I remember in 2022 going to the theatre with my best friend to see the new Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home. We walked out filled with emotion. The scenes were so powerful. I still vividly remember the scene of Peter Parker walking into the coffee shop where MJ worked. You could feel the tension; was he going to say something or not? I left the theatre so excited for the next movie. I couldn’t wait to see how this would evolve and grow.
This year’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day left me wondering what happened. This movie had many moments where I was taken out of it and reminded that this is a movie with a script. There was constant over-explaining of previous plotlines, flashback scenes in integral moments, and oddly unrealistic dialogue.
Constant flashbacks
The biggest issue in this movie for me was the constant use of flashbacks. It is important to let a moment breathe. The biggest case of this would be towards the middle of the movie when Peter sees MJ kissing her new boyfriend. This moment had the potential to be great. It is the worst-case scenario for Peter: MJ falling in love with someone new. In the movie, he sees her kiss this new man and he leaves upset. He goes around swinging through New York with his thoughts. You can’t even see his face, but you can feel the emotion. Until a TikTok edit, like a flashback of scenes with the two of them in the previous movies, popped up. This immediately took me out of the scene emotionally. The audience can tell that would be what he was thinking about; we didn’t need the movie to spoon-feed it to us. This dumbs down the movie.
Curry Barker, writer-director of the indie horror hit Obsession, tells YouTube, “YouTube taught me that a modern horror audience is very smart.” This sentiment applies to all audiences. Having a movie that lets the audience think will immediately improve the overall quality.
Fan Service & Over Explaining
The fan service in this movie was something I could not look past. It felt like every side character was only there to explain the past movies. For example, the scene where Peter meets with Yelena Belova. The dialogue here is so forced:
Y: Whereas the New Avengers are focusing on big potato stuff.
P: Right, okay. Well, there’s more to it than that, you know… the driver and the others who were helping… it was like someone was talking to me through them. Like someone was looking at me through their eyes.
Y: And you’re wondering if it’s mind control?
P: Exactly.
Y: Like how they used on me in the Red Room?
P: Exactly.
Y: And the other widows? Right. Right. No, I don’t think so.”
The Second Screen Rule
Recently, the media has had a big shift in how it reaches audiences. The general public is scrolling. Anyone can admit they’ve caught themselves scrolling in the middle of a show. According to Advanced Television, “86% of audiences use a second screen while watching live TV, whether it’s social media, messaging, or online shopping.” This hasn’t just changed how we view media; it has changed how producers create media. According to Will Tavlin’s Casual Viewing, Netflix is telling screenwriters to make things more obvious in the dialogue. These ideas don’t stop at television. These writing tactics have become so normalized that they have leaked into cinema. The art of show, don’t tell is dying.
Can Marvel Be Critiqued The Same?
Many fans argue that Marvel and others like it serve a different purpose than to be cinematic art. Digital Media Innovation Junior Katie Head says, “I don’t see Marvel movies as art. The movies are fun to watch, but they’re not art. They have a different purpose.” This type of thinking is everywhere, from fans to filmmakers. Martin Scorsese tells the New York Times, “I said that I’ve tried to watch a few of them and that they’re not for me, that they seem to me to be closer to theme parks than they are to movies as I’ve known and loved them throughout my life, and that in the end, I don’t think they’re cinema.”
According to ComicBook, “In June 2018, Marvel Studios president and producer Kevin Feige said Marvel is more concerned with captivating moviegoers over winning favor at the Oscars or other major film award ceremonies.” In short, this reads as a loophole to continue writing copy-paste movies.
This Is What Cinema Is All About
At the end of the day, many fans, including fellow Her Campus Writers like Zoie Tidemore, very much enjoy these movies. Different media is for different audiences. The great thing about movies is that audiences can come back and talk about them. Whether you like them or not, MCU movies get people in the theatres and talking. How many times have you seen Brand New Day in a TikTok or Instagram post? Cinema is made to be critiqued and enjoyed.