After watching the trailers, it was clear that these people have cooked up something very dangerous with Spider-Man Brand New Day and they did it. Let’s talk about everything one by one, there will be no spoilers of course. The light synopsis of the movie is the same as what we saw in the trailers. Peter Parker, whom the whole world has forgotten, has also forgotten himself in a way because now he likes to live as Spider-Man all the time, he fights crime, designs his own suit and he is still broke. But then a problem arises in his life. This problem is actually a villain who can possess anyone’s body and is harassing Spider-Man for some reason. What is his motive and how Spider-Man is involved in this whole thing, you’ll only find out after watching the movie.
But if I start with the direction, this is the first time we have seen Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in the hands of another director and it was absolutely gorgeous. I mean the way Jon Watts treated Spider-Man was also great but the way Dustin treats Spider-Man is completely different. The movie feels very hyper stylized, which I understood after watching its trailers. The number of times Spider-Man is shown doing a fake job, it feels so stylish. Every single time it happens, you feel like you are just watching the same thing. If you have played the Spider-Man game on PS4 or PS5 like Insomniac, then you can relate to this thing even better because you can actually spend hours swinging in that game. The same thing is felt in this movie. Many different styles have been used to show Spider-Man’s swinging, sometimes it is shown from his POV, sometimes it is shown over the shoulder and every single time you watch it, it feels like a very immersive experience for you.
Visual Style and 3D Experience
I watched the movie in 3D and in English and I have to say, I am not a big fan of 3D but the way this movie treats 3D, it is absolutely beautiful. You feel as if you are Spider-Man. Meaning, in 3D when Spider-Man is falling down, you can feel the depth, you will feel as if you are falling. Or when he is swinging, you will feel as if you are swinging. And to enhance this thing even more, these people have kept very close encounters of Spider-Man. Meaning, if a car is going off, and Spider-Man suddenly comes to someone’s rescue at the last moment, that adds even more tension and increases immersion.
But then some shots of Spider-Man have been taken in such a good way that it seems as if a human being, a normal human being would try to capture the swinging movements of Spider-Man by holding the camera. So for a moment Spider-Man would be in the frame but then he would go out a little, then sometimes he would come in, then again he would go out. So this movie also tries to show something like that. That means during the time of John Watts’ Spider-Man, we always saw Spider-Man inside the frame, but Dustin has followed a different approach and it gives you that feeling of imperfection and it’s very good.
Action and Choreography
Then after this the action is done very well. They knew where to use slow motion so that Spider-Man’s agility or his effortless movements can be highlighted even more and it works. Meaning the entire sequence is moving at a very fast speed and at the very end you will be shown through a slight slow motion how Spider-Man dodged that bullet. Or when he is swinging then how he came out from between two things. It is very subtle but when you feel that clarity, it whistles brother.
New York City and World Building
Then I really liked the treatment of New York because the way the movie was color graded and visually represented, I felt like for the first time in a superhero movie, New York City actually felt lived in. I mean, like you feel for Batman in his movies, in the comic books, Gotham City feels like a character in itself, so I had the same feeling with New York City in this movie. And I felt that this is a very important thing from the POV of Spider-Man as a character. Which has never been highlighted very well in the MCU till now, but I am glad it is finally happening.
CGI and Visual Effects
Then the movie uses CGI VFX quite heavily. I didn’t have any problem with that at all, including the lighter shots, which were absolutely flawless. But other than that, they focused a lot on realism. Especially in the Spider-Man costume, because whenever Peter moves his mouth, you feel like Tom is talking through the mask. There are a lot of shots where you can actually see Spider-Man’s eyes, which makes it even more expressive.
Story and Emotional Depth
Then if I talk about the story, then this one follows a very different approach from all the Spider-Man movies we have seen so far. I mean, it will feel different visually but apart from that, the way it carries its plot also feels very different. Especially the way the movie ends, its approach is quite unconventional and it is possible that many people may not agree with it. If you have seen the three previous Spider-Man movies then you would understand that they are very action heavy, this movie gives more priority to emotions than action and it nails them beautifully.
I mean all the troubles that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has been through since No Way Home have finally started taking their toll on him. So the way this whole thing has been presented, it kind of feels very cool and many, many times I kept on thinking that I feel like I am reading a comic book. Because this movie is very close to a comic book. I mean you can understand that it is basically a comic book come to life.
Flaws and Weak Points
But yes, if I have to point out some flaws then the movie raises all its plot elements as if they are very serious, but ultimately they do not reach any deep conclusion. Meaning you will be shown something from the beginning which feels very important for the plot, and you would think that this thing might have consequences later or we will get to see a proper conclusion to it, it does not happen. And you realize that the whole thing was just to build up a moment. And as I said, the ending of the movie follows a very unconventional approach, so it is possible that people who have seen No Way Home a long time ago and are not that much in touch with Spider-Man or the MCU now, might find it a bit underwhelming. Or they might have gone expecting a very explosive action sequence in the end, I mean I did not feel that way, but it is possible that some people might feel that way.
Final Verdict
So, overall, Spider-Man is a brand new day for me.