SPOILER-FREE PLOT SUMMARY
Four years after the events of SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, Peter Parker (played by Tom Holland) has had to live for nearly half a decade without his two best friends, MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon), remembering who he is. He’s tried many times to give MJ the note he wrote for her where he explains that they used to know each other but continuously determines that she’d be safer not knowing the truth. To try and fill his lonely existence, Spider-Man spends most of his day “volunteering” to help authorities clean up the streets of New York but, when a mysterious telepathic entity helps Scorpion (Michael Mando) escape the confines of jail, he can’t seem to figure out how to stop it… or even why the entity would want Scorpion to begin with. Peter visits some local friends for some help and learns that the Department of Damage Control is where he’ll find answers. He visits DODC head Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman) in an attempt to share information and offer his services but his services are starting to become less valuable as he loses control of — and confidence in — his powers. The stress and anxiety from all the isolation, depression and desire for friendships lost is manifesting into terrible headaches, the spider DNA taking over and even blackouts. To fight this, he visits his old friend Doctor Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) at Empire State University knowing that Banner has found a way to keep his alter-ego, The Hulk, at bay. Dr. Banner agrees that the inhibiter chip he wears could be modified to quell other mutations in other people and Peter immediately starts working on one of his own. In the meantime, he finds out the entity is going after MJ and goes to save her, bringing her to the hideout of The Punisher, Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), whose life Spider-Man saved a while back. Peter is hoping he’ll return the favor, keeping MJ safe, while he tracks and finds the mysterious telepath before things really get out of hand.
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
BRAND NEW DAY is a faithful continuation of the SPIDER-MAN (and Marvel) saga but, more than that, it may be the best movie in the history of Spider-Man films. Holland rivals his acting range in NO WAY HOME, Zendaya reaches another level in the character of MJ and Bernthal is a treat to watch on the big screen.
The story has heart, a deep emotional range you don’t normally get from a superhero movie and a complete absence of the problematic and confusing multiverse. Screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers take Spider-Man back to his friendly neighborhood roots protecting New York at a much-appreciated street level. Sure, NO WAY HOME was fun but the Marvel Cinematic Universe gets into serious trouble when the focus is on the multiverse and, thankfully, that’s nowhere to be found here.
But, for die hards (myself included), don’t worry! There’s plenty to advance the overall MCU in BRAND NEW DAY. There are several characters from other projects (this is a spoiler-free review so we’ll leave it at that) and a couple cameos from the comics which add fun to this movie while simultaneously adding character development to future movies and shows. Basically, the cameos are done right: purposeful, not gratuitous.
Clearly “illustrated” differently than the prior 37 films — and some of the shows — in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I fear SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY signals an acceptance of lackluster CGI by the studio. While previous movies prided themselves on top notch effects and computer animation to really help the audience suspend belief, there’s an abundance of scenes in BRAND NEW DAY that look more like the “comic book” style of the Tobey Maguire trilogy. That’s disappointing since Marvel Studios seemingly made the philosophical shift from “quantity over quality” to “quality over quantity” after the SHE-HULK disaster (which, for the record, was a fun show but featured high school-level CGI).
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY is a lot of fun, has more emotional range than you bargained for and the cameos are done correctly. If you’re a Marvel diehard, you’ll want to make sure you head to the theaters for this as soon as possible. If you’re a casual fan, watching NO WAY HOME first will help only help you find far more meaning and depth, making it a much more enjoyable experience.
That damn CGI though…
JKG SCORE: 8.0 out of 10
Untitled Film Project 