Spider-Man and Boomerang share a scene in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,”
Sony Pictures
Tom Holland as Spider-Man and Jon Bernthal as The Punisher in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’
Jay Maidment
Laredo native Eman Esfandi appears opposite Zendaya’s Michelle “MJ” Jones in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”
Screencap/Sony’s Spider-Man: Bra
Tom Holland as Spider-Man in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’
Jay Maidment
Tom Holland as Spider-Man in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’
Matthew Towers
The last time audiences saw Tom Holland as Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, was in the fresh and funny 2021 film “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” in which a multiverse malfunction meant that various iterations of the webslinger were existing in the same universe. That story involved the death of Spider-Man’s beloved Aunt May and ended with Spidey’s girlfriend, MJ, and best friend, Ned, having their memories wiped so they had no awareness of their relationship with him.
The somewhat less novel, more downbeat and overall less entertaining “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” opening Friday, picks up where “No Way Home” left off, with Spider-Man living a lonely, monastic life in a shabby, cluttered New York apartment. Yes, he’s still fighting crime but he remains in mourning for the life he once led and the love he once had.
Rated PG-13: For scenes of action/violence, some language
Running time: 145 minutes
Where: Opens Friday throughout Houston
★★★1/2 (out of 5)
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For kicks and sad giggles, he watches the posts that Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya) on social media, as they go from success to success at MIT, while he spends his time catching bank robbers and assorted riff-raff. That seems to be the extent of his social life. What’s more, he’s having strange headaches and is starting to behave oddly, something that his police department contact, detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas, “The Bear”) notices and wants him to get it resolved.
But that’s not his only worry. There’s a new threat in town, one that can worm its way into your head and control your thoughts and actions. And whatever this is wants to free the villainous Mac Gargan/The Scorpion (Michael Mando) from high-security imprisonment. (As one character says, “this whole thing can get really scary.”
Spider-Man goes up against The Hand in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’
CTMG/Marvel/Sony Pictures
As envisioned by director Destin Daniel Cretton, who’s working from a script by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, the transformations as bodies are taken over and the invader ping-pongs from person to person across the streets of New York are chilling and effective. As Cretton proved in his diverting 2021 Marvel hit “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” he knows how to stage an effects-laden action scene. When Spider-Man takes on a group of red-clad warriors called The Hand late in “Brand New Day,” Cretton brings into the Spider-Man universe the balletic fight choreography found in Chinese wuxia cinema (think “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) and the film is all the better for it. It’s a spectacular sequence.
While almost every Marvel movie is powered by fan service and connecting with the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, “No Way Home” felt a bit less blatant in this regard. If a viewer has no real depth of knowledge about the MCU, “No Way Home” is still a fun ride. That’s less true for “Brand New Day” in which the story overall is less involving though Frank Castle/The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and David Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) show up as does one other pivotal Marvel character. Doctor Strange is nowhere to be found this time.
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Zendaya as MJ and Tom Holland as Spider-Man in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’
Jay Maidment
Any shortcomings are no faults of the actors. Holland is as engaging as ever, the chemistry between Peter and MJ is still palpable. In fact, the emotional bond between Peter and MJ, and Peter’s struggles to come to return to some semblance of happiness, helps keep “Brand New Day” grounded in reality. And for those disappointed with the amount of screen time given to Zendaya in “The Odyssey” will be much happier here.
Also, Bernthal throws himself into the role of a tough-talking, former jarhead who has an amusingly bickering but brotherly relationship with Peter.
Anyone who is a ride-or-die fan of the franchise, then “Brand New Day” definitely works. Cretton and crew throw enough kibble to the fans to give them enough to chew on to keep them engaged. But, for everyone else, the film sometimes feels every bit of its 145 minutes.
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Still, hope springs eternal for the animated “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse” coming next year as the previous two animated “Spider-Man” entries (“Into the Spider-Verse” and “Across the Spider-Verse”) rank among the best in the entire “Spider-Man” world. That’s the thing with the MCU. It’s like a Tokyo subway. If you can’t get into one, another will be along in no time.