The MCU is in need of a change. This isn’t a new concept. People have been clamoring for it since Endgame ravaged box offices and overloaded audiences with so much payoff that we’ve all been relapsing ever since. But the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems overly content with just continuing to expand until they reach critical mass. Avengers Doomsday is getting ready to slap us across the face with every Marvel character you’ve ever seen over the past 25 years, and I truly don’t know if I have the energy for that stuff anymore. I think Marvel needs to go back to basics, and it needs a leader that can ground them to the human sides of their characters. An animal themed, outgoing member of the community, if you will. Yes, I am, of course, talking about Hit-Monkey.

But because Marvel is made of a bunch of cowards, I guess we’ll have to settle for Spider-Man.

I am a huge Spider-Man fan, and I couldn’t help but feel the character has been held hostage for the past decade. Don’t get me wrong, I think Tom Holland is a great Spider-Man and none of the last MCU Spider-Man movies are outright bad, but I still feel like the MCU strayed so far away from what I liked about the character. Ironically, the timing of Spidey’s introduction in the MCU thrust him into getting caught into a web of films and stories about to go galactic, and I feel like the emphasis on the man half of the character was quickly lost. The emphasis became “how do we tie him into the rest of the universe?” How do we go bigger than ever before”. The ending of No Way Home seemed to hint that the character was finally going back to the core of what defined Spider-Man long ago: a depressed boy making the best of a bad situation. Just the way I like it.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day does feel like the sun is rising on a totally fresh and focused version of the character we haven’t seen in a very long time. Gone is the Tony Stark trust funds and the heavy leaning on the Avengers. We’ve got a Spider-Man that is on his own, trying to figure things out alone while also occasionally making things worse. This fallibility in the character is the crux of his origin; it’s what catapults him to be a hero after Uncle Ben dies. I don’t know what happened to Uncle Ben here, but he must not have made that big of an impact on his nephew. You know what, maybe I’m glad he’s dead. But director Destin Daniel Cretton has successfully rolled back into putting this eternal struggle at the forefront of the character, grappling with the duality of his life in a way that actually felt quite compelling for a superhero film. It also helps that Cretton has breathed a new life into the visuals of this film with highly creative and energetic action sequences, along with a noticeable return to a bit more practicality than we’re used to seeing. It unfortunately isn’t a completely brand new day, as much of Marvel’s insistence on overstuffing its world returns to bloat the film, but this is far and away one of the best live action Spider-Man movies of the last several years, and probably one of the best MCU outings post-Endgame as well.

Maybe it’s the fact that I just saw The Odyssey or the fact that the film had so many flashbacks that inadvertently showed how much better he’s gotten, but Tom Holland really is getting better with each passing film. Despite losing his mentor and his guardian in previous films, this may be the most emotionally taxing film for Holland’s Peter Parker yet. A big reason why that is comes down to both Holland’s performance and the groundedness of his internal dilemma. Peter Parker has been forgotten to the world, including his friends and loved ones. He could reintroduce them back into his life, but out of fear of their protection, he keeps them at a distance. The film is big on the themes of self isolation and how this forced alienation can physically and mentally take a toll on you. Now, I’ve never been shooting hot, thick ropes of webbing out of my wrists, but I think there’s plenty to relate to with this angle. It makes the overall conflict an emotional one as much as it is a physical one, and the parallels it draws to its main antagonist are fairly solid. You already know who that is. I don’t know why Marvel was so insistent on hiding their identity like we all didn’t clock this from day one.

