Skip to main content

More on the Awesome That Was 'Brand New Day'

Hello, Review-Verse audience!

Since it's been a month since Spider-Man: Brand New Day was released, I think it is now safe to go from my abridged review to a more in-depth one.

Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man swinging in action in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Marvel Studios, and IMDb.com.

When I saw Brand New Day in 3D, it was full of surprises I didn't expect. One was Sadie Sink of Stranger Things fame was playing Jean Grey. Jean and her sister Sara Grey, who I didn't know about till I saw the movie, and their telepathic powers made them a threat to Damage Control from Homecoming. 

Sadie Sink as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Marvel Studios, and IMDb.com.

Though I wish there was a bit more of an explanation for Jean's background, even if it was the usual Professor-X-trying-to-bring-out-her-best-self-with-her-mutation trope, I did like Sink's inclusion in the film because her character's vulnerability and trouble using her powers wisely was a good way of reminding Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland that he's not as alone as he thought he was in the troubled dual superhero-average-person identities.

Another surprise was Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova part of the movie. Though she traded Black Widow action for being Spider-Man's contact in the banya, I like how she provided a little comic relief in pointing out how sad it was that Spider-Man was not making a life beyond webs and spandex, that kind of like Wolverine, he spent more time beating up bad guys or getting beaten up instead of settling down.

Zendaya as Michelle Jones-Watson/MJ and Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Marvel Studios, and IMDb.com.

Then towards the end, Ned Leeds, played by Jacob Batalon, remembered his old best friend handshake with Peter. While it didn't break the forgetting spell for MJ, played by Zendaya, Ned remembering bits of the old life was like the part where Jedi mind tricks only work on the weak-minded. Even though they should give it a rest with all these Spider-Man sequels, if they don't, they should explore if something could help MJ remember, and maybe there's a way Peter can disclose his superhero activities to others without so many dire consequences.

Aside from noting surprises, as I said in my earlier review, I enjoyed Brand New Day mostly because director Daniel Destin Cretton and lead actor Holland showed heightened maturity for Peter Parker that I haven't seen since the Raimi/Maguire days. Only unlike Maguire, Spider-Man kept his friends and saved the day instead of being an (albeit noble) lone gunslinger.


Tom Holland as Spider-Man (left) and Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/The Punisher in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Marvel Studios, and IMDb.com.

Speaking of friends, Frank Castle/The Punisher, played by Jon Bernthal, was his reluctant big brother ally in saving the city from Jean's anger over Sara's death by Damage Control. Though Frank was not as light-toned and funny as Spider-Man, he was kind of like a tough-love coach figure that reminded his pupil to get over his emotions to do his job well. Said emotions were brought on by lone work and Jean's telepathy made Spidey deal with trouble reminiscent of Maguire's Spider-Man 2 and collateral damage like Will Smith's Hancock, leading to excess spider mutations for our beloved wall-crawler.

Peter Parker/Spider-Man, played by Tom Holland, as he deals with mutation in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Marvel Studios, and IMDb.com.

On the bright side, when Spider-Man got injured fighting Jean, it was kind of funny how Frank dressed in the Spider suit to help Parker leave the hospital undetected.

As for what the film could've done better despite my 9.5/10, they could've either given a happier ending between Peter and MJ, or focused more on her own life away from being the love interest or kidnap victim. I also would've loved to see Smart Hulk return instead of just the usual angry Hulk.

Nevertheless, great slow-motion cinematography in Holland's swinging, or fight scenes with the Hand as his character regained balance, great emotional direction, great old and new cast collaborations, and great movie. Leave comments everywhere you see this. Thank you.

#CinematicReviewVerse, #SpiderManBrandNewDay

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'Roofman': Channing Tatum Played a Lovable Thief

Poster for 'Roofman.' Courtesy of Paramount Pictures and Miramax. Channing Tatum played Jeffrey Manchester, an ex-Army Reserve soldier and divorced dad who had a penchant for details and thieving. He was known as "The Roofman" for breaking into his targets by drilling into their roofs. It was like Tatum channeled Sam Dawson and Scott Lang into one as his character managed to find a way to sneak out of prison underneath a truck with skills from prison shop, then make a home in a corner in a 2004 Toys 'R Us.  It was pretty funny and amusing how Jeffrey sort of took control of the store after closing. How he snacked on M and M's, skated around on Heely-like shoes, he acted like a grown man with a kid's bedroom with inflatables and Spider-Man merchandise, and he kept security with baby monitors. It was also kind of funny how he made money out of stealing and pawning a bunch of video games. While trying to get out of the country after fleeing to the store, Jeff...
Post a Comment
Read more

Superman-Great Past and New Hero Magic

Superman (2025) poster. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. James Gunn's iteration of  Superman  was a well-thought-out film. I give it a 9.4/10 for both the occasional references to the Christopher Reeve film from the late 1970s and for standing out with different presentations of the iconic Man of Steel and his colorful supporting characters. This was my first time seeing David Corenswet, but he was great acting out the drama and heroism in the lives of Clark Kent and Superman. It was also great to see Rachel Brosnahan bring some gumption and humor to her role of Superman's love interest, Lois Lane, and it was great to see former X-Men actor Nicholas Hoult bring some vigor to his role of Superman's ruthless archenemy, Lex Luthor. In this Superman, it stood out by skipping the intro of Kal-El leaving Krypton as a baby and instead showing Superman, played by Corenswet, in his third year of protecting Metropolis and the world. In his quest to prove Superman a threat to humani...
Post a Comment
Read more

'Sarah's Oil': A Sharp-Willed, Inspirational Tale

Poster for 'Sarah's Oil.' Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios. Naya Desir-Johnson triumphed as the eponymous character of Sarah's Oil . She channeled intelligence, comic relief, and proud spirit in her role as child oil baron Sarah Rector. I also enjoyed Zachary Levi's role as Sarah's business partner Bert Smith with his Southwestern charm and protectiveness over Sarah. You'll also appreciate the performance of Sonequa Martin-Green as Sarah's mother,  the costume designing by Michael T. Boyd, the scoring by Kathryn Bostic, and the filming in Oklahoma where the story took place. In the early 1900s, Sarah Rector, played by Desir-Johnson, was granted land that, unbeknownst to people of power at the time, had crude oil gushing underneath the infertile land. With help wildcatter from Bert Smith, played by Levi, and her family, and eventually others in Oklahoma, Sarah shows certain racist people that she will stop at nothing to drill for that oil and make a great l...
Post a Comment
Read more