Spider-Man: Brand New Day
This was absolutely amazing!!! The best!!! I wanted to keep watching it for hours!!!!
Honestly, until now, I had feelings bordering on indifference toward Spider-Man as a franchise; I didn't particularly like or dislike it.
Even though the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield versions were good films, the series kept getting rebooted halfway through due to rights issues, and the SSU folded its tent before Spider-Man even appeared. Just as I started to get attached to the work, the rug would be pulled out from under me for corporate reasons, so I drew a line in my mind to avoid getting too deeply involved from the start.
Because of that, I always watched the MCU version with a skeptical mindset. Even now that I can finally say it, even the scene where the past Spider-Men gather in No Way Home—which the world went crazy for—didn't get me excited at all; I just saw it as clinging to past success.
However, this film is a masterpiece that ranks among the best in MCU history, completely blowing away my previous distrust!
The first film was a story of independence, wanting to be recognized by Iron Man; the second was a story of succession, choosing his own path while being expected to be the next Iron Man; and the third was a story of responsibility, learning the proposition that 'with great power comes great responsibility' through personal loss.
And this fourth film showed us the completed form of him as a hero, completely shedding the 'young' feel of the past.
With a story that puts him on par with the legends of the past both mentally and physically, while also restoring his anonymity and gaining public recognition, it serves as a perfect launchpad for the developments to come.
Aside from the fact that Peter became Jean Grey's mentor, he is in a uniquely neutral position with no grudges in any direction, making him a very easy hero to use in future developments.
The introduction has gotten long, but I want to touch on the content as well.
First of all, the drama and romance parts have overwhelming persuasiveness, making it incredibly immersive.
It's really great that MJ and Ned, the main members, don't easily regain their memories after the introduction where Peter Parker's existence is erased from the world.
The symbol of this is the scene where he pulls up just his mask to kiss her, an homage to the Sam Raimi version.
Wait, he only shows half his face when he drinks coffee too, right? 😂
I'm slow on the uptake, so I was convinced that Jean Grey could only possess humans in a chain, so I never predicted that MJ, whom he swung up to the top of the building, had been taken over.
That's precisely why the ruthless treatment didn't diminish her standing cultivated in the X-Men series or her stature as a villain in this film (she did make Spider-Man say 'I lose'), and I was genuinely relieved that MJ didn't regain her memories through some cheap, recycled plot device.
Skipping ahead a bit to the second half, after reading the letter Peter wrote for MJ, her answer that 'I can't love you because I don't have a single memory of you' was the most natural response possible. If it had turned into a cringey 'I remembered! I love you!' moment, I would have left the theater and gone home right then, so I was truly relieved by this as well.
The plot involving MJ, Jean, and Ned would have been ruined without exaggeration if even a comma's worth of nuance or balance had been missing, so it was really good that it was handled with such care.
As mentioned above, Peter's emotions as a young man are depicted quite realistically in the scene at Ned's house party.
Peter goes against his own convictions to follow them, driven by the motive of 'being curious about how his former best friend is doing'—a motive that is immature but painfully relatable.
There's a scene where he witnesses MJ kissing her current boyfriend and is so shocked he can't hide his agitation, causing his hormonal balance to go haywire. It reminds us that even though he has chosen a path of hardship, he is still just a boy in the middle of growing up.
I have a strong fondness for his goodness—he shows human weakness, like wanting to lean on someone at times, but never excessively advertises it to those around him—and that is likely why the audience empathizes with him so deeply.
In the first place, using this plot as the trigger for his power awakening is incredibly stylish and I love it!!!!!!!!!
Also, the handling of this film's villain, Jean Grey, is wonderful.
As a way to fend off a superhuman with power on par with the Scarlet Witch, I was genuinely moved by the method of using the premise of entering her mind and having Aunt May lecture her, linking them by saying 'You're in the same situation as Peter.'
