 |
| Peter is Spider-Man |
The new Marvel movie Spider-Man: Brand New Day is an excellent film that explores the evolution of Peter Parker (an excellent Tom Holland) and his alter ego Spider-Man. Remember this line? "With great power comes great responsibility" is something that we associate with Spider-Man. We are familiar with it in an intimate way because Peter Parker inhabits the suit, and so Spider-Man is always Peter Parker, but we forget that Peter Parker is himself when not web slinging, so where does responsibility begin and end?
Director Destin Daniel Cretton – along with writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers – has crafted one of the best Spider-Man stories told on film. Holland has grown into the character and has made it his own, and here he is allowed to explore nuances of that responsibility to others, but Peter begins to understand that it's at the expense of his own good health and peace of mind.
Catching Up
In the last film – Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) – Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) created a spell that made the world forget Peter ever existed. This means that his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) no longer know him, and also all the Avengers will not know who he is, and the general public who knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man don't remember that anymore. This spell was cast because Peter's world had become too dangerous, and he mostly wanted to keep his friends safe.
MJ and Ned
This does present Peter with some difficult problems. He still loves MJ and misses his friendship with Ned. He keeps track of them online during their time at MIT. He also observes them after they graduate and return to New York City. He feels very upset about seeing them in person again and knowing that they don't recognize him. He also has lost his identity – living alone and anonymously is not exactly an exciting way to spend his life.
New Acquaintances
 |
| Frank Castle/The Punisher |
Peter has made new "friends" in the form of Frank Castle (a terrific Jon Bernthal) and Detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colon-Zayas). Frank and Peter are more like frenemies – Peter keeps stopping him from killing the criminals Frank is pursuing. On the other hand, Peter is working with Wolff catching criminals and hopefully preventing bigger events.
Frank mumbles about how he's going to "Kill that kid" after Peter stops him yet again in pursuit of a tank raging through Manhattan. Wolff is basically part of the fan club that has developed over the past four years, seeing Peter as the city's protector, but even she worries about him because he seems to devote his whole life to crime fighting.
Health Issues
Peter's lack of social connections is negatively affecting his health. He is swallowing Advil to combat headaches, and his whole body seems to be revolting under his Spidey suit. After having an emotional reaction to seeing MJ and Ned, Peter comes home and just collapses on the floor.
The next morning he finds himself enveloped in a cocoon made of spider webs hanging outside over the street below. He discovers that his senses have become enhanced, and webs are coming out of his arms instead of web shooters. This evolution is painful and makes Peter feel uncertain about what his next move should be. 
Peter's Wake Up Call
The Villains
 |
| Scorpion |
Mac Gargan/Scorpion (Michael Mando) seems to be the villain at first, and Spider-Man captures him after a brutal battle. But when Peter discovers that someone is trying to break Mac out of the Department of Damage Control (DODC), it is not just one person but numerous persons.
Peter realizes that the main villain is using telepathy to "body hop" from person to person to break Mac out of prison. Since this is unlike any villain he's ever faced before, Peter realizes that he needs help.
Getting Help
Peter visits Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) who is the current Black Widow. In a very hilarious scene, Yelena's office is a bathhouse, and to "meet" with her, Peter must take off his Spidey suit and go into the bath with her. When he comes out of the changing room he is stripped down but still wearing his mask, causing me to laugh along with the audience in the theater.
Spidey's Business Meeting with Yelena
Yelena uses her telepathic skills to zero in on a person who continually attacks the DODC looking for someone or thing called V-Max. She believes whoever this is is the one who is body hopping from person to person. Peter's job just got much more difficult.
Getting More Violent
Peter locates the escaped Scorpion and engages in another violent battle. Scorpion even recognizes a change in Spider-Man's tactics and asks him about it. Spider-Man eventually defeats Scorpion, but he injures a police officer in the process.
DeWolff arrives on the scene and is appalled to see her badly injured officer. She warns Spider-Man that while she is grateful for all he's done for the city, if something like this happens again that she would have no choice but to arrest him.
Controlling His Rage
 |
| Dr. Banner tries to help Peter |
Being extremely upset that he hurt a police office and was out of control with his new powers, Peter visits a local university to meet with Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo). He knows that Banner had invented an inhibitor to keep his Hulk alter ego in check.
Peter impresses Banner with his understanding of the inhibitor technology. They discuss the various parameters that are needed for the inhibitor to work. Peter goes home and starts working on building an inhibitor. He also builds one for the telepathic villain because he believes that will put an end to the body hopping.
Spoiler Territory
The rest of the way is spoiler territory. Will Peter be able to build the inhibitor to control his growing powers? Will he be able to find the villain V-Max and use the inhibitor to stop what seems to be aimed at destroying the DODC? And, or course, the most important question is this: will Peter ever get MJ and Ned back into his life?
The Verdict
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is an awesome movie that checks all the boxes for Marvel fans and even those who are not fans. The performances are all strong, and the story keeps moving forward like a freight train right up to the thrilling final act.
The way I see it this film is it's a great start of a new Spider-Man trilogy. In the grand scheme of things it feels like the threads are being woven to bring in other characters from the MCU – I'm hoping that will include Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Charlie Cox).
I'm looking forward to more Spidey days ahead. I give this film 4.5 stars out of 5. I highly recommend that you go and see it on the big screen. You'll be happy that you did.
Please check out the trailer below.
No comments:
Post a Comment