The MCU seems to have found its mojo again, for now at least. Brand New Day, the fourth standalone Spider-Man film in this universe, feels like a fresh, personal jolt of life the bloated MCU desperately needed after five years of mostly forgettable fare. Destin Daniel Cretton, who also helmed the superb Short Term 12 and the well-received Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, takes over the director's chair after three Jon Watts-led productions, and boy is his presence a welcome one. Where Homecoming, Far From Home and No Way Home, delightfully entertaining though they were, often felt too clean and polished, Brand New Day strives for a bit of gritty realism and a darker maturity, upping the physical and emotional stakes in a major way.
Gone for example is the Tony Stark-invented hi-tech spider suit, and in its place is a 3D printed fabric costume made by Peter Parker himself, inspired partly by the two other Spider-Men he met in No Way Home. Also cinematographer Brett Pawlak steps into the MCU for the first time, lending this film an earthier, more moody look than its predecessors. A greater reliance on practical lighting and physical sets has replaced the sometimes soulless green screen-enhanced look of the previous films, and thus Brand New Day is a much more immersive experience.
Tom Holland is back as Peter Parker, now totally alone in the world after Dr. Strange erased him from everyone's memory, including that of his two companions, Ned and MJ. He spends his time following their exploits at MIT via Instagram, while fighting local crime as New York's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. But an incident involving a stolen tank crashing into the Department of Damage Control building leads him on the chase of a new superpowered being who can telepathically control other people.
The pursuit and discovery of this character provides one of the film's most compelling threads, and while I won't spoil their identity here (though it's pretty widely known at this point), I was more than a little excited at the reveal and what it means for the MCU. This character's powers are frighteningly effective, such as a scene where they take over MJ's mind to cruelly toy with Spider-Man's emotions, and a later, looooong-awaited sequence where we finally get to see Spider-Man battle The Hulk. After multiple film and TV appearances by the less-than-exciting Professor Hulk variation, the original, terrifying, savage green goliath makes a welcome return here (Can we finally get another standalone Hulk movie pleeeease??).
Bruce Banner isn't the only character undergoing a dangerous mutation however; Peter himself is finding his arachnid powers more and more difficult to control. When threatened, his emotional state seems to trigger a thoughtless animal rage, in addition to his sprouting organic web shooters from his wrists (The script has some fun with him trying to relearn how to use them now that they aren't mechanical). This genetic change mirrors both Banner's struggle with his Hulkishness as well as the developing powers of the mystery character.
Another intriguing storyline involves Peter attempting to make contact with his former friends, hoping to drum up the courage to read MJ a letter he wrote which explains their mutual love pre-mind wipe. We see him crash a party at their apartment and later learn that they both recall Spider-Man saving them in the past (Ned has become Spidey's biggest fan), but neither of them has any idea who the webslinger really is.
All of these story beats feel like classic stuff from the Spider-Man comics I loved as a kid, and they culminate in a huge emotional payoff for both Peter and the new major character. For the first time in a long while one of the standalone MCU films made me more excited to see the next crossover movie (in this case Avengers: Doomsday), and that goes double for the inevitable new team-up film that's currently being cast.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is easily the best MCU film since Guardians 3, not to mention the best live-action Spider-Man film to date, and it's great to see the MCU franchise getting back on track.
I give the film ***1/2 out of ****.
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