Spider-Man: Brand New Day
8.1/10 stinky bananas
Pretty damn good.
I will say, it's the worst of the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies. That's not an indictment on the movie; it just speaks to how highly I think of the other Tom Holland Spidey movies.
Anyway, I'm going to begin with my complaints, then circle back to what I liked. First off, the villain, or the lack thereof. I'm sure I'm not the first person to have this thought, but the naysayers are not wrong this time. A GREAT Spider-Man movie needs a GREAT villain. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The proof is in the pudding: Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin (all-time villain in not one but two Spider-Man movies), Alfred Molina's Doc Ock (excellent villain in a not-so-good movie), Michael Keaton's Vulture (criminally underrated performance), and Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio (maybe this one is debatable, but I thought he was great). Jean Grey is not the villain; it's very obvious from the get-go that the DODC guy is the "true" villain. And he's a terrible one at that. Very bland and generic. He has absolutely zero depth to his character. His only purpose is to move the plot forward. I like Jean Grey and what they did with her character, but you've got to give this DODC guy some juice. I don't even remember his name, and I just watched the movie.
Secondly, I think the dialogue in the script is a touch weaker than its predecessors. It felt a little clunky at times. It's not bad, just not as sharp as the other Tom Holland Spider-Man movies.
Anyway, I fucking love the suit. Best Spidey suit in any movie. At times, I got lost staring at the suit. Beautiful.
I like Jean. I'm looking forward to seeing more of her. I really like her relationship with Peter. I was not anticipating a bond between the two forming. I fucking love the Aunt May / Jean memory scene. It's a work of art. Great way to bring Aunt May back - telling Jean (technically Peter) exactly what she needed to hear when she needed to hear it, as only Aunt May can do.
The action is strong. The Hulk and The Punisher are great additions. Punisher and Spidey had a real buddy-cop feel to them, and it was nice to see The Hulk fully unleashed once again (no more of this smart Hulk crap).
That's it. Damn good movie. Could've been better. Laters on the menjay.