The Reelist

Tag: mcu

  • “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” review

    “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” review

    It’s no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been struggling for a while. There’s been a few hits here and there since Avengers: Endgame, but overall, the quality has been lacking. A new Spider-Man movie is almost always a safe bet to turn things around. So, the question is, does Spider-Man: Brand New Day provide the spark that Marvel Studios needs to build momentum towards the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday? Luckily for them, it does.

    Spider-Man: Brand New Day, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, is probably the most personal and introspective Spider-Man movie since Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. Set four years after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter is a bit of a lost cause. No one remembers him and he has no social life. The only thing that fulfills him is being Spider-Man and fighting crime in New York City. But there’s limits to that, and eventually all the pressure and responsibility start to affect him physically in unexpected ways. At the same time, a new threat emerges that is unlike anything he has encountered before.

    Tom Holland as Peter Parker

    Where Brand New Day truly shines is how grounded and personal it is. It’s got the usual big set pieces you would expect from a Spider-Man movie, but at its heart it’s a tale about loneliness, isolation, and how it’s okay to ask for help. This gives the film some emotional depth to an extent not seen in a Spider-Man movie since Spider-Man 2. While I don’t think it reaches the height of that film (not many superhero movies do), it feels refreshing to get a more grounded and personal superhero movie that deals with some timely themes. 

    Performances usually aren’t a noteworthy thing to point out when discussing superhero movies, but there’s a rare exception here. Tom Holland gives one of his best performances as a vulnerable Peter Parker/Spider-Man. He really sells a broken Peter Parker trying to find his place in the world. Jon Bernthal also shines as Frank Castle/The Punisher, giving one of his best performances as well as displaying good chemistry with Holland. The rest of the cast, notably Sadie Sink and Zendaya, also do a solid job in their roles. 

    Where I think Brand New Day stumbles a bit is that I think it has too many characters, and some characters are thrown in for the sake of being there. For example, from the trailers, it looked like Scorpion and The Hand were going to play big roles in the movie, but they ended up not being much of a factor. The movie would have been the same without them. Without going into spoilers, there’s also the fact that Sadie Sink’s character steals a bit too much of the focus away from Spider-Man. It sort of feels like Marvel was trying to introduce and set her character up for the future while also telling a Spider-Man story. It works to an extent, but the film still could have been more focused.

    Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/The Punisher

    Overall, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a bit of a rarity: a superhero movie with a brain and heart, despite its tendency to feel overstuffed. While it is very much a fun summer popcorn flick, it’s also a thoughtful examination of loneliness and the effects it can have on someone. Combine that with heartfelt performances and thrilling action, and the result is a real treat. Hopefully Marvel Studios can continue this momentum with Avengers: Doomsday at the end of the year.

    Rating: 4/5

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  • “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” review

    “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” review

    It’s no secret that Marvel Studios has been on a steady decline since the release of Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Since then, they have tried to incorporate many new characters into their universe, with mixed results. Here we have their first attempt at introducing the Fantastic Four. While there have been a few F4 movies before, they have all been mediocre to downright bad, and none have been able to crack the code, until now. Thanks to director Matt Shakman’s tight direction and an excellent cast, Marvel has produced by far the best F4 movie to date.

    Similar to what James Gunn did with Superman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps decides not to rehash the same origin story we’ve seen multiple times already. Instead, we are quickly caught up to speed with a few short scenes, which lays the groundwork for where the superhero team is at now. Set in the 1960s, the plot follows Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm as the known and beloved Fantastic Four. After Reed and Sue announce that Sue is pregnant, many people, including themselves, wonder if the child will also have special powers. In the meantime, a being known as the Silver Surfer visits Earth to warn of a cosmic entity called Galactus, who is targeting Earth for destruction. Without going into too much detail to avoid spoilers, this is the main conflict that sets the tone for the rest of the movie. 

    One of things I admire about this movie, among other things, is how smooth the pacing is. Oftentimes, comic book movies tend to be bloated and feel like a slog to get through, but not this one. Much of the credit for that goes to director Matt Shakman’s tight, well-paced direction and a well-written script. We’re introduced to the characters briefly, and we’re given enough time to get familiar with them before the main conflict is introduced. The movie is also incredibly self-contained. What I mean by that is that it feels like its actual own movie with a story to tell, instead of trying to do too much or set up other events and storylines down the road. Of course, at the end of the day this is a Marvel movie and there is a post-credits scene that does set up future events, but at least it’s just a post-credit scene. This all feels like such a breath of fresh air in the crowded comic book movie genre.

    Of course, this movie wouldn’t have worked nearly as well without its stellar cast, particularly Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic and Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman. These two are a step-up from past iterations of these characters. That’s also true for Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing. The cast also have good chemistry with one another, which not only adds to the believability of them as a superhero team, but also simply makes the interactions between the characters fun to watch. But it is Pascal and Kirby that really stand out, and their performances are some of the best in a Marvel movie in a long time. 

    Overall, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the movie Fantastic Four fans have been waiting a long time for. Shakman’s tight, well-paced direction and a stellar cast elevate it above many of Marvel’s recent entries, and it actually feels like its own movie without trying too much to set up other events. It’s been a while since you could say that about a superhero entry. 

    Rating: 4/5