Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the best movie I've seen in quite a while.
This comes from someone who is definitely experiencing a degree of superhero movie fatigue. And yet, I was not taken out of the movie once for the entire runtime. The movie may be couched in "hero fights villain(s)" trappings, but it leans more into the "and discovers things about himself along the way."
There are several story threads examined that I figured would be handled in a typical and simple way, but were instead treated more with the nuance they deserve - primarily how Peter handles connecting with people who magically forgot about him. I don't think it's too spoilery since that's hinted by previews and fairly obvious from where previous movies left things. The simple cop out would just be to have the magical amnesia overcome by the power of friendship. This movie, for the most part, does not treat it as such a simple matter, and that's good because it should be messy and complicated.
I am not a big Punisher fan, but Frank Castle proves to be an excellent friend/foil in the movie. And perhaps it speaks more to avoiding spoilers than anything else, but the primary opponent presented in the movie was not immediately obvious to me. There are also some other, smaller, cameos in the film that I enjoyed.
Could it have been better? Maybe. I mean, I wasn't really moved by any of the music, I guess? I might argue the metamorphosis plot thread is a little scant on the pay off. But really, everything else clicked so well. I'd say it deserves the reviews and blockbuster money it's making. It might be less good if you haven't seen the previous movie(s) or Marvel/MCU in general - it's hard for me to judge that in an absence of the others at this point. For me, though, it was great.
Saw the film myself this weekend with the client, but hadn't been watching other Spider-Mans films outside of Into the Spiderverse, so the opening flashback to what Peter did with Strange was neccesary for me to fully understand at least the premise. Did not know (or recall at any rate) the death of Aunt May, so that makes sense why Peter hangs to his friends as much as he does after making them forget but man, buddy, you made them forget to keep them safe, but you're still clinging to them, thus making them potentially able to be connected to you (and indeed MJ does get tagged because of it)
ReplyDeleteI do like seeing the Punisher in this film as a foil to Peter's lonliness. How Frank handles it and how Spidey handles it (and how the acctual antagonist handles it) is some better writing one might expect from a "super hero flick"
I do wonder if the antagonist is meant to be a mutant? Or just a super. Sony, iirc, still owns X-men so a mutant being there (outside of what Deadpool and Wolverine presents) makes some sense.
You've seen? Yay, spoiler-venting!
DeleteThe whole clinging-to-his-friends was more interesting to me than a lot of relationship stuff in movies due to how very messy it is. From Peter's end, it's kind of sweet and sentimental. MJ thankfully points out that from her side, it's not, as she has literally no knowledge of all the shared experiences - he's an unknown. Frankly, they could easily have pushed that a little bit more, as far as the rest of the world is concerns, he's basically a crazy-obsessed stalker. I'm really glad that there's some tentative rebuilding going on rather than handwaving it all away.
Though the last scene of the movie implies Ned might actually be breaking the spell. Again, I hope that's not just the "power of friendship." It could have to do with his apparent affinity for magic (he used a sling ring with basically no training previously), but the spell affected even Dr. Strange. So it's either a combination or they're setting up something else...
I'm not sure it matters if Jean's a mutant. X-men are apparently being pulled into the MCU more fully with Doomsday. I think Agents of Shield introduced mutants, but for legal reasons used the term "inhumans." So even if the legalities still prevent use of the term (and I'm not sure if they still do or if some agreement has been reached, like with Spider-Man/Sony), they're canon now.
Jean herself... hmm. I have thoughts.
I was a big X-men fan in my major comic-reading days, but "my" X-men was the group post-originals: Storm, Colossus, Rogue, Dazzler, Shadowcat, Wolverine, Longshot, Betsy Braddock, etc. I was still reading when Jean was brought back, but I wasn't really familiar with her origin, so had no recollection of her having a sister and whether she had powers or not. I certainly do not recall her telepathy (and telekinesis) being expressed primarily as possession.
So I was focused on that angle and thinking about someone like Malice (though I kept telling myself she would be kind of out of place in the movie). What was going on didn't click until her face reveal. Redheads stand out, I guess?
She makes an fairly unique antagonist in that she isn't motivated by greed, vision, or even revenge, really. She ultimately just wants her sister back. And yet... her actions place her well within villain territory. I mean, the script tries to keep things pretty vague. The prison is evacuated and I don't think she kills anyone on-screen. But she actively *tries*, getting people to shoot one another, throwing someone off a roof, and walking someone in front of traffic. And that's setting aside that I morally consider possession to be among the most heinous of acts, only not being a crime due to legal systems not recognizing it (though you could solidly argue 'unlawful detention' or 'kidnapping' if it was thrown into the real world legal system). Her callous disregard for using others reaches such a level here that I'm not sure I can see MCU Jean as a hero in the future. Certainly "I won't do it again" doesn't cut it.
Peter's inhibitor is a casual MacGuffin drop for the movie with potentially massive repercussions for the setting. It opens up all sorts of comic plots about loss of powers and persecution of superpowered people. And I could easily see that weighing heavily on Peter when almost-inevitably it comes to pass.
Damage Control seems set up as an enemy/complication for future use, but... eh... The concept is okay and nothing new, but the Director was kind of forgettable for me. It is amusing on some level that he literally does not know what V-Max is, so he's not just being secretive as as lot of writing has led us to expect of sketchy organization leaders, but that's about it. From a greater setting perspective, their growing understanding of super powers is notable (and could lead to something like the Sentinels), but they didn't convey any memorable sense of menace in this movie for me.
DeleteYelena/Black Widow was amusing for me with her laid-back demeanor while trying to be important. "We're the New Avengers - big potatoes!" That feels appropriate after she "made it" to the big leagues in Thunderbolts*.
Spidey-tracker ping in space in the post-credits scene? Eh...cute little hint at the future, though it undermines itself a bit by being totally unfeasible.