(film review) - Spider-Man: Brand New Day

I made this film an absolute priority because I knew there was no way I'd avoid spoilers for long. This is one of those event movies. Like The Odyssey, I booked my ticket on the day, but this time it was even worse. The best seats had already gone, entire screenings were greyed out, and when I arrived at the cinema, it was absolutely rammed. This film is going to make all the money.

Before going in, a friend who had already seen it gave it a solid 7/10. Having now watched it myself, I completely understand that score... although I'd probably rate it a little higher. This feels like the beginning of a brand-new Spider-Man trilogy, and more importantly, it feels like a completely different era. If the first three Tom Holland films were Peter Parker growing up, Brand New Day is where adulthood begins.

The tone, style, and execution are noticeably more mature and character-driven. That's not a criticism of Jon Watts' trilogy—I loved those films—but watching Homecoming and then Brand New Day back-to-back is like watching the Harry Potter films evolve. The world has grown up, and so has Peter Parker. I really enjoyed this film, and here's why.


The film opens by reminding audiences who Peter Parker is, the sacrifices he's made, and everyone he's lost while being Spider-Man. He's still New York's friendly neighbourhood hero, but when the Department of Damage Control comes under attack, Spider-Man teams up with its director to track down the mysterious culprit. The problem? This new threat can influence other people, making them incredibly difficult to stop. Alongside the investigation, Peter is still trying to balance being Spider-Man, being Peter Parker, and protecting the people closest to him without putting them in danger.

I do have to admit that my viewing experience wasn't ideal. Cinema etiquette was practically non-existent. People turned up late, shining phone torches down the already clearly lit and labelled steps. Others decided taking photos with the flash on was somehow acceptable. Half a row realised they were sitting in the wrong seats and shuffled around mid-film. Sitting on the aisle probably didn't help either, as I noticed absolutely everything. At one point I genuinely wanted to shout, "Oi! You with the phone, cut it out!" It wasn't constant, but it happened often enough to keep pulling me out of the experience. I even heard a baby crying twice—which honestly bothered me far less than the endless phone screens lighting up the cinema.

As for the film itself, it's top-notch. Maybe it runs a touch long, although that feeling was probably amplified by everything happening around me. There are a handful of nitpicks, but nothing major. I got genuinely emotional a couple of times, especially during one particular fake-out halfway through. I was furious... in the best possible way. That's exactly the reaction Destin wanted.

The story is excellent, but what really stood out was the character work. Tom Holland and Zendaya share some of the strongest scenes the franchise has ever produced. Their conversations feel genuine, mature, and earned; you feel the growth and weight of the past being carried by Peter. The MCU also feels wonderfully alive here, with plenty of familiar faces, background cameos, and subtle hints about where everything is heading next. Even the post-credit scene teases another intriguing step in Peter's future.

Visually, this film looks fantastic. The cinematography is gorgeous, the score is outstanding, and despite some large-scale action sequences, everything remains clear and easy to follow. You really feel like you are Spider-Man swinging through a real New York City. Everything felt authentic. The fight choreography is excellent, the pacing of the action works brilliantly, and the humour lands throughout. Spider-Man is as witty as ever, but a surprising amount of the comedy comes from Frank Castle. Yes, The Punisher. Oddly enough, his foul-mouthed personality works perfectly alongside Spider-Man's lighter energy.

Performance-wise, everyone delivers. Tom Holland and Zendaya give what I'd easily call their best performances in these roles. You can genuinely see both the actors and their characters maturing. The same goes for Sadie Sink, Michael Mando, and Jon Bernthal. The chemistry between everyone feels effortless and believable.

Despite featuring plenty of MCU world-building, this still feels like a relatively intimate Spider-Man story. The film even jokes about itself being "small potatoes" several times, which genuinely made me laugh, but it's also what we want from a Spider-Man movie. Not every film must save the world, you know? But beneath that smaller scale are some fascinating ideas that clearly point towards much bigger things. Without spoiling anything, there's one concept that, in the future, could involve either two companies or the company evolving into another company that I can easily see becoming a major storyline or major antagonist moving forward. You'll know exactly what I mean when you see it/catch it.

Although Brand New Day is very different from Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home, it probably shares the most DNA with No Way Home—just with a far more mature perspective. The stakes may not be universe-ending this time, but Peter's personal struggles hit much harder because they're grounded and relatable, and we have all seen and felt it. By the end, the film has something surprisingly meaningful to say about carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders and accepting that you don't always have to face it alone.

