With the biggest opening-weekend box office in history, the latest Marvel outing ought to erase the conventional wisdom that their audience suffers from superhero fatigue. And really, what are we measuring with opening-weekend box office? The power of positive reviews? The strength of the marketing strategies? The raw dollars pumped into advertising? The charisma of the actors on their press junkets?
There appears to be a very fuzzy causal connection between a huge number of factors and the performance of a major summer blockbuster. But the one thing that has almost zero effect on that outcome is the script, the story, and the performances of the cast. No one has seen them before opening day.
But clearly, all the combined effects of the studio’s marketing and distribution, the chemistry between Tom Holland and Zendaya, the chemistry between Tom Holland and Jon Bernthal, and the co-branding press campaign with Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey—all of that created a perfect storm for Sony and Marvel.
So, good for them.
But I’m here to talk about the film itself. Is this blockbuster a good addition to the Ton Holland Spider-Man era? Absolutely. Does it rank as one of the better Spider-Man movies of all time? Also, an unqualified yes. I’m putting it at the top of all the Spider-Man films going back to Sam Raimi/Toby Maguire’s first. Is it a good Marvel movie? Again, yes. I’ve added it to my top five Marvel movies (none of the previous Spider-Man movies are in my top 20).
Okay, but how does it rank as a film among all films? I think it still ranks as a very good action movie. It’s not great cinema, but put up against Die Hard, or Predator, or Rambo. I think it stands up to the classic action adventure films through the ages. It’s not Lawrence of Arabia. No one expects it to be. That’s what there are Christopher Nolan films.
But here’s the thing. Tom Holland and his fiancée, Zendaya, are in both. There’s a reason for that. They’re both movie stars now. They’ve grown up before our eyes, and what struck me in this film is the acting chops they bring to this comic book story. These are legit, Hollywood A-listers now. Both of them have transcended their roots as child actors and feel ready to tackle anything. Can you imagine Tom Holland in a remake of Cool Hand Luke? I can after his recent performances.
But let’s set aside these actors and their performances. What makes Brand New Day something special is how closely it hews to the original comic book. This is a love letter to the Spider-Man of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Yes, there are the beautifully shot homages to classic covers. Yes, there is a rogues’ gallery of evil-doers in blink-and-you’ll-miss’em cameos. But the thing that makes this film more Spider-Man than usual is how New York it is. New York is crammed into this story and in every frame.
If you listen, even Holland’s accent is more New York than ever. In his earlier outings, Peter Parker could have been from anywhere in the North Atlantic region. But here his accent is unmistakable. And that is crucial to grounding Spider-Man. The director and his production team have done everything to stay true to the Stan Lee and Steve Ditko origins of the hero.
And it works.
So, yay! The webslinger had a boffo box-office! But more importantly, the film is a giant leap back to the foundational principles of Marvel movies. It does this by being true to its roots.
I’m giving Spider-Man: Brand New Day 5 stars out of 5.
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