This is not your father’s, mother’s, grandfather’s or grandmother’s Spider-Man. This is how a comic book character movie should be made. The lead character here may have superpowers, but he’s human in spirit and has a heart endowed with self-doubt, loneliness, fears, joys and yearnings, just like the rest of us.
The camera work led by cinematographer Brett Pawlak goes beyond anything seen before in the Spiderverse, with point-of-view shots filling the screen as our hero swings through the narrow spaces between skyscrapers in New York City, sometimes speeding like a drone, sometimes like a missile, often like a drunken boomerang. You will feel like you are swinging through the air with him. The smooth and precise editing of these shots adds to the realism of Spider-Man’s drops and spins.
New York City is not just a location backdrop here. It seems to have a persona of its own. The colors of its enormous skyscrapers seem to change with the city’s mood. The camera angles make you feel the grandeur, hugeness, and breathtaking heights of the city.
The music is varied and perfectly tuned to the visuals, thanks to superb composer Michael Giacchino.
This is one of the few films where special effects seem real. When a character’s mind is suddenly taken over, the image on the screen makes you feel the sudden loss of identity.
The film was directed by Dustin Daniel Cretton, a filmmaker, writer, and director from Haiku, Hawaii, who won a Nichol Scholarship for his screenplay for Short Term 12 in 2010, directed that film, which was praised by critics. Incidentally, his cinematographer for Short Term 12 was Brett Pawlak, who is director of photography for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, who have been writing partners for film and TV projects for many years, wrote the outstanding screenplay for this Spider-Man film.
The production designer for the gorgeous sets and backdrops for this movie is Charles Wood, creator of production design for Project Hail Mary, which was released earlier this year.
Though there have been extraordinary performances through the years defining the character of the web-slinging hero, I believe he has never been better represented than by Tom Holland. Holland shows the range of emotions that would be swirling inside a young man as he contends with changes in his own psyche and with his constantly switching identity. What makes Holland really shine as Spider-Man is that he began his career as a dancer, and Spider-Man is essentially a ballet dancer. I would love to see a classic choreographer create a Spider-Man ballet. You can Google “Tom Holland Ballerina Spin” and watch a cute short video of him teaching some elementary school kids to pirouette.
As a teen, Holland trained extensively in ballet, hip hop, acrobatics and gymnastics for his role in Billy Elliot the Musical in London’s West End. This background gives him the strength, balance and agility to make his character look genuine. As Spider-Man, Holland assumes positions that most people can’t replicate, and makes it look easy. The actor has now been playing “Peter Parker/ Spider-Man” since 2016.
Cretton enlisted legendary casting director Sarah Halley Finn to engage an extraordinary cast, many of whom are reprising roles in the continuing Spider-Man story. Florence Pugh has intense cameo scenes as “Yelena Belova / Black Widow.”
Zendaya agreed to play “MJ,” even though she was shooting three other projects at the same time – TV’s Euphoria, Dune Part Three and The Drama. Zendaya and Holland, who famously are husband and wife, both began their careers as dancers, one of the most solid bases for an actor’s training.
Sadie Sink, a charismatic redhead, plays a new character, “ Jean Grey.” You may recognize her from.
Jon Bernthal reprises his character Frank Castle/ The Punisher. You may have seen him as the sardonic spirit of Michael Barzatto in The Bear, or in the great movie Baby Driver, or in The Accountant, or The Wolf of Wall Street. Bernthal brings a powerful emotional punch to any production he’s part of.
It has been documented that between our teens and twenties. there are sweeping changes happening in our brains that affect our emotions and can cause upheaval in our sense of stability. The “brooding young man” character so often found in literature is based on reality. Even as a superhero, Spider-Man is experiencing this, and it is played perfectly by Holland.
All the characters go through real emotional arcs, and all are relatable. Every character materializes in great detail, without elaborate backstory. That’s a credit to the actors and the writers. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is alive with feeling and awe, and that is due to the creative genius of the writers, the director, the actors, and the filmmakers.
Bernthal noted, “It felt enormously human, how much connection to character and emotion there was, and to the fractured human connection between these characters.”
Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@gmail.com.