Go and see this film before someone inevitably spoils it for you.

(trailer review) - Crime 101

First of all, sometimes I hate seeing a bunch of familiar actors in a movie. Do not get me wrong, I do like a lot of these actors, but sometimes I wonder, why do you not have up-and-coming actors for movies that the audience do not know of, and not necessarily phase the already established actors out, but to at least bring new actors in, talented ones anyway. I know they do actually do this because how do you think Chris Hemsworth got her? With that said, I know Hollywood is about making money and having bankable talent, so when I saw the thumbnail initially, I wondered, who is in this? That looks like Mark Ruffalo and Halle Berry (as my eyes focused towards the middle of the picture), so I did not even notice Chris Hemsworth really or the actor on the far right. But then, as I was watching the trailer, I found it hella fun to say, "Oh look, it's Hemsworth!" Nice seeing him in something else that isn't Marvel and playing Thor (not like he only does that and is only known for that, I mean he is Captain James T. Kirk's father and he is in other movies such as Extraction for Netflix, and other), but then I saw Halle Berry and my mind instantly went to Swordfish, thinking Hemsworth was in that, ummm, no he wasn't. But then my brain went back to Marvel and was like "Haha, it's Thor, Storm and the Hulk all in one movie", then realised when I saw Barry Keoghan, "Oh and the guy from Saltburn and Eternals!" I couldn't remember his character's name in Marvel, but it was a Marvel "collection" in my head. But as the trailer went on, I thought, this actually might actually be decent.

So the trailer starts off with Chris's character standing around on the roadside and being approached by Halle, who guesses the type of car Chris is waiting for. Later on, she states she is good at reading people. But as the trailer goes on, where it looks like he might be trying to recruit her for heists by assessing high value targets within her business as an insurer, it looks like Mark Ruffalo, (straight off of Task - because he is an officer in that and that looks great, i must see also), is the police officer trying to track these robberies along the I101 freeway and link the robberies to Chris and its a game of cat and mouse where Chris leaves evidence/clues out of habit per job, and Mark is closing in. The exchange in the car near the end is immaculate and reminded me a little bit of the Vulture and Spider-Man conversation in Homecoming. At this point in the movie, does Mark know he has the thief driving him or was that an innocent conversation? I think Mark knows, and it is all very intense. Seeing Corey Hawkins and Nick Nolte is nice, and I hope they have decent roles. When the trailer ended, I was like "THIS, I MUST SEE! Plus, I love the play on words, Crime 101.

(film review) - Avengers: Endgame

I'm alive.  It's 2019 and I am alive to see the day when I can watch a Marvel Superhero movie that has 28+ characters (or so) fighting a great evil in a compelling storyline which has taken 11 years to do.  Now I don't mean, it took them 11 years to write the story, maybe 11 months, but the plan was to get to THIS POINT.  The 22nd Movie and the sequel to Avengers: Infinity War to finally complete the Infinity Saga which started with Ironman back in 2008.  Amazing.  I mean this is an amazing feat that nearly every movie studio and their grandparent with their pet has been trying to do as stated in my Infinity War Review.

Universal tried it with their 'Dark Universe', which was meant to be a combination of Monster Movies within the same universe.  Wannabe franchises are announcing first films and also mentioning sequels before they have even wrapped shooting of their first movie, like Power Rangers, because they want to be like the Fast and Furious franchise that has now spun off a Spin-Off with two of their most popular stars...and the trailer looks good! And then you get gems like John Wick.  A man who just goes around killing a bunch of people who were responsible for killing his dog...a present from his terminoloy ill wife.  Not a lot to that story or plot for that matter, but it doesn't try to be anything else.  Touching, I guess but not ground breaking... but they now have dates for a 4th Chapter!!!  Why, because John Wick is great!  I say that, to say this...People, the public, will invest their time and hard earned monies into good stories that has lore and connectivity within the world that they are built in and Endgame has done that over 11 years.  But is it any good you ask? Did The Russo brothers stick the landing and tie a nice tidy bow around the Infinity Saga!?  Considering the last movie, Infinity War was sooo jam-packed with information, some may even say dense; and with how it ended... the answer, is YES! YES! YES!

