Small Potatoes: A Quick Brand New Day Review
I saw Spider-Man: Brand New Day this past Saturday and will probably see it again sometime next week. Here are some of my initial thoughts and discussions inside my head. I’m jumping all over the place here! Once the DVD comes out, I’ll give a more detailed overview.
Extreme Spoilers for those who celebrate:
Damn this movie was fun and heartbreaking at the same time. This is the first time Peter is on his own as Spidey, really going into full blown adulthood!
The villains shown in the montage were great, I’d love to see more of them and their tech. Tarantula, Boomerang and Ramrod. Tombstone would have been a great crime boss but was only in the movie for a few seconds, his story wasn’t important. There was also Scorpion, who's been on deck and ready to bat since Homecoming. Was his armor made by the Tinkerer and Vulture? I wanted it too look a little more homemade, possibly from some Hammer Drones or old Iron Man armor. I also read on Twitter that my main main Paste Pot Pete was supposed to be in this movie as well. I hope they filmed something with that actor or have concept art for him: just some weird guy who fires super glue out of a painter’s gun. Oh, and Spidey uses The Shocker's glove against Hulk.
The way the filmmakers showed “The Possessed” and how they fluidly moved, it was unique and amazing. Plus, it was mathematically sound how it worked. When the credits were rolling, “The Possessed” got a whole block of names all to themselves. I surmised they’re all probably dancers or mimes. Plus, there’s a great Instagrams of people in movie theaters doing the choreography of “The Possessed.” I hope it becomes a trend and more people do it.
Also you notice things on TV screens: one woman’s watching Men in Black, Ned’s watching Empire Strikes Back.
I also think the organic webs thing is a huge deal: Peter # 1 (Tobey Maguire) had it in his movies, as did Ben Parker in Spider-Noir.
Peter: As all the trailers and interviews say, Peter is alone and utterly lonely. This time around, Peter doesn’t really have fraternal figures to look up to and have a mentor like Tony Stark or Dr. Strange or even Happy Hogan or the other Peters. Now, it’s primarily a woman that holds that role: his NYPD contact, Jean DeWolffe. He talks to her over the phone, checking out crime and preventing it. She’s the one who tells him to “get a life” and slow down. He has to learn that he can’t do everything all by himself and pledges to be more known and get friends. Because of his loneliness, his arachnid-ness is beginning to genetically develop more than he’d like. He’s got organic webs like Peter #1, advanced strength and black eyes. He’s going through spider-puberty because of his isolation.
MJ: She’s still wearing the Black Dahlia necklace; she knows it means something to her but she doesn’t quite know what. She lives with Ned and has a boyfriend who doesn’t quite understand her. She’s just as smart and clever as she’s been in the other movies, figuring things out for herself. In the movie, Jean possesses MJ and has her come along with Peter in order to protect her. She doesn’t freak out while being web-slung across the city and then fools Peter when he thinks Strange’s spell is broken after a kiss. She doesn’t love Peter because she doesn’t know him. However, after Jean’s massive power surge on Roosevelt Island, both Ned and MJ are possessed once again. I think Jean kinda rattled some Peter memories around for her because at the end of the movie, MJ’s at their secret rooftop and playing with the Black Dahlia necklace. No lovey reunion for these two yet, maybe next time!
Ned: If anybody’s changed since Midtown Science High School, it’s Ned Leeds. The character in Homecoming was a spitting image of Ganke Lee from Miles Morales’ Spider-Man comic run but has since morphed into his own guy-in-the-chair!!! He was originally wearing hats, being awkward at parties but was really good at computers and tech (I mean, there was a reason he was at a science-based high school for overachievers, plus he got an academic letter on his jacket). He made friends at the Decathalon, especially MJ. In BND, he’s fresh out of MIT, created his own popular app and people on the street know him – he’s throwing a great party in his apartment! Even though he doesn’t remember Peter, he’s still the same sweet best friend he’s always been. More spoilers, btw. The ending scene shows Peter finally stepping up and talking to Ned unprompted. They do their handshake purely through muscle memory and Ned says..”Peter?” I think he remembers everything and the spell is broken with him because of their pure friendship. Plus, Peter and the audience needs for him to have this win.
