Fighting crime full-time as Spider-Man in a world that doesn't remember him—and the pressure of seeing his old friends move on without him—sparks a change in Peter Parker he may not have the po...
WHAT I LIKED: The X Men films are so impactful because they're mostly about genetically different people, ostracised by the world and used by the government, finding strength together to fight for their rights. Though it tackles those themes less directly, that's very much the message behind 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day.'
The script (by usual MCU Spider-Man pens Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers) picks up with Peter Parker (Tom Holland) living alone and devoting his life to protecting New York from crime after he made his friends forget him in the previous film. However, under the stress, he's starting to mutate and become more powerful, and to make matters harder, he comes across a mysterious antagonist who's occupying people's minds to break into the government's "Damage Control," department, headed by William Metzger (Tramell Tillman). Peter does everything he can to stop this, including visiting Doctor Banner (Mark Ruffalo) to design a DNA-suppressor to control his and his enemy's powers.
It takes a long while before this antagonist is revealed to be a young mutant girl (Sadie Sink) whose sister was taken by Damage Control, and even longer still for Peter to wake up to the fact she's not the real enemy. But when he does, the story becomes about taking down the evil government department, and Peter teaching this girl that it's ok to be different, and that she doesn't need to do life on her own.
That's a lovely message, particularly because it's sparked by that realisation in Peter after he reunites with his friends Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya). That trio have always been incredibly fun to hang around with, and though we don't get nearly enough of them here, the moments we do are as great as ever.
The other thing that makes this movie so fun though is the action, as director Destin Daniel Cretton takes over from Jon Watts and brings a stylish and immersive feel with lots of Joss Whedon-like swooping shots that place you directly in it whilst still showing everything that's going on.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Ironically, Peter is a Damage Control enforcer for the majority of the film, and that is rather frustrating to watch, especially given that they're clearly evil right from the moment we encounter them. The fact he uses a deeply terrifying surveillance tool and practically works for the cops doesn't help his nanny state image either, and though the film pivots to take down the government department at the end, it's all tied up neatly by the Police in a way that rarely happens with corrupt people in power. That gives the movie a slight US propaganda angle which encourages surveillance and promises that power is always kept in check by its own enforcers.
VERDICT: Though it has some frustrating elements of US government propaganda, 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day,' is a film with a nice message and some great action set-pieces.
