"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" Proves There's Nowhere to Swing But Up

[The following review is spoiler-free]

I can still fondly recall the night of December 16th, 2021, the opening night of Spider-Man: No Way Home. As a seventeen year old AMC employee, I marveled at the crowds of people rushing into the theater in everything from T-shirts to head-to-toe costumes. People of all ages flooded our tiny suburban theater, from long-time fans to young children, all eager to see their favorite character's latest adventure. To this day it is the single best day I have ever had at work and a feeling I'll never forget. Last night I caught that same familiar taste at the premiere of Peter Parker's newest escapade: Spider-Man: Brand New Day. But this time was far more bittersweet, coming with a strong sense of finality; the end of an era. Needless to say, fan expectations were high, especially after a five year wait. It goes without saying, but the world has changed a significant amount since the Web-Slinger last swung into theaters back in 2021, is there still room in the cinematic landscape for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man?

The last we saw of Peter Parker, he had sacrificed everything to save the world. Erasing the memory of everyone who knows him, losing Aunt May, forfeiting his admittance to MIT as well as the love of his life, it's basically like he never existed in the first place. 2021's No Way Home encapsulated why fans have always loved Spider-Man, his selflessness, and the momentum continues in Brand New Day, and somehow the stakes only got higher.

Without spoiling anything, Spider-Man: Brand New Day follows the titular hero four years after the events of the last film. While his best friend, Ned, and ex-girlfriend, MJ went off to college and graduated, Peter stayed in New York City fighting crime while living out of a dingy basement, more alone than ever. After a supernatural threat attempts to take over the city, Peter has to face his toughest battle yet, but no fight proves as difficult as the emotional war taking place in his mind and body.

While I consider myself a major fan of Spider-Man, my expectations for Brand New Day weren't exactly glowing. No Way Home ended on such a momentous note I couldn't imagine how they could continue the story. However, I am happy to report that the return of everyone's famous masked hero is just as cinematic, heart-pumping, and awesome as ever.

Marvel and Sony found themselves in a unique position writing Brand New Day. Of course it's a highly-anticipated blockbuster but there is a real pressure to please the fans buying the tickets. But it's been half a decade since the triumph that was No Way Home, not only has the world changed but so have the fans. Those same enthusiasts who were lining up five years ago have matured, and Spider-Man needed to as well. Brand New Day is Marvel's most emotionally heavy superhero movie since Logan. Sure, it's jam-packed with action scenes, but the external battles largely take a backseat to what Peter is going through mentally. After all, he's lost everything, but when you hit rock bottom there's nowhere to swing but up! Writers, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers deserve all the praise in the world for their work, somehow creating something unexpected and original after fans have been speculating for half a decade.

Brand New Day has some of the most exciting action sequences and stunts of the year. Of course, this isn't a surprise coming from Marvel, who have become the gold standard for this kind of thing, but they just keep upping the ante with every new release. The visual effects are also something to behold. For the sake of brevity, this film cost $225 million and you can see where every single cent was allocated.

This time around, the directorial reins were passed from Jon Watts to Destin Daniel Cretton and while it's clear that this film takes place from a different creative vision, it still captures the spirit of Spider-Man. They are accompanied by Spidey's regular producers Avi Arad and Amy Pascal. Cretton, like Watts, understands why we love Spider-Man and why fans still cherish him six decades after his creation. Spider-Man has a unique relatability not seen in any other superhero; he's not a brooding billionaire or an alien from outer space, he's a nerdy orphaned kid from Queens trying to do what's right despite often getting bashed by the very city he protects. Simply put, we love Spider-Man because his life sucks and his life has never sucked more than in Brand New Day. Of course, we don't want to see our favorite character get knocked down over and over again, but we revel in watching him get back up. Despite all the hardships in his personal life, Spider-Man has never faltered in his morality or determination to do what's right.

There are several moments in Brand New Day where I couldn't help but think "I have no idea how he's gonna overcome this one" but that's exactly why we keep coming back to Spider-Man's story. Cretton and company made it practically impossible not to root for Peter Parker.

That's not all to say that the movie is perfect, oh no. It's a good ten minutes too long, there's a downright un-ignorable amount of product placement in the first act, and some characters don't get any proper closure. That being said, with Avengers: Doomsday coming out in December, I doubt these storylines will stay unfinished for long.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day was able to achieve brilliance by walking an impossible tightrope: making a new. fresh story while staying true to a character that's been loved for 60 years. It is nothing short of astounding. It was such a joy to walk into my local theater last night and see rows and rows of people lined up in their Spider-Man attire, from toddlers to grandparents, popcorn in hand, eager for the opening titles to roll. Brand New Day is once again proof that doing what's right is a tale for all ages, and it's for that reason why we'll always love our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.