Frank: I like The Punisher. I really liked his new special where he kills exactly 100 people. He’s more human than he’s ever really been instead of focusing on his mental illness\PTSD. He’s frickin funny in this movie; I think his real life relationship with Tom Holland helps in the closeness of the two characters. Frank’s more human in this one, with genuine emotions and friendship and yes, love. He also brings to life a Civil War-era comic panel wherein Spider-Man is shot and the Punisher brings him to the ER.
Jean Gray: The secret identity that is secret no longer. This is the character Sadie Sink is playing in Brand New Day. A founding member of the X-Men with a huge comic history. In this one, she has a sister named Sarah who has the same powers. They never actually say mutant in this movie! Sadie Sink does a great job at being super scary and vulnerable at the same time. She develops a bond with Peter that ends up saving both their lives. One crazy thing that that’s part of her storyline is something called V-Max. You’d think its some kind of weapon or anti-mutant thing but it’s the last thing her sister ever saw – a vent that says a variant of V-Max. You could hear the whole theater realize this at the same time; the whole vibe changed.
Department of Damage Control: Both Peter and the DODC showed that people with powers/mutants can be controlled using science and technology. Jean’s own powers could be scientifically tracked, enough to capture her. Could the DODC actually scientifically transfer mutant powers to those of their choosing? Has their tech gotten that far? I never liked the DODC. Wonder Man showed that their boss was selectively prosecuting people based on numbers, pure political pressure and how much they can get out of them (which unfortunately is very familiar to the real world). This time, Director Metzger was committing war crimes and illegal human experimentation. The ending of this movie showed that Metzger was on the run. Does that mean only he did wrong, it wasn’t DODC policy? Does that agency still exist and can keep an eye on people with superior powers (aka the soon to be introduced mutants) and technology?
Bruce Banner \ The Hulk: No longer actively the Hulk, smart or otherwise. Bruce is now a professor at Empire State University in NYC and wears a gamma inhibitor to keep him from changing. He’s a minor celebrity teaching there, based on one of his students wearing green body paint and yelling “HULK SMASH!!” Fun thing to point out: One of his students is Peter’s old classmate Cindy Moon. It’s not the same actress (Tiffany Espensen) unfortunately, that would have been a neat call back. She’s presumably a student at ESU in genetics or something similar. Anyway, Jean needs to get into the DODC and calls on Dr. Banner (whom she presumably saw while rooting around in Peter’s brain) and gets him to get rid of the inhibitor and Hulk Out. When Smart Hulk emerged, Banner merged his smarts and personality with the body of the Hulk. The rage (which he’s angry all the time) didn’t go away, it was just buried super deep. Enough that Jean messing with Banner unlocks the Savage Hulk.
“No Banner. No Girl. Only Hulk!!”
Yelena Belova: A lot of people were freaking out because the rumor was that the initial meeting between Spidey and Yelena was going to be naked. Well, stop freaking out because it all turned out fine and relatively innocent. She’s the only government-authorized Avenger (with a Z) right now and it makes sense to have her be their point person. They officially identify her as “Black Widow” and she’s got juice. Her office (I guess she doesn’t like the Avengers Tower) is in a Russian Bath House and in order to meet with her (and to determine if they have any weapons) they have to strip down and soak. Like an early 80’s hair metal band video, the only fear of somebody getting exposed and exploited in this movie is Tom Holland. Absolutely ripped (and extremely bruised and cut), he goes into the water wearing his mask. Yelena describes Spidey’s crime problems as “small potatoes” while the Avengerz take care of “big potatoes.” I love her humor, sarcasm and accent in these movies, she’s a great comedic side part.
The Post-Credit Scene: They showed Ned’s Spidey Tracker app show Peter on the screen in New York, then flies over into outer space. What does this mean? I think there’s another Spider-Man on the FF ship that’s coming to Earth. I don’t think it means Miles Morales quite yet. We’ll have to find out.
All in all this was a great Spidey movie, well worth the wait. It could possibly be the best Spidey movie (although I really love No Way Home) but I need to see it again. Stay tuned!
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