Oh, boy! This movie is gonna be a hard one to review in spoiler-free fashion! Not necessarily because it’s hard to describe my feeling towards the latest cinematic adventure with your favorite web swinger without revealing all the nooks and crannies in it but more that it’s near impossible to talk about the film in it’s entirety without address the GIANT elephant in the room! An elephant in the room that was solely created by the marketing (which has done a surprisingly superb job of not giving too much away and saving the fun surprises for the theatrical experience) that COMPLETELY glosses over a certain character that is meant to act as the film’s central main antagonist (or at least the closest thing this film has to an actual antagonist). For whatever reason, Marvel and Sony has decided to keep that character’s identity a complete secret and went through a great deal in the trailers to show as LITTLE of this character as possible.
Granted, about 99% of Marvel fans probably knows EXACTLY who I’m talking about and what character this certain actor or actress is playing (and I believe there’s already been certain folks at the premiere who basically already revealed the identity of that character) but in case you are the 1% of folks out there who don’t have a clue who or what I’m talking about, I won’t spoil it in this review. I do plan to post a spoiler filled piece after the movie releases worldwide to give a deep dive into that character and how I felt about their role in the film. But for know, I will try to keep this review as vague as possible. Here we go!
It’s crazy how we are actually getting a fourth film with a cinematic version of Spider-Man for once. Tobey Maguire wasn’t able to get his fourth film up and running after the commercially successful but poorly received, Spider-Man 3. Andrew Garfield couldn’t even get a third one after the commercially unsuccessful AND poorly received, The Amazing Spider-Man 2. But yet, it’s Tom Holland of all webheads that was able to get his fourth entry, something which not even his old pal Tony Stark could say (at least for now). However, with the emotionally fulfilling way the last one ended, it left PLENTY of free realm to take this series in a completely new direction.
Sure, No Way Home did make for a bittersweet ending to a somewhat uneven “home” trilogy of our friendly neighborhood NYC hero and it would’ve been fine if that was the last we ever saw of Tom Holland as Spider-Man in the MCU. However, with the way the first three films operated themselves as a slow burn origin story of our (Spider) boy learning to become a (Spider) man (unintentionally or otherwise), it paves a way to FINALLY have a Spider-Man movie in the MCU that legit feels like the “prime” Spider-Man we all know and love. And for the most part, Brand New Day is able to deliver just that and then some.
Premise: Following Dr. Strange’s spell at the end of No Way Home, the world has forgotten that Peter Parker exists. Four years later, Peter (Tom Holland) anonymously protects New York City as the hero Spider-Man and investigates a powerful new threat while his superpowers undergo a surprising and potentially dangerous evolution.
Brand New Day is the first MCU Spider-Man film that is unafraid in giving us the Spider-Man doing his friendly neighborhood duty of protecting the city he’s sworn to protect and doing what’s best for those that he loves. Yes, we get to see Spider-Man at his absolute HIGH points as being the answer to The Big Apple. Yes, we get to see Spider-Man interacting with plenty of faces old and new in this cinematic universe in ways that feel organic, natural, and welcoming every time they are screen. Yes, the action scenes and web swinging sequences are cranked up to 11 in ways that hasn’t been done before in live-action, including a very impressive comic run-like scroll in the film’s opening 20 minutes. But what makes Brand New Day stand out as well as it does is the overall arc that Peter Parker goes through.
Everyone always know that the best Spider-Man stories are ALWAYS the ones where the worlds of Peter Parker and Spider-Man collides among his friends, rivals, and responsibilities. Although, the ones that tend to stand out among the VERY best are the ones that raises the questions of what happen when one side of the personal life/hero persona get abandoned in favor of the other side. In Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, we see a Peter Parker who gives up being Spider-Man so he can focus on being Peter Parker. In Destin Daniel Cretton’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, we see a Peter Parker who gives up being Peter Parker so he can focus on being Spider-Man. This is an arc that not only feels perfectly in line with the titled character and the aftermath of No Way Home (while also making for some interesting metaphors on the new powers he develops out of thin air) but also making Holland’s version of Peter Parker standing out as perhaps the most relatable of his generation.
While this Spider-Man has had plenty of Ws in the four years that have passed since the last movie, this Peter Parker has taken nothing but Ls since then. By feeling he has no choice but to put his superhero life over his personal life, we see Peter being forced to adjust into a world that has forgotten about him and moved forward with their lives. He has no friends, no family, no stable job, and no career ahead of him. He has nothing left…..except Spider-Man. To put it simply, Brand New Day is a Spider-Man movie made for Gen Z, the generation that grew up during the height of covid, a loneliness epidemic, and an economy that is about as depression that Peter is throughout the entirety of this film.
And it’s not just Peter himself that has a massive black hole needing to be filled within himself, we get to see that sentiment shared with other characters as well. The Punisher is still operating as his own independent vigilante after losing his family all those years ago, there’s Bruce Banner who still has that battle within with the green monster that can always break out at any moment, which causes him to keep his distance from those he loves, and MJ and Ned pursuing the lives and career choices they’ve desired, they still feel like they are missing something which just so happens to be Spider related. And of course, there is also the film’s antagonist/mystery character which will NOT be mentioned in this review that serves the best parallel out of all of this to Peter Parker. While plenty will be said about the film’s overabundance on characters and subplots, there’s no denying that the film’s overall themes surrounding loneliness, isolation, and the needing to reconnect with one another is fairly consistent throughout the entire film.
