Swinging back into cinemas after nearly five years, Tom Holland’s Spiderman returns with a story that separates itself from the current superhero saturation by grounding itself it its humanity and the emotional turmoil caused by the end of the last film.
We rejoin Peter Parker AKA Spiderman (AKA Tom Holland), now in his early 20s, as he navigates a lonely life without his girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya), or best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon), whose memories of him were wiped by Doctor Strange to help maintain the multiverse. His heartbreak and struggles underpin the narrative, but there is no rest for the wicked and Peter throws himself into his unofficial job as police-cooperative vigilante. He begins to be taunted by a new villain, one who can inhabit the mind of any member of the public, jumping from person to person to evade Spiderman in an attempt to break into Damage Control facilities to find something, or someone, called V-Max. Soon, Spiderman begins to develop more extreme powers and begins to lose control, fighting against himself as much as the bad guys.
Breaking out of the current pattern of superhero disappointments, Brand New Day continues Spiderman’s story with heart and emotion, offering fun superhero thrills alongside drama with real stakes. The action sequences are thrilling and the nature of the villain allows for exciting interactions with some other MCU favourites, flipping dynamics and allowing for some creative choices. Peter’s expanding powers, and his attempts to contain them, also offer moments of freshness, adding extra layers to action sequences we have seen iterations of before. The nature of the villain’s initial appearances – no spoilers here as to any eventual reveal – is also exciting, with some brilliant day players in the cast really shining, and the entire ensemble, even if they embody the villain for a mere second, making it entirely believable.
Peter’s emotional struggles underpin the entire narrative, and the Spiderman/MCU powers that be wisely avoid making the film’s plot some MacGuffin chase to reverse the spell, instead letting our hero sit in the consequences. Peter’s changing circle and isolation retains one of the Spiderman franchise’s core elements – reflecting the not-so-super struggles of real people Peter’s age. His transition to adulthood is certainly bumpier for less than normal reasons, but the results mirror many young adults’ struggles. The film feels more mature and interested in more grounded emotion beneath the expected superhero antics. Holland and Zendaya’s performances in particular really sell the heartbreak, keeping the audience emotionally invested in these characters as people, with the domestic drama taking up just as much space as the city-wide threats. The emotion is never overwrought; when Peter eventually reunites with MJ and Ned, it is understated and naturalistic, with each of the two given their own moments where flashes of their previous dynamics are visible but confrontation is kept minimal.
The film’s tone is well-balanced, with levity and comic relief coming at the right moments, and tougher emotional beats given space to breathe. The pacing feels a little unwieldy but the film remains engaging. The overarching villain plot and character development does feel overly familiar, with the climactic beats feeling well-trodden. It is testament to the performances and the focus on Peter’s personal struggles that the film as a whole does feel like it has a story to move forward, rather than feeling too episodic. It whets the appetite for more Spidey to come.
A refreshing piece of superhero fair, grounded in excellent performances, Brand New Day is fun but not frivolous and will no doubt not be the last we see of Holland in the red and blue suit.