While twisting Peter's history and growth from the first three films into Jean's situation, Peter's first job after completing his hormone control (achieving spiritual fulfillment as a hero) was not an expression of violence, but a reform of the villain's consciousness, and then the selflessness of catching a sniper bullet with his strengthened body! Including the surprise of the V-Max, it's a perfect script with no flaws!
The only thing I'm left wondering about—and this might be a misunderstanding—is that before the Hulk battle, there was a scene where Jean Grey, sitting in the director's chair, suddenly seemed to stare at us through the camera for about 3 seconds. Does that mean she's aware of the fourth wall? It was a cut that felt quite unnatural and intentional in terms of direction.
Not only is the core drama excellent, but the action that fleshes it out is truly top-tier, with no gaps where the tension drops.
I'd love to touch on the multi-faceted and meticulous swinging depictions in detail (especially the tank and The Hunt parts), but the first thing I have to jump on is the existence of the Hulk.
The presence of the primal Hulk, who grows 1.5 times in size when Jean's telekinesis (shackles) is removed, was irresistible.
For someone like me who found it painful to watch a rational monster like 'Smart Hulk,' this was a highly satisfying performance.
Are you watching, She-Hulk? Red Hulk? This is the real deal, you know?
The Punisher's pea-shooter is nothing more than a tickle attack to the Hulk, and the scene where the cold-blooded Punisher is pressured by Spider-Man, asking 'You don't want to fight the Hulk, do you?', and honestly gets scared and says 'Yeah,' is also the best.
The direction that promotes the Hulk's ferocity while not forgetting the comedy, and the exquisite sense of balance that uses the Punisher skillfully to keep things from swinging too far into seriousness.
No, Kevin Feige, you should have done this from the start! You can do it! It was a Hulk battle where I was struggling with that conflict (and joy).
And, speaking of the theme of a growth story through films 1-4, perhaps because he has become too much of an icon as 'Spider-Man,' there were many scenes in this film where I wanted to look away from his painfully self-destructive behavior.
The crazy visual of him taking off his suit but keeping his hood on to have a meeting in a mixed bath is particularly symbolic. Through the mismatched visual of 'everyone is naked (i.e., their true selves/honest feelings), but only he refuses to show his face (i.e., his true identity),' the film is merely expressing humorously the serious reality that Peter is currently unable to form normal human relationships with society or others (i.e., he has fallen into communication failure).
This goes beyond the scope of a simple gag scene; it's heartbreaking that it's just showing the painful self-neglect of Peter, who has been cut off from his connection to the world, in a comical way.
Take responsibility, Mysterio! 😠💢
The exact opposite of the second Sam Raimi film, where he struggled for the sake of his loved one and lost his powers, this Peter has taken on the responsibilities of an adult and ultimate loneliness, resulting in him throwing away his entire private life to bury himself in hero activities, literally assimilating into a 'spider' mentally as well.
Even the perfect emotional control (hormone control) he achieved is, from another perspective, a spectacular self-sacrifice that thoroughly crushes his own happiness and potential as a human being. It is so sad and ironically beautiful in its construction that the act of 'healing,' which he worked so hard to achieve in the previous film NWH to save the villains, functions in this film like a curse that sacrifices and wears himself down.
The fact that he ends the film with room for growth (power expansion) left makes me sympathize with his future.
It's no use, I'm completely emotionally invested, so I'm going to evaluate this film with a biased eye.
The hand sign between Ned and Peter at the end was the most moving part of the film 🥺
If I were to leave one complaint, or rather a wish, it's that since the trend of resolving things with villains through therapy has continued since Thunderbolts, I want to see a flashy, manly battle in Doomsday.
Director Destin Daniel Cretton, I'm a huge fan of NARUTO, so I have high expectations for a live-action adaptation.
Also, I'm accepting it casually, but Thunderbolts already hinted that the X-Men series had arrived on Earth-616, but I was genuinely scared when Jean Grey appeared 😟
If Robert Downey Jr. is allowed to be Doom, wouldn't it be fine for Chris Evans to be the Human Torch? 😂