326, Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Okay MCU Fans - let's get a sense of where we are:

My last MCU Blog was way back in 2013 with Blog #294: Thor: The Dark World - which was actually the last blog I wrote before the hiatus so it's fair to say quite a lot has happened since then.

For me - following Avengers: End Game, the franchise lost quite a bit of momentum and I never really got into the newer movies as much I did the original ones.  

Thor: The Dark World was actually only the 8th release at the time (MCU dated releases, not chronologically) being the 2nd of six movies in Phase 2 - and this recent outing from Spidey marks the 38th release (and the 2nd of four movies in Phase 6), culminating with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars (2026 & 2027 respectively) with Phase 7 penned in for 2028 releases.

All in - by the end of Phase 7 there will be a total of 43 movies making up the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) - and that doesn't include all of the TV shows and spin offs so I can't see this Multi-Billion Dollar franchise slowing down anytime soon.

So what can be said of Spider-Man: Brand New Day - well, it picks up around 5yrs after Spider-Man: No Way Home, with Spidey (Tom Holland) continuing on as NYC's  Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man (as he isn't really involved in Phase 5 of the MCU - which introduced us to the Marvels, Thunderbolts etc) and he's very much on the side-lines, watching his best friends MJ and Ned (Zendaya and Jacob Batalon) go through 4yrs at MIT, Graduation and now Apartment sharing, still without any knowledge of who Peter Parker is - following Dr Strange's Spell in the last outing.

It's been a very lonely time for him and you do feel sorry for his forced anonymity until a new enemy makes themselves known and Spidey is called in to help.

Tom Holland is my favourite Spiderman - It was great to see all three of them together in Spider-Man: No Way Home - along with all their respective villains and that movie, until now - was my favourite Spidey movie since Toby's first appearance but, this one is something special.

A little bit older - definitely wiser, all three main characters have now grown into themselves.  Ned is just a bigger, bolder version of teenage Ned, whereas MJ has this aura of questionability about her - almost knowing that something is missing from her life and not wanting to commit to anything, believing she is destined for something, or someone greater to enter her life. (Little does she know!)

I won't flag any spoilers in this - but there are certainly some elements of this movie that didn't happen that I really hoped would.  There is a little glimmer at the very end of the movie regarding the trio re-uniting properly and it's something that will absolutely (fingers crossed) be rectified in Spidey 5 (when it eventually happens - see the end of this blog) but nothing in the pipeline as of yet.

A great supporting cast member in this is John Bernthal - reuniting with Tom Holland following his role as Menelaus in The Odyssey and now, reprising his role as Frank Castle (The Punisher).  Not yet having a cinema release of his own - Bernthal has played the Punisher as far back as 2017 in the TV series of the same same and also in some episodes of Daredevil - so it was nice to get that crossover to this and get him on the big screen.  This character is probably one of Marvels most popular anti-heroes and it's good he is getting recognition within the MCU as it's a brilliant portrayal of the character from an fantastic actor.

Another highlight is we get to see a Full-blown Angry Hulk again - not the smaller, tamer friendly Smart-Hulk from Avengers: End Game and of course, Mark Ruffalo is back and on top form.

There are flash backs with the brilliant Marissa Tomei as the sadly now departed Aunt May and supporting NYPD Detective DeWolff (played by Liza Colon-Zayas / The Bear) who now works side-by-side with Spidey as he helps NYC battle its smaller criminal network.

There is a lovely Thunderbolt / New Avengers crossover with Yelena Belova - New Black Widow and leader of the Thunderbolts (now the 'New' Avengers), making it very clear that Spider-Man deals with the small potato stuff - leaving the bigger global threatening, alien invasion issues to them - with all her scenes set in her Sauna / Spa 'Office' - there is a great, funny little interaction between them both that works well.

Now the complicated bit: - and the connecting factor to a whole new franchise of characters over the coming few years.  Ladies & Gentlemen - Let's welcome Sadie Sink (Stranger Things / The Whale) to the franchise.