The film picks up moments after the immediate ending of Infinity War then time jumps to 5 years later when the world almost looks post-apocalyptic.  The world is trying to move on but our main heroes, they cannot.  So, with the surprise arrival of Ant-Man, our failed heroes collectively devise a plan and build up enough courage to band together and do 'Whatever It Takes' (like it says in the trailer), in order to fight for a better tomorrow...even if that means taking the fight back to Thanos no matter the cost.

If I say anything more than what I have just said, would spoil the movie entirely, but what I will say is, the accomplishment of successfully linking ALL 21 movies that came before it and possibly acknowledging all the heroes that came before, is most definitely Knighthood Territory.  Even the trailers didn't give you anything regarding plot.  How do you give service to possibly 28 characters in a 3hr movie, (yes 3 hours, pee before you go in and drink nothing all day) and have a film feel like it gave every single character reasonable time to shine or better yet, acknowledgement, yet not have the film feel like it is dragging to get to the end?  How do you successfully complete major and minor story-arcs for major and minor characters?  How do you keep viewers engaged?  How do you have every bit of dialogue or scene not feel like it is completely unnecessary?  Well, the Russo Brothers have done that and I can assure you, when the movie finishes (Unless you have small bladder issues), you will want more, especially if you are a fan!  It is a slow build up to an AMAZING end.  It is funny in the right places.  Sad in places.  But I kid you not! The EXCITEMENT and PURE SPECTICAL in particular scenes will have you cheering if you have been watching these movies from 2008 as there is a lot of connectivity.  My cinema lit up!  At this point, there is no point mentioning the acting...we are 11 years deep and where every film in their little pockets of trilogies and soon to be trilogies and/or stories, have been getting better over the years...bar Ironman 3 (as I didn't really like that one), it goes without saying that practically every character brought their A-Game.

Have a watch as this is the end of a story-arc that has been meticulously thought out and planned with a few hiccups in places over the years, but managed to stick the landing, probably the best way something like this could ever can.  This film is not exempt from being nit-picked to death, if that is your thing, but as a whole, this movie was very well done and those things you may want to nitpick in the grand scheme of things is likely, fan wishes - fanboy.  Come At Me Bro!  So, well done Russo's, well done.

(film review) - Avengers: Age of Ultron

The bar has been raised. Joss did such a great job with the first Avengers (Avengers Assemble) movie, that he had to find a way to top himself. Or at least, match bar for bar, his first Avengers film. Did he do it? Well, in Whedon we trust, right? Let's get down to it without any further delay.

The Avengers pick up where Captain America: The Winter Soldier left off. If you do not know the Winter Soldier story, shame on you. Basically, the events which occur in that film have a ripple effect which spills out onto the Marvel Cinematic Universe and directly into this film. Just like how the events which occur in the first Avengers film have a ripple effect which spills out onto Ironman 3.
Ironman (Robert Downey. Jr), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johanson), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) & Hulk (Mark Ruffulo) are looking for Loki's Scepter which are in the hands of Hydra leader Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (this was seen in the end credits of Captain America: The Winter Soldier). He has been using it to conduct experiments to create some form of enhanced beings/super soldiers and used them on the Maximoff twins, Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quick Silver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Once they get a hold of the scepter and obviously being exhausted from all the globetrotting, Tony Stark jump-starts and creates a peace keeping programme named Ultron (James Spader) to help assist with the work they are doing all over the world so that the Avengers are not stretched so thinly. However, Ultron learns how humans treat each other and decides that humans are a danger to themselves, so he conjures up a plan to amend this problem. With both the Avengers and Ultron seeing each other as the threat to humanity, they battle it out. The End.

This is the general semi-detailed synopsis of the film in which you can pick up from watching the trailers and having watched The Winter Soldier, Avengers & Ironman 3, you should have a rough idea of where everyone's mind is at and where each character is at this point in their lives. However, there is a lot more going on in this film. Not only do we have guest appearances from War Machine (Don Cheadle), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) & Heimdall (Idris Elba), this film seems to have edited out a lot of scenes/plots, but managed to sow enough seeds for future Marvel films. There were many rumours flying around about other characters in this film in which I either missed or ultimately, they were edited out. I mean, where was Captain Marvel?

