As a film critic, there are sometimes movies you know are going to do extremely well regardless of what people like me have to say about them, which makes the process of reviewing said film almost pointless, as most of the folks who will want to see it will see it regardless. I get it, and I’m okay with it, but I still feel compelled to share my thoughts as a Spider-Man fan, and as someone who has reviewed all of the Spidey movies so far, though in all honestly I find myself finally becoming somewhat complacent about these movies.  I still enjoy them, but the excitement level leading up to them is waning.  Some have theorized audiences may be experiencing “superhero fatigue”, but for myself, I feel like it’s more that we’ve seem practically everything you could expect to see in a Spider-Man movie by now, so to keep producing these movies just reads like “been there, done that” now.  The newest effort does offer some very satisfying moments for sure, but it’s definitely feeling more familiar than ever.

After the record-breaking global success of SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY marks an entirely new chapter for Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Four years have passed since the events of No Way Home, and Peter is now an adult living entirely alone, having voluntarily erased himself from the lives and memories of those he loves. Crime-fighting in a New York that no longer knows his name, he’s devoted himself entirely to protecting his city – a full-time Spider-Man – but as the demands on him intensify, the pressure sparks a surprising physical evolution that threatens his existence, even as a strange new pattern of crimes gives rise to one of the most powerful threats he has ever faced.

This outing comes from director Destin Daniel Cretton, who previously helmed Marvel Studios’ SHANG-CHI, which I mostly enjoyed and found just different and unique enough to be refreshing superhero fare.  He does a great job in capturing genuine and sincere character moments that resonate even when there’s nothing terribly exciting going on.  In fact, the character-driven aspects of this new film are easily some of its biggest strengths, though some may find them a bit talky depending on their expectations going in.  That’s not to say the Spider-Man heroic moments aren’t also handled well, as this movie really feels the most like an actual Spider-Man comic book we’ve seen so far in the big screen efforts.  We very much get the sense that Peter is all-in on his Spidey persona, and all the burdens that come with it.  Peter Parker also (finally) comes across like a genuine New Yorker, and we see that the city loves and embraces him, and appreciates his efforts with an added layer of respect.  It’s also nice to see New York become more of a character in the film than ever before.  As a movie, this outing contains a lot of satisfying segments that make up for some of the less-appealing or less-effective filler.

Tom Holland has really helped define the character of Spider-Man as much more than a one-note superhero, and this film is his strongest and most layered take on the character yet.  We still see him as an enthusiastic kid, but he’s also matured and felt the torture of his decisions, and it makes for a very endearing protagonist.  Zendaya and Jacob Batalon aren’t as prominently used here as they were in previous outings, but it makes sense as (like Peter) we’ve been separated from them as part of our hero’s daily life, and it adds a weight and importance to the scenes they do occupy.  A nice surprise here (and I feel comfortable talking about this as it’s in the trailers and TV spots) is the inclusion of Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle / The Punisher, making the jump from the Marvel TV world into the big screen, and finding great chemistry with Holland in an almost buddy cop dynamic.  There’s also more of him in here than I expected, it’s not just a quick cameo, and I was very happy about that… though I am curious why no one in the movie every calls him “The Punisher” – Peter consistently refers to him as “Frank” throughout the film.  Mark Ruffalo also appears as Dr. Bruce Banner / The Hulk, helping Peter figure out a way to control some of his newfound mutation issues, but I did feel afterward that he was almost one extra character too many in a story that’s already over-packed with so many.  There’s a few cameos I won’t spoil, though it’s hard not to say something about Sadie Sink, who ultimately plays a formidable villain for Spidey, though I’m not sure it’s a villain that feels fitting for Spider-Man, and more like an effort for Marvel to introduce a new idea to their cinematic universe.  She’s good in the movie, but doesn’t really show up fully until we’re well into the second half.

One of the biggest problems with BRAND NEW DAY is the pacing, which at times is exciting and frenetic, and then slows down to a crawl for more somber moments, and it can be somewhat jarring.  The film’s run time is also a tad too long, and easily could have trimmed down a good 20 minutes to deliver a more cohesive result.  This movie reminded me a lot of Sam Raimi’s third outing with Tobey Maguire, sporting a very dense story that is at times chaotic, but manages to still have great scenes peppered throughout – though BRAND NEW DAY is clearly the better of the two efforts.  It also suffers a bit in that it resolves some of the major dangling threads from the previous film, but opens up new issues by the end that feel more like a “to be continued” than an actual ending.  And one of the big resolves toward the end really feels like it borrows a bit heavily from the ending of THUNDERBOLTS rather than presenting something unique and new.

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY is definitely an entertaining ride, and for me is the second–best of the Tom Holland Spidey films, but it does feel like this segment of the franchise is struggling to not lose steam.  While I enjoyed many of the sequences contained within, I don’t feel like I need to revisit these characters again anytime soon… which isn’t to say I’ve lost my fandom, but sometimes too much of a good think can be exhausting.  Your mileage may vary.

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