Sadie plays Jean Grey (of X-Men fame) and is the first introduction this new generation of X-men characters, formally launching in their own movie due 2028.  Sadie is the first acknowledgement of this and if I understand it correctly (as we learnt all those years ago) her powers have her as potentially the most powerful mutant ever - and you do get a feel for that in this with a younger iteration of the character.

This leads me to believe she seeks out Professor Xavier following on from this appearance in Brand New Day and we potentially kick-start the new generation of X-Men - similar in age to what we saw in X-Men First Class - but that can now be put into another dimension as the Cinematic Universe didn't mix back then - and only Dead Pool and Wolverine have so far crossed the streams (I think?) so these X-Men fall into the current dimension where we find most of the recent Marvel characters, and that works - doesn't it?

Anyway - I wont go into too much detail about Jean Grey's involvement in this movie - other than yes, she is the main protagonist - but it all works out fine in the end.

As we all know - Marvel is famed for it's end credit scenes but don't worry too much about this one.  There is only one, and it's right at the very very end of the credits, showing Ned's Spidey Tracker glitching and sending the Spidey locator signal into deep space - opening up for a potential plot line in the next movie of Spidey being thrown into a cosmic or multi-universal plotline (helping the New Avengers once more perhaps?) but either way - there is a final title card confirming "Spider-Man will return" so we will all just have to wait and see.  

Don't expect anything before at least 2029 as potential standalone Spidey release (if it happens) but it might point towards his inclusion in either Doomsday or Secret Wars (which I am sure he'll make an appearance).  

Sadly however - you'd need to ask Kevin Feige to be absolutely sure! and unfortunately I don't have his number so Kevin, if you read this - call me?

Overall great film - brilliant characters and the effects are fantastic - loved it.

Fancy seeing the Trailer?

Click below............

325, The Devil's Mouth

Who doesn't love a good shark film, and it's fair to say the movie industry does like to use these apex predators as a regular protagonist in many a repetitive outing.

Unlike Jaws or the Meg - The Devil's Mouth focusses on a standard issue Bull Shark as the hunter, trapped inside a fresh water network of caves (one of which is called The Devils Mouth) who comes face to face with five, early 20'ish gorgeous friends who on ego's and smiles, manage to convince a tour guide to take them through an intense path of sunken caverns as they all partake in a Summer of fun in Thailand before settling down into adult life.

The movie starts innocently enough - the 3 girl / 2 guy combo seem to have it all with yacht trips and bottomless booze fuelled excursions until one of them gets left behind in open water, only to get attacked by a bloom of Jellyfish and that's where the 'trust' issues start as although saved this time around - cracks in the group start to show early on.

From the outset - once they get into the caves, our overly eager, intrepid, yet slightly deluded main cast - along with the tour guide, who for me was the only really recognisable face (Tayme Thapthimthong - White Lotus / John Rambo) and a lone diver are the only real cast and just like a teen slasher horror, it's just a case of picking them off one by one until either someone gets out - or they all perish.

The main cast - who are probably more recognisable to a slightly younger audience than myself do relatively well in this, working in a intensely claustrophobic environment for most of the film which adds an real edgy element to the hunt as the shark itself gets very little screen time.

It has a similar edge of the seat style anxiety to The Shallows (Blake Lively - 2016), albeit no where near as good overall and our leading ladies (the males are pretty useless to be fair!) flip from sheer fear to almost G.I Joe like intensity in the blink of an eye - then back to scream queen once more.

The Shark special effects are okay - nothing really ground-breaking to be honest, but there are lots of glancing shots and thrashing about from around 35 minutes in, with the Shark fully making a full appearance around 43 minutes into this 100 minute feature.

They have tried to get some depth into the characters - the lead (Sara) played by Kathryn Newton (Cassie Lang in Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania & soon to be appearing in Avengers: Doomsday) has flashback & dream sequences where she questions her own loyalty to her 'so called' friend group is mixed with the selfishness and Queen Bee vibes of her bestie Max, (played by Lana Condor - in nothing I have seen) to try and build momentum but it's all pretty weak and as they all get picked off one by one, no one seems to remain very upset for very long.

