Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures
For many people (myself included) Spider-Man, The Avengers, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise in general are the movies we were raised on.
I distinctly remember the buzz in the air when Spider-Man: Homecoming came out in 2017. As I have gotten older, however, the MCU that was at one time the best money-printing machine in Hollywood seems now to be a shell of its old self.
The communal sense of excitement that once was inevitable preceding the newest Marvel movie is dying, if not already dead. I didn’t see any buzz about this year’s fourth entry into the Spider-Man film series—certainly not to the extent of Backrooms or The Odyssey.
It is so obvious that the MCU, with a few exceptions, has left people’s minds. Indeed, Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s entire premise is that you don’t really need to have seen any of the prior movies to enjoy this one.
Brand New Day, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and starring Tom Holland once again in the title role, is as enjoyable as any of the previous films. But watching it I felt a small sense of melancholy, spawned from the realization that the cinematic universe that once brought me so much joy has lost its original charm.
It doesn’t help that the film’s gratuitous product placement completely pulls us out of its world, making it seem like one subliminal advertisement. And that isn’t the only issue that reminds you that this film is a cash grab. The character Jean Grey (played here by Sadie Sink), who is never a villain in the comics, appears in the movie in a clear effort to connect the X-Men to the MCU.
All that being said, the film does offer some redeemable parts. For one, it has its funny moments thanks to Punisher (Jon Bernthal) who serves as a Deadpool-like joker character. We also get to see some interesting scenes of web-slinging from Peter Parker’s point of view, something we haven’t really seen before. As always the action sequences are good, with some interesting battle pairings that do feel fresh.
Overall, despite some enjoyable moments, nothing about this film seems especially memorable. My expectation was that the experience would live up to the prime of MCU, which admittedly may be too high a bar.
Ultimately the sad reality seems to be that the MCU didn’t change—I did. As I get older, things the younger me could overlook are becoming blatantly apparent, and disappointing.
If recent Marvel films have given you joy, then it’s likely this new Spider-Man is for you. You may want to skip it, however, if nostalgia is what you are looking for.