With Brand New Day, actor Tom Holland sets the record for carrying Spider-Man features; Tobey Maguire got three standalone adventures, while Andrew Garfield and Shameik Moore each have two apiece thus far. This outing is Holland’s fourth leading effort in the red suit — so, if you’re doing the math, that means 11 Spider-Man films have been released to theaters over the past 24 years. Apparently, we like this guy, whichever version of this guy he is.
A Lonely Yet Beloved Superhero in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the franchise-crossing 2021 film that became one of the top-grossing movies of all time, Peter Parker (Holland) has been forced to lean on some strange magic to protect those around him. After a tragic death and a brush with oblivion, he’s arranged for the world’s memories of him to be erased — no one, even his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), can remember having known him.
(If you haven’t been following along: Thanks to some magical characters and alien races, pretty much anything is possible in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A memory-wiping spell is the smallest conceivable absurdity.)
As Brand New Day begins, we watch as Parker fights crime effectively, despite a growing loneliness and frustration. His isolation is taking its toll not only on his mood but perhaps also on his physiology; he seems to be more spider and less man.
At one point, director Destin Daniel Cretton even manages to make Spider-Man’s trademark swings through Manhattan look sad — the thwip of his web and blowing wind sound forlorn and defeated. That’s quite a trick; Spider-Man has been through a lot over the past two decades, but I’ve never felt more empathy for the character.
A Mysterious, Untraceable Villain Emerges
Peter is going to have to work out his trouble on the run. While he’s put a number of mid-tier baddies behind bars, a new threat emerges when the armored villain Scorpion (Michael Mando) is sprung from a prison run by the aptly named private police force Damage Control. Spider-Man and the NYPD first think Scorpion has powerful friends; as it turns out, however, he’s being used — literally — by a more sinister baddie with the power to psychically possess anyone.
If you’ve managed to avoid much more about the plot of Brand New Day, I won’t be responsible for spoiling it. Suffice to say we meet a good number of recognizable names; some were revealed in the film’s marketing, while others are a surprise — and, of course, provide complications for this December’s Avengers: Doomsday, the next big Monster Mash for our comic-book favorites.
Like many Marvel pictures, this one is stronger if you have a working knowledge of what’s come before; you may not need to study every Disney+ series (I certainly haven’t caught them all), but some familiarity with the films is helpful. Will it ruin your time if you just want action and web-slinging fun? No — but you may want to read a recap.
He May Be a Spider, But He’s Still the Most Relatable Superhero
Across all those movies listed above, Spider-Man is consistently saddled with grief, guilt and — the magic word — responsibility. There’s a whole movie, the excellent Across the Spider-Verse, about how the character can’t exist without loss.
That’s the surprise of Brand New Day — even with those stakes well established, this cast and this director make the emotion keenly felt. We may have seen this guy before, but we haven’t seen his conflict so beautifully and tragically portrayed. Marvel could’ve leaned on our familiarity with this chapter; instead, they challenge us to consider one of our favorites anew.
Who Dares Go Up Against Spider-Man and Odysseus?
With Brand New Day expected to pull in more than $100 million this weekend — and The Odyssey still grabbing plenty of attention — few other releases, either in theaters or at home, have dared to compete. Still, there are a few other films to be found if you can resist the pull of Spider-Man and Odysseus. (Both films, by the way, star all three of Tom Holland, Zendaya and Jon Bernthal — are we running out of actors or something?)
A few weeks after scoring a directorial comeback with the excellent comedy The Invite, Olivia Wilde is back in theaters with the decidedly adult comedy-thriller I Want Your Sex. Starring alongside Cooper Hoffman — and an intriguing supporting cast featuring Mason Gooding, Daveed Diggs, Charli XCX, Johnny Knoxville — the film is presented as part crime picture, part erotic thriller and part art-world satire. The Doom Generation and Nowhere director Gregg Araki directs; it’s his first feature in 12 years.
On the small screen, Prime has rolled out The Devil’s Mouth, a shark-attack picture starring the underrated Kathryn Newton (Freaky, Lisa Frankenstein). The film follows a group of college kids who swim through an out-of-the-way cave system — and, just as a bit of advice, don’t be doing that — only to be trapped by an angry shark. Early reviews have not been kind … but who can say no to shark cinema?
Plus an Old Favorite…
Somehow, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is 55 years old — a span of time that hasn’t reduced the film’s whimsical charm or demented humor (not to mention a perfect performance by Gene Wilder). The film returns to theaters this Sunday and Wednesday via Fathom Events.
Did you miss Sean’s review of The Odyssey? Read the spoiler-free review now and see the film for yourself.
Story by Sean Collier
Photos Courtesy of Jay Maidmen / CTMG
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