[Photo &] Four Years After ‘Spider-Man 4’ Ties Into Hulk and the Punisher—A Hero Everyone Forgot: ‘Self-Reliance’

A hero kept strictly isolated, a new awakening reached after four years

Peter Parker, the Spider-Man figure erased completely from everyone’s memories (Tom Holland), has returned after four years of silence. ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ (hereafter ‘Spider-Man 4’), which has already surpassed 830,000 advance tickets sold before its release and has secured its place as the top most anticipated theater release of the year, is set to raise that massive curtain.

Peter Parker’s everyday life, left behind amid total isolation, is grim. The warmth of family and friends is gone, and the only thing filling his smartphone is cold crime alerts. ‘Spider-Man 4’ traces in depth the tragic decision of a boy who, in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ (2021), erased his own existence to stop the collapse of the multiverse—and follows his path afterward. Amid the harsh reality where even his love interest MJ (Zendaya) and his closest friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) can’t remember him, his journey as a lone hero begins.

An out-of-control identity and an attack by villains beyond dimensions

In New York, four years later, Peter Parker, who once swung across skyscrapers by relying on his webs, faces a never-before-seen enemy that rules the human mind. Beyond a simple clash of good versus evil, this film puts a microscope to the inner division and growing pains of the hero himself. The identity collision forged between a spider’s instincts and a human’s self, along with the hormone surge triggered by brutal loneliness, drives Spider-Man into a state he can’t control.

The enemies blocking his path are just as overwhelming. From Scorpion (Michael Mando), tied to a lifelong grudge, to ‘Hulk’ (Mark Ruffalo) driven by destructive impulses, a range of villains turn New York into chaos. In particular, an unknown villain that tightens its grip on the mind functions like a mirror reflecting Peter Parker’s repressed inner self, adding depth to the story. The process of the boy shedding his old skin and growing into a true adult is depicted brutally, alongside blood-stained bare-handed action.

Old connections and a new alliance—maximizing the visual thrill

The arrival of an MJ and Ned who have lost their memories pulls the emotional trajectory of the film tight. Rather than quickly restoring a relationship, the film captured the subtle current created by the four-year gap with precision, raising the density of the story. Adding to that, the ruthless vigilante ‘The Punisher’ Frank (Jon Bernthal) joins in, taking on an unpredictable buddy-play with Spider-Man and injecting fresh energy into the movie.

The high-altitude action that defines the series has evolved one more step. In addition to the familiar thrill of gliding elegantly through a forest of buildings, filming techniques that use vertical fall set pieces give viewers a realistic, hair-raising sense of peril. In particular, the hit-you-like-a-truck battle against ‘Hulk’, staged with a super high-rise building as its backdrop, delivers a near-peak catharsis as Spider-Man’s agility and Hulk’s heavy destructive power form a perfect contrast.

A Hollywood first—innovating with four-screen ScreenX playback, backed by the prestige of topping advance sales

Visual innovation also can’t be ignored. From the planning stage, ‘Spider-Man 4’ was completed as Hollywood’s first ‘Shot for SCREENX’ project aimed at the ‘ScreenX’ format. With a runtime of about 90 minutes realized across three screens, in key sequences such as aerial drops, four-screen playback expanded all the way to the ceiling is introduced, offering an unprecedented sense of immersion. The camera direction was handled by director Destin Daniel Cretton, who proved his outstanding directing skills with ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ (2021).

As befits a mega-hit franchise that already drew 20 million cumulative viewers in South Korea, the box-office surge has already begun. As of 8 p.m. on the 28th, it has topped the year’s releases at No. 1 overall, surpassing roughly 836,000 advance tickets sold (73.4% advance ticket rate). Advance ticket volume for the ‘ScreenX’ format also neared 60,000 tickets, setting a record for the highest in history. Opens on the 29th. 144 minutes. Rated for ages 12 and up.