Spider-Man: Brand New Day | Film Review

 

Isolated from everyone he knows, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) faces a new threat while experiencing dangerous changes that threaten his existence.

I was looking forward to this movie. I've liked all of the Spider-Man movies, and while I wasn't rushing to the cinema to see it, hearing all of the positive reviews did make me excited to check it out.

I loved this movie. 

There are so many beautiful shots; the cinematography is great. From the very beginning of the movie, the visuals are stunning.

The cast was great, and I loved the connections with other MCU characters. Having Mark Ruffalo and Jon Bernthal reprising Hulk and The Punisher in the movie was a stroke of genius that not only made sense in the context of this specific story, but also completely elevated the film. They are characters that I love anyway, but seeing them here and getting to explore different aspects of their personalities is fascinating.

There are some characters that feel slightly inconsistent when compared with their previous iterations, but for this movie it works.

The film does a good job of playing into the complexity of Peter's situation, which I expected, but I didn't expect the film to focus on how lonely and isolated he was, and this was the heart of the movie. It made what could have been a generic superhero movie so frustrating and emotional. It also makes little moments so powerful.

This is maybe the first MCU Spider-Man movie that's solely Holland's movie. Which isn't a slight on the other movies because I've always loved the inclusion of other characters, and I loved it here too, but this is truly Holland's movie.

There are some relationships within the film that come fully developed. And while this is good because we feel like we've been dropped into a real world with real people, it would have been great to see more development on screen.

The story itself is good and well written, though I was able to predict a lot more than I wanted to. In particular it did a good job of creating, developing and using the villain(s).

One of the absolute best things about the movie for me was the ending, how much hope it holds, and again how powerful small moments can be.

Overall, I think this movie was done really really well. It deeply explored unexpected issues while maintaining that fun superhero-movie feel and built excitement for what's coming next. I, for one, can't wait to see what's next in Peter Parker's world.

8/10