Destin Daniel Cretton
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His visual style combines the greatest elements of the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield Spider-Man films…
Unlike the buoyant and quirky humor of Spidey’s teenage years in Watts’ trilogy, this film leans more towards the tone of the Sam Raimi era, reminiscent of Tobey Maguire’s heartbroken, down-on-his-luck Peter. The DNA mutation, Peter figuring out how to use organic web-shooters, and even the iconic upside-down kiss all bring back memories of Raimi’s films.
…most especially Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, and their own era’s sense of longing and sacrifice. It’s those soapy melodramatic stakes that come with adolescence and thwarted dreams that makes that 2000s trilogy so special.
More than two decades after Spider-Man first swung onto cinema screens…
That is what I appreciate about Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. Yes, those movies tell an ongoing story and are packed with plenty of characters, but they never feel like they exist solely to set up the next chapter. When I watch Spider-Man, I am completely immersed in Spider-Man.
…taking the best qualities of the Raimi films in its cerebral approach…
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Directed by Shane Black
influenced Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)
Themes
And it could have been interesting to take a deeper look at the superhero post-traumatic stress first explored in Iron Man 3.
For all of the voluminous expository dialogue in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings , essentially none of it concerns the legend of the Ten Rings — a name that doubles for both a nebulous criminal organization (already referenced in Iron Man and Iron Man 3 ) and a set of ill-defined mystical weapons whose powers basically function however the plot requires.
Elsewhere, the Marvel Cinematic Universe makes its presence even more pointedly known by way of cameos, references to the Blip (i.e., the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame ) and an exhaustive explanation of what the Ten Rings of this title has to do with the Ten Rings from Iron Man 3 .
When it comes to the disappointments of Shang-Chi , the biggest is actually the fault of the movie's premiere, which featured the announcement that Ben Kingsley would be returning as Iron Man 3 's Trevor Slattery AKA the fake Mandarin.
Leung plays Wenwu, the man whose identity Ben Kingsley’s The Mandarin appropriated in Iron Man 3 , and whose hand has been quietly guiding history for thousands of years – all thanks to the power and immortality granted to him by ten magical rings of unknown provenance.
By the way, the way in which the film addresses the last MCU inclusion of the Ten Rings offers some much-needed closure, though I wouldn’t have minded if it also sought to address the kidnapping of Tony Stark ( Iron Man ) as relates to Iron Man 3 (2013) because not everyone remembers Aldrich Killian’s final line and that lack of remembrance could play havoc with the audience’s processing of the internal timeline/rules of Shang-Chi .
The Matrix (1999)
Directed by Lana Wachowski
influenced Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)
Visuals Characters
…an end scene between Spidey and some ninjas made me think of “The Raid: Redemption,” “The Matrix,” and “Mortal Kombat” in tandem.
Spider-Man may have his “Neo” moment of self-realization, Matrix fans will instantly notice the parallels in a key scene…
Holland manages to evolve his character into Neo from “The Matrix” (1999)…
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Directed by Sam Raimi
influenced Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)
Visuals Themes Plot
It feels as though he took inspiration from Raimi’s more colourful and kinetic trilogy…
It's Short Term 12 by way of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2…
Unlike the buoyant and quirky humor of Spidey’s teenage years in Watts’ trilogy, this film leans more towards the tone of the Sam Raimi era, reminiscent of Tobey Maguire’s heartbroken, down-on-his-luck Peter. The DNA mutation, Peter figuring out how to use organic web-shooters, and even the iconic upside-down kiss all bring back memories of Raimi’s films.
…most especially Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, and their own era’s sense of longing and sacrifice. It’s those soapy melodramatic stakes that come with adolescence and thwarted dreams that makes that 2000s trilogy so special.
And like the impeccable “Spider-Man 2” by Sam Raimi, the film opens hard and fast, but quickly dispatches a host of villains to center on Peter.
…recreated to acclaim in Raimi’s “Spider-Man 2”…
Rumble in the Bronx (1995)
Directed by Stanley Tong Gwai-Lai
influenced Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Visuals
There’s a moment that has since gone viral, where Shang-Chi uses his coat as a weapon before putting it back on that reminds me of a similar sequence in Rumble in the Bronx .
The ensuing brawl (incorporating the bus’ seats, poles, and—in one ingenious bit of comic timing—the signal cord) has the complexity, energy, and inventiveness of the great Jackie Chan (Rumble in the Bronx, Police Story)—as well as a bit of Spider-Man flair in the way Shang-Chi protects the other passengers while fending off his assailants.