I do wish we could have gotten a little more of Zendaya’s MJ here, as her interactions with Spider-Man are some of the more meatier parts of the movie. The film actually handles their new relationship fairly maturely, even if it is a bit of a retread of what we saw with Starlord and Gamora in the last Guardians of the Galaxy film. This isn’t something that can just be wished away, and it was nice to see the film not back down from the consequences of past films. There’s also a handful of other characters thrown in to flesh out the film, some more welcome than others. Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle is actually a great addition. Like with Spider-Man and the antagonist, Frank is also a victim of self isolation and the film actually delivers on a follow through to show what can happen if you dwell in that mindset for far too long. He’s also just doing a hammy, gruff DeNiro impression, so what’s not to love. Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner…not as much love. The inclusion of the Hulk felt really tacked on and rather inconsequential, rushed past fairly quickly and only really injected to get the plot from one point to another. Michael Mando…I’m sorry you’ve been blue balled all these years. In another universe, you would have made a great Carnage.

From the get go, you’ll immediately recognize that a different hand is behind the wheel this go around. Coming off the flashy and stunt heavy world of Shang-Chi, Cretton has managed to reinvigorate Spider-Man by getting real gnarly with the action set pieces. If you’ve played the Insomniac Spider-Man games, you’ll probably see a lot of inspiration in the combat and dynamic camera works. It really gives the film a high octane energy at points that now feel sorely missing looking at the previous three installments. The opening montage, the tank chase, the Hulk fight, all of these sequences have a style and flair to them that really makes them pop, kinda like how a superhero movie should. There’s also a much more noticeable groundedness to the film, as Glasgow, Scotland actually makes for quite the stylish New York stand-in. There’s a noticeable life and energy to the city this time around, something that the Raimi films really nailed but subsequent films couldn’t seem to reach. These legit settings also allow for dynamic uses of color and lighting. It actually looks like people were in the same room with each other when they filmed. How about that?

But while I did enjoy the action and the thematic elements, this is definitely a movie that buckles under its runtime. At nearly two and a half hours long, the pacing takes a bit of a nosedive right around the end of the second act. It’s a shame, because that first act does everything right. It excites you with action, it makes you give a damn with its human drama. It all builds up to this big, all out brawl with the Hulk…and then you realize there’s still almost an hour left. The wind really gets sucked out of the story after this part, with the third act feeling quite laborious to get through. As it trudged along, it really made me realize how little the themes actually played a fundamental outcome in the story. Peter’s journey ultimately feels without stakes or urgency; any revelations or progressions ultimately feel inconsequential as the film essentially repeats the ending of Thunderbolts. Additionally, they have got to start hiring actual comedic writers for these movies, or at least someone to punch up the dialogue. This “awkward teenager” era of Spider-Man is a far cry from the wisecracking smartass I knew and loved. The writing also just makes everyone feel insanely flat, making the cast feel more like living line reads rather than characters. It’s a problem that’s plagued Marvel for a while, but I think it stands out more here because it’s alongside so much good.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t the most excited for this latest installment in the web-head’s long-standing journey, but I walked away fairly pleased. I think the character has felt more human than he has in a long while, but the films have potentially never looked better when it comes to fluid action set pieces. A bit bloated and a bit long, but a fun time nonetheless, something that has been in short supply for the MCU for a while now. The moniker “brand new day” ultimately feels like a half promise, as this series is still locked into a speeding train with no clear signs of slowing down. While I’d love the movies to feel more like creative expressions rather than an instance of too many cooks in the kitchen, this at least feels one step closer to the good stuff. We’re never getting rid of the Sony product placements though, are we?

RATING

SPIDER SLING

Time to alter those hormones with a simple yet striking cocktail that slaps you with a tart, bright combination of fruit flavors. Much like the name, this is a minor riff on a sling style cocktail, most commonly found with gin, lemon juice and sugar. The addition of the cherry juice and blue curacao help to make this especially Spidey, and nothing helps with self isolation like a good cocktail. But if you’re in that situation, maybe just stick to BERO.

INGREDIENTS

• 2oz gin
• 3/4oz tart cherry juice
• 1/2oz lemon juice
• 1tsp sugar
• 2 dashes orange bitters
• FLOAT: blue curacao

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add ingredients to a shaker and shake with ice.
2. Strain into a rocks glass over ice.
3. Carefully pour a little bit of blue curacao over the back of a spoon on top of the drink to create the blue layer.