SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAYThere are essentially three plotlines fighting for space in director Destin Daniel Cretton's Spider-Man: Brand New Day – even though, given its generous 145-minute running length, you wouldn't think any in-fighting was necessary. Strange, at Spider-Man's behest and for the good of the planet, wiping everyone's minds clear of Peter Parker. Obviously, because the overall tone is darker and their group dynamic has so dramatically shifted, Peter, MJ, and Ned aren't able to provide the same sort of lighthearted, quick-witted fun they brought to their previous big-screen encounters. This is a Blumhouse-horror kind of trope; at times, its employment suggests what we'd get if Spider-Man mated with Smile. And I really wish Spider-Man: Brand New Day didn't feel like a sequel so much as a prequel to a movie that hasn't arrived yet.