I went into this film with pure pessimism. I didn’t enjoy the last one and expected to dislike this one too, judging it by the rights and wrongs of its predecessors as well as Marvel’s recent track record. It quickly proved my expectations wrong – and I’m happy to admit that I misjudged it.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is arguably one of the most refreshing films in Marvel’s recent catalogue, with quite the divergence from the usual formula for this series, brilliant progression for the characters, nods to the early Spider-Man films and possibly the best villain that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has ever had to confront.
The Tom Holland Spider-Man films always had one issue that consistently stuck out to me, and that issue is that those films would always so heavily rely on cameos from other Marvel properties to be a major selling point for the films. And I felt like they didn’t trust Tom Holland’s Spider-Man to be entertaining enough on his own.
This film entirely broke that pattern, focusing purely on Spider-Man as a character and his own personal struggles and how he navigates them, easily making it feel like the most Spider-Man-feeling Spider-Man film since Spider-Man 2 (2004).
Of course, characters from other Marvel properties still made appearances, but every single cameo felt particularly well-selected and complemented the story rather than just trying to be a selling point for the film. I particularly loved the chemistry between Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle and Spider-Man. The two exist on opposite ends of the same coin with their backstories and wind up having the most fun interactions throughout the film, plus Bernthal makes a surprisingly great source of comic relief.
This is one of the few Marvel films from recent years that you can watch entirely standalone without requiring any context from other films and shows. It holds up without any reliance on anyone but the man at the centre of it all. Tom Holland undoubtedly gives his greatest performance as this character in this film as a ‘Punished Spider-Man’.
The surprising villain of this film comes from the depths of Spider-Man’s own personal struggles and works as the best foil this story could have. I won’t spoil who this villain turns out to be, but I can tell you that it’s a character we’ve known for a long time and that the deeper you look into how the two contrast, the more gratifying it is. It’s also the best use of that particular character that we’ve had in decades.
Something that I also thoroughly enjoyed is just how grounded it is. It’s the first Marvel film in a long time where the story feels localised and not about another world-shattering threat. It serves to give this story a lot more space to really delve into Spider-Man’s struggles with his traumas and where the line falls between Spider-Man and Peter Parker, which felt quite reminiscent of Robert Pattinson’s Batman, albeit on a more optimistic scale.
I didn’t expect this film to work so well as it did, especially with how little faith I had in Marvel’s creative department and in how the last three films fared. I thought there was no way they could give us something really fresh and interesting, but I was so wrong in the best ways.
Special thanks to Epix Cinemas for extending me an invite to this film’s Bahrain premiere.
Verdict: 4/5
&uuid=(email))