So I went and watched Spider-Man: Brand New Day last week with my MJ, and honestly, I knew this one was going to make me emotional before it even started. The last film ended in such a heartbreaking way that I could already feel the tears coming.
I still can’t watch No Way Home without crying. The moment Tobey and Andrew stepped out of Ned’s portal? I was gone. Tangiweto through that movie. Some people won’t get it, but there are a lot of us who grew up with Spider-Man. For me it wasn’t the comics, it was the films. Seeing Tobey’s Spider-Man and hearing that theme music is basically the soundtrack to my teenage years. And yes, I was working at United Video back then, which makes the nostalgia hit even harder.
Fast forward to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. Even at 39, I still connect with Spidey. This film genuinely felt like it was made directly for me, hahaha.
The grief Peter is carrying after losing Aunt May, and then having MJ not remember him, felt incredibly real. There’s a loneliness in that story that I think a lot of us understand. I joke that I identify as a half man hahaha, but truly, I understand that rejection and hurt. There are so many TikTok and Instagram edits of Peter swinging through the city looking like he doesn’t even want to shoot the next web, like he almost wants to fall. We’ve all had moments where life feels that heavy.
What surprised me most was how human this movie felt. Not superhero human. Real human.
There were definitely a couple of scenes that made the whole cinema gasp, especially seeing MJ kiss another guy instead of Peter. Oof. The collective cringe was real.
But the beauty of the film was in the subtle moments. Jean being treated like the villain, when she wasn’t really the villain at all, was such a powerful choice. She was moving through her own mamae, and when she connected with Peter’s grief it helped heal something in her too. Seeing one of my favourite X-Men characters show up like that was honestly one of the coolest moments in the film, and Sadie was perfectly cast.
I also loved that they used real fans in some of the crowd scenes. The little boy doing the web shooting pose toward Peter felt so genuine that it made me tear up, and then I found out it was genuine. You could feel the love for Spider-Man in that moment.
That’s what I think this film’s director achieved so well. He and Tom Holland somehow made a Marvel movie feel deeply personal again. There’s definitely been a bit of Marvel fatigue lately, but this movie reminded me why these stories mattered in the first place. It felt much closer to the heart that Stan Lee always wanted Marvel to have.
I even noticed it before the movie started. When we walked into the cinema, the kids there felt excited in such a warm way. Spider-Man still gives today’s kids and young adults a little window into a world that feels kinder and more connected, and I loved seeing that.
So yes, I laughed, I gasped, and I cried.
And now I’m just sitting here praying that MJ remembers Peter.
Please, Marvel. Pleasseeee
P.S SOUNDTRACK WAS FIRE!!!
STEVE LACY ” oh yeah? ” & TAME IMPALA ” loser ” 11/10
