SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY – Review by T.J. Callahan
Spider-Man: Brand New Day: “People like us don’t get to live a normal life.”
Fresh off the phenomenal success of The Odyssey, stars Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal and Zendaya have sailed from Ancient Greece to modern day America, trading their togas for 21st century togs to sling themselves into another blockbuster weekend at the box office with Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Brand New Day is truly a reawakening for Peter Parker and Spider-Man as the alter egos are thrust into a Time Warp fighting an invisible new villain who scrambles the brains of the people in the city where nobody no longer knows his name.
It’s been four years since the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Parker lives alone fighting street crime full time and dealing with the consequences of the spell that was cast by Dr. Strange to make the world, and more regrettably Peter’s friends, forget him. It’s a bit of a mind flip for the agile arachnid. He’s into a time slip, and nothing can ever be the same.
With director Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12) at the helm, there’s still a lot of Pow! and Bam!, but also Aww! and Sigh! as Brand New Day mixes an emotional relationships drama with still plenty of superhero action. And that action is expertly choreographed. This film is a beauty to look at and worthy of the largest screen possible.
Fans of the Marvel Universe will be pleasantly surprised by all the comic book nuggets scattered throughout the HULKy 2 ½ hour, PG-13 WEBinar. Stranger Things Sadie Sink’s mysterious character brings more depth to a rather tangled first half helping spin a sinister yet silky second half storyline. Zendaya and Bernthal never disappoint, but it’s Tom Holland who delicately wraps us in his clutches as he has grown more confident, comfortable, and charming as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
My husband Ricky can only give Spider-Man:Brand New Day ome eye ️open. The story was a bit over woven for him. A lot is packed in the wall crawler’s labyrinth, but it brought excitement, energy and vulnerability nonetheless to a genre that can sometimes be spun out of control.
There is one short cryptic hint as to where Spidey is headed at the very end of the credits. Stay if you want, but it’s not earth shattering. Spider-Man 4 gets a 7 out of 10 on the TeejFlixometer.
