David R. Walker

Posts Tagged ‘Jacob Batalon’

Spiderman: Brand New Day

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal, Mark Ruffalo, Jacob Batalan, Florence Pugh, Lisa Colon-Zayas, Tramell Tillman, Marisa Tomei

Running Time: 2 hours and 25 minutes

Film Rating:  8 out of 10

Tom Holland, the 30 year old star of the Spiderman franchise has come a long way from his first Spiderman film which was released back in 2017, when he was just 21 years old. From Spiderman: Homecoming to Spiderman: Brand New Day, Holland has embraced the role of the legendary New York web slinger as he grew from a high school kid that discovered superhero powers to his latest film as a late twenties young man who is finding his new powers both a burden and a blessing.

Five years after Spiderman: No Way Home, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton injects some oriental charm into Spiderman: Brand New Day in the form of red clad ninjas. When the trailer for this film was released, I knew it would do well at the box office.

After all who doesn’t love Spiderman fighting ninjas?

The cinema houses will be packed. Indeed they are. This film is showing in multiple cinemas at every cinema house across the planet.

Along with an extremely buff and competent Tom Holland as Spiderman, Zendaya reprises her role as the elegant MJ along with Oscar nominee Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher, Poor Things) as Bruce Banner aka The Hulk and Jacob Batalan as Ned Leeds.

In the first three films there was always a clear villain. In Spiderman: Brand New Day, the villain is an elusive shape shifter that can enter people’s bodies and move onto the next one, which in a city like New York that becomes extremely handy.

Enter the fabulous Sadie Sink (The Whale) as the vengeful Jean Grey as she tries to penetrate the ironically named department of damage control led by Bill Metzer played by Tramell Tillman.

Before Spiderman can meet his younger, fierce and feisty villain, he must battle The Hulk and flying red ninja’s in some epic and beautifully shot fight sequences whose impressive visual effects should be rewarded.

Naturally the chemistry between Zendaya and Tom Holland is undeniable but it is really Holland’s growth into the role of Spiderman that is most exhilarating and is the reason this film is so spectacular. A notable scene between Spiderman and Yelena Belova from Black Widow fame is clever and quite sexy as they meet in a steam bath. Oscar nominee Florence Pugh (Little Women) reprises her role as Yelena Belova as she helps Spiderman figure out what Jean Grey wants.

Coupled with the buddy scenes between Tom Holland and Jon Bernthal, Spiderman: Brand New Day works on multiple levels as a fantastic superhero film with high production values in the capable hands of the Hawaiian director that knew exactly what would make this film so successful.

Set entirely in New York, Spiderman: Brand New Day is a celebration of one of the most iconic superhero’s as he outgrows his teenage years and becomes a capable and brave man, trying to win back the girl he loves while dealing with the loss of his beloved aunt May played in flashback scenes by Oscar winner Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny), while battling malevolent forces and looking after his own health.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton’s Spiderman: Brand New Day gets a film rating of 8 out of 10 and is darker in tone but is definitely worth seeing.

Highly recommended viewing for those that love the entertaining web slinging franchise.

Spiderman: No Way Home

Director: Jon Watts

Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, Benedict Wong, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Charlie Cox, J. K. Simmons, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Angourie Rice, Rhys Ifans, Thomas Haden Church, Tom Hardy, Jacob Batalon, Tony Revolori

Film rating: 7.5 out of 10

Running Time: 2 hours and 28 minutes

Director Jon Watts went all out in the third Spiderman film to feature Tom Holland in Spiderman: No Way Home, capitalizing on both the success of all the previous Spiderman films and expertly capitalizing on Sony’s new deal with Marvel Studios to incorporate Spiderman into The Avengers as part of a multi-million dollar trademark agreement between Sony and Disney Studios.

The sprightly Tom Holland reprises his role as Spiderman, but now he has completed school and him and his friends are applying to go to MIT which is the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.

Before Peter Parker aka Spiderman can enter college, he has to deal with the immense media fallout of his alter ego being blown wide open by the previous villain Mysterio played by Jake Gyllenhaal in 2019’s Spiderman: Far From Home.

With pure imagination and skill, director Jon Watts makes Spiderman: No Way Home a far darker comic book adventure as Peter Parker has to contend with some uninvited guests from his previously unknown past, courtesy of a spell which he requested the pompous wizard Doctor Strange to cast on everyone forgetting that Peter Parker is in fact Spiderman. The spell obviously goes terribly wrong….

Much to his horror, some past evil villains emerge to take revenge again on Spiderman including Oscar winner Jamie Foxx (Ray) as Electro; Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (Platoon, Shadow of a Vampire, The Florida Project, At Eternity’s Gate) as the Green Goblin and Alfred Molina as Doc Octopus.

Spidey has to contend with these new villains as well as pressure from an increasingly gruff Doctor Strange played again by Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) who continually treats the young Peter Parker like an irresponsible college kid, which he essentially is.

Without giving any spoilers away, Spiderman: No Way Home is a fun filled Super hero film which will be sure to satisfy all the fans of the previous films. Audiences must stay beyond the closing credits to catch a glimpse of another Marvel monster who is desperate to meet the wayward web slinger.

Tom Holland does a wonderful job as Spiderman and even looks quite buff in the role compared to the first to films, but it is really director Jon Watts that makes the entire 2 and a half hour spectacle visually impressive channelling all that influence which acclaimed British director Christopher Nolan had on him. Clearly, Inception played a big part in Jon Watt’s directorial maturity.

Spiderman: No Way Home gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is immensely enjoyable family viewing.

Judging by how full the cinema was, this film is the theatrical blockbuster that 2021 so desperately needs. Watch it in cinemas now.