventures should help him shine on the big stage once again.
- Hallelujah, we finally have organic powers. I know it was 99% certain that their time had finally come, but it was still pretty damn cool to see Peter literally metamorphose into a half-human, half-spider, and my only regret is that we didn’t get to see the Man-Spider, even if only for a moment. Oh well, it looks like we’ll be seeing more of Parker in the future, so there’s still hope.
- Sadie Sink’s role was, in practice, a more poorly kept secret than Andrew Garfield’s involvement in the previous film, and yet theories that her character would be the new MJ remained alive right up until the last moment. Thankfully for everyone, her role is, frankly, much cooler, much more promising, and, most importantly, far more critical to many of the future collaborations and crossovers between different worlds and characters in the films of the universe. For me, Jean wasn’t just the film’s rising phoenix (pun intended), but also one of the main reasons I managed to swallow the insultingly little screen time given to a number of villains – especially Scorpion, whom we had finally seen properly and who was just starting to get interesting – as well as the somewhat tiresome, at least for me, presence of fake MJ, a.k.a Zendaya.
- The Punisher’s presence leaves me with rather mixed feelings. At times, he didn’t really fit into the story, and, as they say, the film could have done perfectly well without him. Still, his appearance is important enough in that the character finally gets his full-fledged debut in a major Marvel movie (we’re not counting “One Last Kill” as one). I didn’t particularly like the relatively quick and casual way they introduced the Hand into the story, and I especially missed some kind of Daredevil or Elektra connection. On the other hand, I’m glad they kept Bernthal’s character essentially the same as we’ve seen him over several seasons of solo productions and collaborations.
- The bonus scene, which actually comes after the final credits, hints at another upcoming return for Peter, and for now it looks like that will most likely be Tobey Maguire. That’s fantastic news for all the nerds who want to see more team-up action between the two best Spider-Men we’ve had so far (yes, perhaps undeservedly, but Garfield isn’t Peter 3 for no reason).
And as for the cameos that are actually there, they hint at a number of characters it would have been really damn cool to see more of. Unfortunately, this is another slight letdown, as the longest villain cameo is maybe around 10 seconds.
Beyond everything I’ve mentioned so far, we also get some cool additions, with Florence Pugh’s standing out to me as the best of the bunch and further cementing her as Black Widow, whom we’ll be seeing again soon. Ruffalo’s presence feels more like an excuse to beef up the fights and spend a little more on CGI than for any actual plot development (yes, there is some, but it could easily have involved another character). Besides, Hulk hasn’t looked physically like the terrifying beast he was up against Loki for a long time now, and even the attempts to bring back the old-school smashing unfortunately don’t have quite the same effect anymore. What happens with Ned (especially towards the end) was much more interesting, for example, and my only regret is that the theories about a new Goblin weren’t confirmed – but it’s still not too late for something like that to happen in the future. I almost forgot about Tramell Tillman, who is almost 100% the same character from “Severance”, and that’s definitely a plus – Milchick is one of the strongest characters in Ben Stiller’s brutal production, and Metzger largely feels like his almost-natural continuation, shaping up to be a fitting and authentic hidden villain.
If I can summarise everything I’ve said so far even further, so you don’t have to put yourselves through too much of my rambling, imagine that you wanted to be part of Holland and Zendaya’s wedding (it’s inevitable that we talk about them, sorry) and had to go through the British traditions. Here’s a thematically appropriate summary:
- Something old – MJ and Ned are back once again, for better or worse; thankfully, we also got to see Aunt May for a little while, albeit in flashbacks.
- Something new – we finally get a more complete and fully-fledged introduction of mutants into the MCU, and the possibilities from here are limitless.
- Something borrowed – the Punisher wasn’t technically part of the MCU canon until recently and is more of an addition to an already-established character than an entirely new one.
- Something blue – technically, Spider-Man is better known for his red, but the fact remains that he’s just as blue, so it counts.
And if we’re talking about the spectacle and presentation, here’s what I have to say:
- Don’t expect absolutely anything from the 3D, apart from the occasional flying shuriken that isn’t worth the extra ticket price, let alone the glasses. On the other hand, there was a message at the beginning telling us exactly when to put the glasses on, which took me straight back to the days when I watched “Spy Kids” with those cardboard red-and-blue 3D glasses – a classic.
- Don’t expect much from Screen X either – for me, the technology is promising, but still not fully developed, at least not in this film. For much of the time, the side screens are blurred and can be safely ignored, while in the rest, nothing particularly significant happens that pulls you further into the film. There were maybe 2–3 good moments when characters moved from one screen to another, creating the feeling of being closer to the audience, but I still don’t think they’re significant enough to justify the wider format or make you feel like you’re genuinely missing something by watching it normally.
That’s why, at several points, you’ll see Holland showing off natural muscles and natural webbing, whether he’s hanging from buildings or having uncomfortable conversations in hot (in every sense of the word) baths.
As a final summary, I’d say that “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is the most mature story we’ve seen from Holland’s Peter Parker so far, and his growth is clearly visible – not only in the role, but as an actor in general. Cretton and his team have managed to recreate the feeling of a first, almost fledgling film that’s laying the foundations for a new series, despite the fact that the Brit has been playing the role for nearly 10 years already. I can’t deny that he has the talent, charisma, youthful looks, and all the qualities needed to remain our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man for many years to come. And with quite a few new characters set to populate the Marvel cinematic universe, all we can do is look forward to even more fresh adventures from the masked superhero – and, hopefully, his future protégés (yes, Miles, I’m talking to you).
P.S. If you haven’t noticed – and because I’m too lazy to publish a dedicated news post – you’ll now see a new menu item in the top right called “Forum”. That’s right, head straight over there, travel back to the 2000s, when forums were all the rage, and let’s talk about whatever we feel like and whichever film we feel like talking about. To start things off, I want to hear your suggestions for what the next Spider-Man film should be called, since we’ve moved on from the “home” theme to the “day” theme. You can find my suggestions/guesses here, and then we’ll see what Marvel comes up with. See you there! 🙂