It’ll be interesting to hear people compare this to The Green Mile and in many ways, Just Mercy shows how derivative and racist The Green Mile truly is.
For those who have never seen this type of courtroom drama, never exposed to “The Caine Mutiny Court Martial,” “Conviction” with Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell, “The Green Mile” based on a Stephen King novel, or “The Shawshank Redemption,” will be particularly riveted by this intense drama.
One of the film’s most wrenching scenes is right out of “The Green Mile,” when Stevenson witnesses the execution of Herbert Richardson (Rob Morgan, TV’s “Stranger Things”), a troubled war veteran whose fatal injection goes horribly wrong.
Racism, the structural inequality of the incarceration system, and the inhumanity of the death penalty are issues that have all been tackled in movies before, from To Kill A Mockingbird to The Green Mile , but rarely if ever with the frankness and immediacy that Just Mercy brings to McMillian and Stevenson’s journeys.
Iron Man (2008)
Directed by Jon Favreau
influenced Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)
Themes Characters
Somewhere on a different timeline, a character played by Jeff Goldblum is whispering into Peter’s ear: “Now you’re Tony Stark.”
The stakes of Peter’s heroism are a lot different when Iron Man and Doctor Strange aren’t around to clean up his messes, after all.
It’s what brought Iron Man and Black Widow to their poignant deaths.
…which Peter more or less was as the chosen heir apparent to Iron Man and his money is magic power fantasy…
For all of the voluminous expository dialogue in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings , essentially none of it concerns the legend of the Ten Rings — a name that doubles for both a nebulous criminal organization (already referenced in Iron Man and Iron Man 3 ) and a set of ill-defined mystical weapons whose powers basically function however the plot requires.
Liu is so good at defining Shang's exterior charm and inner turmoil that his casting has the miraculous quality of Robert Downey Jr.'s industry-changing role in the first Iron Man or Chris Evans' Captain America.
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Directed by Wayne Wang
influenced Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
(The early nods to “The Joy Luck Club,” from the San Francisco setting to a brief cameo by the great Tsai Chin, are surely no accident.)
Unlike the buoyant and quirky humor of Spidey’s teenage years in Watts’ trilogy, this film leans more towards the tone of the Sam Raimi era, reminiscent of Tobey Maguire’s heartbroken, down-on-his-luck Peter. The DNA mutation, Peter figuring out how to use organic web-shooters, and even the iconic upside-down kiss all bring back memories of Raimi’s films.
That is what I appreciate about Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy…
…most especially Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, and their own era’s sense of longing and sacrifice. It’s those soapy melodramatic stakes that come with adolescence and thwarted dreams that makes that 2000s trilogy so special.
The movie never feels overstuffed like “Spider-Man 3” or “Amazing Spider-Man 2”…
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 got flack for overcomplicating a knotty plot with excessive characters back in 2007 because it featured two-and-a-half villains.
Since 2007, I’ve been waiting on Spider-Man 4. Since then, I’ve seen a third Spider-Man 1, a third Spider-Man 2, and a second Spider-Man 3.
The Fly (1986)
Directed by David Cronenberg
influenced Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)
Visuals Themes
The metamorphosis feels referential to David Cronenberg’s “The Fly” (1986)…
Spider-Man Brand New Day is the first film since Sam Raimi’s original to remind viewers that thus far we have essentially been watching the wish-fulfilment version of the second act of The Fly, and decides to teeter ever so slightly into the third.
A historical courtroom drama making a full-throated appeal for criminal justice reform, “Just Mercy” recalls '90s movies like “A Time to Kill” or “The Shawshank Redemption,” a throwback to the sort of serious, adult drama studio pics that don’t really get made anymore in this era of multi-billion-dollar franchises.
For those who have never seen this type of courtroom drama, never exposed to “The Caine Mutiny Court Martial,” “Conviction” with Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell, “The Green Mile” based on a Stephen King novel, or “The Shawshank Redemption,” will be particularly riveted by this intense drama.
But for my money, the most startling performance among many in “Short Term 12” comes from an unknown young actor named Keith Stanfield, whose haunting portrayal of a terrified 18-year-old about to age out of the home recalls Matt Damon’s similarly expressive breakout performance in “ Courage Under Fire .”
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Directed by Louis Leterrier
influenced Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)
Themes
Every time anyone has to deal with their inner darkness taking over them, whether it is Jean Grey or Peter Parker or Bruce Banner, they ultimately return to their true self through self acceptance.
…most notably in a scene involving the Hulk that really emphasizes the character’s nightmarish quality that’s been unseen on screen for about a decade.
