Nate At The Movies

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

As Morgan and I got seated in the theater tonight (albeit way too early—I figured there’d be lines out the wazoo for concessions, so we got to the theater 20 minutes before our showtime only to find zero line), I realized that I’d only ever seen four MCU movies in the theater before tonight. Those were the first Avengers, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Deadpool & Wolverine, and The Fantastic 4: First Steps, in that order. With a packed theater and excellent reviews to back it, I was stoked for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, my fifth MCU theatrical experience. I’ve realized recently that Spider-Man is my favorite superhero (three Spider-Man films found their way into my newly minted Top 50 Films list), and Brand New Day was one of his finest outings.

While each of the previous MCU Spider-Man movies have been great, Marvel has had trouble writing Spider-Man in a comic book-accurate way, but that changed tonight. This was the most mature I’ve seen Peter written in the MCU, and his struggles with identity and loneliness were tough and heartbreaking. The ways that his relationships with MJ and Ned had to change was the most depressing, and there were a few scenes that really hit hard. It’s hard to think that Peter won’t have MJ as a rock (emotionally and romantically) in the same way that other Spider-Men have had their girls. Peter’s reconnection with Ned was so sweet, especially the Lego building and the drawing MJ made of them, and I ate up Peter’s brotherly bond with Frank, a character I didn’t know well (but loved) because I didn’t watch Daredevil. A film with this much depressing change for the hero needed moments of levity like these.

Peter’s struggles with superpower-caused-loneliness was married perfectly with Jean Gray, the relatable antagonist of this film. I wish I had remembered her better from the one X-Men movie I saw, but Sadie Sink introduced her to the MCU with a bang. Her powers were cool (and visually similar to Sue Storm’s) and her backstory meshed really well with Peter’s, just like The Void and the Thunderbolts. Peter’s overwhelming kindness and willingness to share Aunt May with Jean was so touching, and I’m excited to see how they continue to share their journeys. I totally get why this was the movie Marvel chose to introduce her in; the much simpler and straightforward story was a breath of fresh air after No Way Home, and it landed so well.

I’m no expert on this, but the Spider-Man portrayed in Brand New Day felt much more comic book-accurate, in a number of ways. This was the most cinematic entry in the MCU Spider-Man movies, channeling past Spider-Men of the page and screen and other 2000s superhero movies equally. I loved how the VFX team recreated iconic poses and shots from the comics and the video games—and I appreciated how the entire movie wasn’t predicated on those moments. Most of them were shown in the trailer, so that would’ve been underwhelming. I really loved how the story ended with Peter recognizing how valuable his community is; they don’t know “Peter” (and that missed connection is what hurts Peter), but they know and love Spider-Man (even if “Spider-Man” is actually just Frank waving at the window). I’m a sucker for heroes who are strongly connected to their community, and MCU Spider-Man has finally reached that point. I’m so excited!

Spider-Man: Brand New Day continued the post-Endgame MCU trend of being absolutely baffling. How does Marvel go from bangers like Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic 4: First Steps to stinkers like Captain America: Brave New World and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania? I’m not sure what exactly is going on at Marvel HQ, but they need to keep putting the people in charge of the Spider-Man movies in charge of everything. Brand New Day could end up being my favorite of the MCU Spider-Man movies if I ever come down from the high of watching No Way Home for the first time, and this movie served as yet more proof that Spider-Man should be the face of the MCU from here on out. I love Spider-Man, I loved Brand New Day, and I’m so glad this film’s going to break every box office record imaginable. It deserves it!