Somewhere in the multiverse, there's an opening chord of a review where I celebrate Spiderman: Brand New Day as some kind of welcome "return to basics" for the MCU, but that's not more than partially true.
This movie is a lot more straightforward than cohesive than most Marvel pics from the early stretch of the decade. Feige finally feels confident that, yes, we know that there's a multiverse, and we don't need more reminders.
But this is also not a budget Marvel movie. The film still designs an elaborate fireworks show for Peter Parker to dance around. There is also definite signaling for future Marvel adventures. Sadie Sink's stealth role in this movie (a sizzling introduction into the MCU) teases the integration of a new family of superheroes set to join the ranks of The New Avengers.
But these sneak peeks feel like just that, and unlike sloppier Marvel pics, they aren't made to bear the weight of the entire plot. Bless Destin Daniel Cretton for keeping this story self-sustaining.
The film keeps more or less in time with the real-world gap between the last Spiderman pic. Peter Parker has been quietly following MJ and Ned's college adventures, all the while throwing himself into his work as a superhero to distract himself from his isolation. (Perhaps the city subsidizes him for his service, and that's how he affords his apartment?) It was a necessary sacrifice given the circumstances, but a costly one. The dissonance mounts within Peter, and this spurs a metamorphosis within him. And this transition could not come at a more inconvenient time as a new enemy emerges whose ability to sow chaos is perhaps unprecedented.
This is a more adult Spiderman. (Mind you, we can probably expect in-universe that this kid is still like 23.) The color palette is more subdued than the Jon Watts trilogy, and Peter's Spiderpals have discussions about health insurance.
And Tom Holland follows this new face of superhero-dom without needing to parr back his signature "Aw, shucks, you guys!" affect. Peter Parker is more frustrated than we've ever seen him, but this Peter is able to experience a proper crisis without forcing us to gargle angst or nihilism or whatever passes for "maturation."
We can only guess what Tobey Maguire's excuse was.
Peter's associates have grown up with him. Zendaya and Jacob Batalon retain their usual charm while also recognizing that they're no longer kids and certain things just aren't as cute anymore. And there's also a larger share of returning faces. Some of these, like Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, are part of the old guard. Others, like Yelena of the New Avengers, are much newer, putting into perspective just how much this family tree has grown.
And witnessing that growth reminded me of just how good the MCU was, not just as a sequence of individually entertaining flicks, but as a living entity, as a carrousel of heroes, all of whom will cross whatever barriers they need to in order to come to the aid of those who need them. Or else, to come to the aid of one another. (Unless, of course, you're Wanda Maximoff ...) A lot of us lost that with the superhero craze during a period when America, and the world at large, really needed superheroes we could rely on.
"Brand New Day" reaffirmed what Thunderbolts* reminded us of last year, that superhero movies were, and remain capable of, using larger-than-life scenarios to tell very human stories. Beneath the brightly colored suit is a guy who just wants to do right--somebody who wants to know he'll be missed if he drops off the face of the earth.
From this side of "Doomsday," I can only speculate on what this means for the future of superhero movies. Whatever happens there, "Brand New Day" will always be that moment when the genre felt well and truly alive. And for that, I can only be grateful.
--The Professor
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