And speaking of which, Brand New Day certainly does try to juggle a lot throughout it’s entire 145-minute long runtime. It aims to be that perfect mix of being a proper sequel to No Way Home with it’s smaller-scaled, street level ambitions while also laying the groundwork for a newly introduced character that is clearly going to play a big role in future Marvel endeavors. Thankfully, writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers prove they are up to the task with making both of these major storylines intertwine in a way that feels consist with the overall narrative of the film that doesn’t forget that this is a Spider-Man movie, even more so with how they juggled the Far From Home aftermath of Mysterio spilling the beans of who Spidey is and just making a live-action version of Into the Spider-Verse last time around.
There is a slight detour towards the beginning of the third act that nearly takes a noise dive and makes it seem like all of the thematic plates spinning in the air are about to come crashing down. But then, the film remembers what it’s about by cleverly taking a page from the climax of a recent MCU film, properly expanding upon that film’s and this one’s relatable dilemma, and everything’s good again. I can’t properly answer whether or not this character needed to be introduced in THIS movie but they work rather well for what I imagine was forced upon them by Kevin and company since the 2025 MCU entries couldn’t move the needle on getting audiences enthused on what comes next after the multiverse shenanigans is over. Like the very best MCU movies, it’s able to have it’s cake and eat it too in the ways that are even more delicious than what you ordered.
While Jon Watts did a fine job overall with the “Home” trilogy, Destin Daniel Cretton proves himself to be more than worthy of continuing this version of Spider-Man on his own with no extreme guidance necessary. He’s able to bring so much energy with the film’s action sequences and web swinging moments that makes them all exhilarating to watch, while also able to embrace it’s comic-booky feel without it feeling too jarring or far stretched to the casual movie goer. I’m sure there’s a shot or two that Film Twitter will nitpick to death for the next three years until the next Spider-Man movie comes along but the same proper care and treatment that Cretton gave to his other (underrated/overlooked) MCU projects in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Wonder Man are properly shown here. Looks like Mr. Feige has ANOTHER director he can take under his wing.
The entire cast gives everything they got here. Tom Holland still shows great passion and vulnerability as perhaps the most relatable version of Peter Parker we have seen to date, shockingly still able to explore hidden depth and intrigue despite being four movies in, while also being more jokey and confident than ever before as Spider-Man. Jon Bernthal is able to fit perfectly in movie form as Frank Castle as he does in streaming service form. Zendaya and Jacob Batalon are given more depth to MJ and Ned than you might’ve expected. Liza Colón-Zayas and Tramell Tillman are fun in their brief roles as totally NOT Commissioner Gordon and totally NOT Head of ICE! Mark Ruffalo is given a lesser role than you would probably expect as Bruce Banner/Hulk but he’s still here (even if he’s no where to be seen at the premiere).
And without getting into spoilers, Sadie Sink is absolutely great as her “mysterious” character. While it does take a while to actually get to her on screen, she is able to perfectly match the presence of Holland and all those she shares screentime with. If the rest of the cast of the series that she will be attached to from hear on out is as pitch perfect as this, then there might indeed be some hope for the MCU yet.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is that rare fourth installment in a franchise that not only works strongly in it’s own right but is able to greatly justify it’s own existence with no financial apology needed whatsoever. It’s able to act well as being a proper follow-up to the last movie while also setting things up for what could be a even more promising second trilogy with a more “proper” Spider-Man this time around. There are characters that I would’ve like to have seen more of and there’s one resolution towards the end that does feel like a complete copout but any potential narrative shortcoming here is completely washed away with the film’s overall sense of wonder and awareness.
It’s no secret that superhero films aren’t the box office juggernauts they used to be but films like Spider-Man: Brand New Day prove that there is still a dire need for them in this day and age. Even if the quality is in shorter supplies these days, there is just nothing like seeing a cast and crew using their great powers to take on great responsibilities when tackling these popular superheroes. It might’ve taken a film of Tom Holland being sad and lonely to give this genre the potential two billion dollar booster shot it needed but hey, there’s no superhero that does it quite like Spider-Man.
Just please let him be happy once this is all over, okay?!
Other thoughts:
- Don’t bother staying for the end credits scene because….it sucked. It just sucks!
- Also, don’t expect much out of the Spidey villains shown off in the marketing because they don’t really matter that much, outside of MAYBE Scorpion. (There’s a reason why there’s only been ONE leaked shot of Tombstone!)
- Michael Giacchino deserves more credit for the scores in this series. It’s able to stand out gloriously well as it’s own distinct Spider-Man score without much reliance on prior Spider-Man scores to make it stand out. This man in general might be the legit saving grace when it comes to the score in the MCU.
- I can definitely see why Mark Ruffalo hasn’t join the press tour for this movie. Taking away his political persuasions and being busy shooting another tv show, Bruce Banner and Hulk aren’t in the movie that much.
- It still is cool to see an unhinged Hulk that we have NOT seen since the beginning of Infinity War.
- I REALLY need more of The Punisher and Jean DeWolff in the future. They work off of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man PERFECTLY!
- Now, please just bring in Kingpin for the next time and have Daredevil join along for the ride. We can’t have a complete Devil’s Reign adaption WITHOUT Spider-Man playing a big role in it.
- Oh, and that ONE character that shows up is a lot of fun to. Try to guess which one I’m talking about when you see them!
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