If you do not know the slate of films to be released by Marvel for the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as it stands, Ant-Man (Finishes Phase 2), Captain America: Civil War (Starts Phase 3), Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Spider-Man (Untitled Spider-Man Reboot [Yes Reboot]), Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Avengers Infinity War Part 2 & Inhumans (Finishes Phase 3). As it stands, this is the line up.
This film, Age of Ultron manages to somehow promote, hint or grant us viewers, Easter Eggs for almost every single film in their Phase 3 Slate. Although these were woven into the storyline quite neatly, I felt that by the end of the film, the film ended with an Anticlimax. Well, at least for me and a few of my friends. I just felt like something was missing and I needed more. A lot of details were left out which were either glossed over or never explained at all (will probably be explained in a movie tie-in comic [But I don't read comics] in which you would need to read to have a few questions answered) and I also felt that some elements of the film were rushed. I thought Ironman was not going to be Ironman after Ironman 3!? However, with that said, the pacing of the film was soo relentless, the 141 minutes (2hrs and 21mins) did not feel like it at all. To be fair, if they just made it a 3hr movie, I don't think anyone would have cared. I surely wouldn't have.

But the biggest question of them all is, 'Is this film better than the first one?' As I stated once in my review for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, it is human nature to compare. We do it all the time. Sometimes we do not even realise we do it. And people will compare a Marvel film with a Marvel film whether or not it is in the same universe or not or they will compare comic book movie to comic book movie. I gurantee you, people will compare Ant-Man to Age of Ultron and Fantastic 4 to Ant-Man and Age of Ultron. To answer this question, I will say this. Had you watched this film first, there is an absolute guarantee that this film is the BEST marvel movie you have ever seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (dependant on how you feel about The Winter Soldier). Had you watched the first Avengers film afterwards, you'd feel like, "Meh, it was really good, but I've kinda seen it all before!". Now, I'm not sure if this is the feeling of fatigue from the onslaught of comic book movies, almost 3 a year, but I did not leave the cinema thinking, "DAMN, THAT FILM WAS EXCELLENT, I NEED TO SEE IT AGAIN!!!". But with Captain America: the Winter Soldier, I did. This could well be down to expectations, I had already set from before the film started, but we will see what people think once they have seen it and if this film will top the Box Office numbers the first Avengers made. $1.518 BILLION!!! I mean, everything about the movie is great. I was only being nit-picky earlier. If anything, this movie is most definitely on parr with the first film. The fight scenes and teamwork were phenomenal. But what would we have expected from Joss? I mean, in Whedon We Trust, Right? RIGHT!!

Go watch it!

P.S. There is nothing after the credits finish rolling!

(film review) - The Avengers

I just need to start this off first and foremost by saying, Hulk Smash.

So, the moment we have all been waiting for. A film with so much stars and warrants soo much awesomeness that has to be cradled and supported with a good or worthy enough storyline that the people, the viewers and the fans are satisfied and can't complain or want to, do, saying the storyline was rubbish but the action was great. Expendables.

I ask, who is your favourite superhero? Ok, from the Marvel Universe? Ok, ok, from these recent films building up to The Avengers?

The idea of the Avengers Initiative is to have a band of heroes protecting Earth when Earth needs them the most from a force that your favourite Superhero could not manage alone. Cue, Hulk Smash. These Heroes would need to work together and band as a team to conquer the evil so that us normal, boring, unsuperintelligent, freak accident-free and/or mutant cell-free dwellers of Earth may carry on living our lives.

This film is just great.

I'm not just saying that for the special effects, the storyline was pretty decent too. Just to recap and hopefully in chronological order.
Ironman (Robert Downey, Jr) caught the attention of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and mentioned the Avengers Initiative to him. Nick then went to General Thunderbolt to talk to him about the whereabouts or "release" of The Incredible Hulk (Edward Norton, but replaced by Mark Ruffalo) and then the Asgardian Demi-God Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and his mischievous brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) comes to earth, just to level a small town around the same time Tony Stark had to battle Whiplash. Loki then comes back with an army of beings from out of space called Chitauri's (Skrulls) in which they intend to use the Tesseract in which The Red Skull used trying to rule the world, thwarted by Captain America (Chris Evans), to rule the world. The problem is, will the Avengers work together successfully and manage to stop the enemy?
At one point the film felt like it was dragging a touch, but then I'm pretty sure every superhero has a dry spell, no?
Make sure you watch. Joss Whedon did damn well on this one. Funny, sad, even funnier, awesome and when things were looking like, resistance is futile, the film comes up on top. And I personally think you can expect a lot of things from this film, but come away from it, totally satisfied and geared up for part 2.

And I end this saying, Hulk Smash!!!