It's quite easy to predict who dies and who survives - I think I even got the death order correct as well as how it ends - so it's relatively predictable too.

It's not the best Shark film out there by a long margin.  Jaws will remain in critics hearts as the original (and the best) within this genre but with Shark movies making the transition from A-List Blockbuster (Meg / Deep Blue Sea) to cheesy B-Movie (Sharknado & others) it's a hard one to call.  Yes, this is better than those - but it's not quite up to the standard of The Shallows, The Reef, 47 Meters Down etc that do amp up the realism, and do it very well.

Fancy watching the Trailer?  Click Below...........

324, Shelter

New to Amazon Prime is the latest offering from Jason Statham - and as you'd expect - the plot doesn't require a Masters Degree to work it out.

Now don't get me wrong - I love the predictability of a Statham movie - Regular plot lines normally involve Statham as an ex-hardman - either in-hiding or retired from whatever Black-Ops / Spec-Ops unit he spent a lifetime mastering, now seeking the quiet life but, always manages to have his peace interrupted by either an ex-employer of someone bearing a grudge - or even just being in the wrong place at the wrong time to drag him back in, obliterate entire armies, and move on without a trace.

Shelter is no different - set in Scotland's Outer Hebrides - Statham is a recluse, living on a deserted and treacherous lighthouse island, receiving deliveries only by boat but with a bad storm wrecking the recent supply vessel, killing the Captain and leaving his Niece (Jessie) alone and fighting for her life in the stormy waters, Statham is compelled to help them.  

Back on-shore - the Niece, (Bodhi Rae Breathnach / Hamnet) suffering from a badly damaged ankle forces Mason to verbally engage and she starts to understand a little bit about his background - and relationship to her family on the mainland however, with Mason reluctant to take her to a hospital she is forced to recover on the island.

Statham reluctantly heads for the mainland for medical supplies and is clearly wary of CCTV - so you get a feeling he is hiding from something pretty important.  Meanwhile - back in London's Parliament building, MI6 are outed in a public enquiry for using secret spyware called T.H.E.A, collecting personal data on UK citizens and it's that same software that picks up Mason's retina scan (in the background of a teenagers video call), wrongly identifying him as an Albanian Terrorist.

Within hours, there's a kill squad is at his door, and the island turn into a fatal 'Home Alone' style house with Mason dispatching of those sent to kill him with relative ease.  Now on the run, Statham is forced to fight for his own survival, with a teenager in tow while we get to see behind the scenes at MI6 where the mistaken identity is quickly identified and we slowly work out the reasons why certain elements of MI6 are trying to assassinate one of their own.

No more spoilers from me, but the above is only really the first 30mins and as everything gets going, it's fair to say the following hour is an all out action fest.  Statham is as good as always and other familiar faces include Bill Nighy as the MI6 Chief / Manafort, Harriet Walter as the P.M and Daniel Mays as Booth - Mason's only reliable confidant. 

It's as good as any other movie of this genre out there with well choreographed fight scenes, intense car chases and brutal, bloody fight sequences.  The good / bad guys are identified quite early on and the relationship between Mason and Jessie, although not as paternal as those in A Working Man or Homefront, follows form of Statham being a protector to a young girl and it works well.

It's well acted - well casted and the settings of the Hebrides and Stornoway (shot across Ireland and Rural England locations) offer a bleak and reclusive backdrop compared to the bustling Capital.

Of course it's predictable but you don't watch a Jason Statham movie for the plot line - it's about him - action, great fight scenes and in most cases - a happy ending.

Averaging around two movies a year, his schedule is pretty decent between now and 2028 with Mutiny and the Beekeeper sequel still to come - a reprising of Deckard Shaw in Fast Forever (the 11th and hopefully last offering from this franchise) & a few more yet to be titled movies in production.

Yes they are all repetitive but if it ain't broke, why fix it? And as long as Statham keep churning out these one-man renegade movies - I'll keep watching them!

Fancy watching the Trailer?   Click Below..........