Regardless of if we’re fighting ninjas or The Incredible Hulk…
…the introduction of a so-called “universal power adapter” that conveniently neutralizes super-powered characters like Hulk (Mark Ruffalo)…
…the fight scenes featuring Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) are both dynamic and comical.
…include “The Incredible Hulk” (2008)…
If you’re looking for the early favorite for the audience award at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, (a prize “Green Book” took with it all the way to Oscar glory) look no further than the riveting legal drama “Just Mercy” based on the book of the same name by Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson.
And although the movie overall handles issues of race and class with less complexity than the also-currently-in-theaters Clemency, if we still have to tell stories that remind white people that racism is bad, actually, at least they’re presented with more grace and effectiveness than Green Book or The Best of Enemies.
However, it did when the audience award at the Chicago International Film Festival and seems to be adored for the same reasons as last year’s Green Book, so maybe it’s your 2019 Best Picture.
There’s been buzz around Toronto that Just Mercy is being positioned as the successor to Green Book, and while for a lot of film lovers that’s not exactly great praise, Cretton’s film is absolutely less problematic and more worthy of awards attention than this year’s Best Picture winner.
Likely to please the same demographic who awarded Green Book the Best Picture Oscar at the most recent Academy Awards, Destin Daniel Cretton’s feature- his fourth overall – can be added to the pile of “true life stories whose real power and emotion lies in the real events, not the film itself”.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Directed by Joe Russo
influenced Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)
Themes Plot
…an emotional climax that rivals any “Avengers” film…
…the only Marvel property with any real box office juice post Avengers: Endgame…
The MCU’s hot streak ended dramatically with Avengers: Endgame…
The biggest opening weekend in the history of the medium, dethroning Avengers: Endgame, a movie that had a decade of runway and the emotional payoff of a dozen films behind it.
In the years since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame – the culmination of what the studio calls The Infinity Saga – the wheels have been falling off.
In the seven years since the biggest culmination of Marvel’s heroes, the mega-successful 2019 mash-up “Avengers: Endgame,” the MCU has had its ups and downs.
Thunderbolts* (2025)
Directed by Jake Schreier
influenced Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Themes Visuals Plot
It can even be argued that the themes of isolation, and the darkness it can fosters, were tackled with far more nuance and heart in Thunderbolts*.
…eerily reminiscent of Thunderbolts* down to the use of a nearly identical looking grey laboratory…
Brand New Day actually pairs well with another Pugh feature, Thunderbolts*, in its exploration of the loneliness of saving the world without ever being able to celebrate it with anyone else and the importance of mental health.
Marvel has been speaking directly to fans with movies like "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,"…
…seem to have taken notes from Thunderbolts and solidly provide a darker, thoughtful approach…
In fact, the overall stakes of its finale are basically equivalent to Thunderbolts* as are its means of resolution-via-empathy (also seen in a number of these post-Endgame movies, over and over again).
The unseen adversary behind these infiltration attempts appears to be using a form of bodily inhabitation (think Denzel Washington’s 1998 flick Fallen) as the proverbial puppet strings of choice…
The villain’s powers function similarly to a demon in “Fallen” (1998)…
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
Directed by Justin K. Thompson
influenced Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)
Themes
Blame it on traditional Spider-Man cinema being outclassed by the first two animated versions (there’ll be a third next year) extending the character into a multitude of web-slingers that essentially say we can all be Spider-Man.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Directed by Miloš Forman
influenced Short Term 12 (2008), Short Term 12 (2013)
Themes Plot
What’s refreshing about this drama is that it bows neither to the stereotype of a horrifying institution, à la One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, or a syrupy tale of a problem teen who undergoes a dramatic transformation.
A far cry from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" caricatures, "Short Term 12" is imbued with enthralling naturalism, right down to a cast that includes real patients.
What’s refreshing about this drama is that it bows neither to the stereotype of a horrifying institution, à la One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, or a syrupy tale of a problem teen who undergoes a dramatic transformation.
It’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” for the new generation, and instead of evil Nurse Ratched, they get beneficent surrogate mom Grace, who in truth has struggles of her own.
A far cry from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" caricatures, "Short Term 12" is imbued with enthralling naturalism, right down to a cast that includes real patients.
Movies like The Eternals, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Marvels, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps all disappointed expectations to outright bombed at the box office.
…or The Marvels…
The group efforts that audiences didn’t connect with, like “Eternals” and the criminally undervalued “The Marvels.”
…some team-ups (Thunderbolts, The Marvels)…