Superheroes on both the big and small screens are in a fascinating place from both die-hard fans’ and casual viewers’ perspectives. Nearly everyone is aware that the once-firm iron grip the genre had on the public consciousness has slipped away, collapsing into itself and the formulas that propped these films to such great success, and yet throughout the ups and downs of the past decades, Spider-Man has always stood the test of time. He’s an inherently charming character, yes, but Spider-Man also represents a certain moral struggle and triumph that nearly all of us can relate to no matter our background.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day, despite its inevitable connections to the growing world of the MCU, is the first Tom Holland-led Spidey film that truly feels at one with the character’s inherent human touch. The film tells a story about self-isolation in our attempts to keep those we love safe, and how that can often lead us to keep the truest parts of ourselves locked away from the care we need most. In addition to a welcomed change in visual style from director Destin Daniel Cretton, Brand New Day, in spite of a few hiccups, is a substantial improvement from the aggressive mediocrity of the former trilogy, and gives us an appreciated perspective to view the MCU’s Peter Parker.
In a world post Spider-Man: No Way Home where no one remembers Peter Parker (Holland) or that he’s Spider-Man, Peter has become fully enwrapped in crime fighting on the regular, working completely in step with New York City chief of police Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas). When Peter isn’t fighting Scorpion (Michael Mando) or fixing up his homemade costume in his new dingy apartment complex, he checks the socials of his former best friend and girlfriend, Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya), feeling the never-ending sorrow of his best friends moving on with their lives without him.
Peter’s life starts to collide with even more difficult obstacles after a run-in with The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) in an attempt to stop a destructive tank. Peter encounters a new villainous force he can’t sense or see telepathically, transporting from one body to another with pure ease, ravaging around a damage control facility in search of something particular. With Peter struggling to find out what exactly this new apparent foe wants and him undergoing some physical transformations of his own with his powers on the fritz and mutating to give him more unreal abilities, Spider-Man will face his biggest external and personal challenges yet as the hero of NYC.
One of the best things about Brand New Day is how perfectly it manages to internalize the story and character of Peter again in a way we haven’t seen since the Raimi films. Holland gives his absolute best performance as the webslinger, still quipping it up, of course, and sticking up for the little guy, but it’s shocking just how much depth and sincerity he brings to Peter’s struggles for vulnerability. Ever since he’s had to leave his friends behind for their greater safety and he lost his Aunt (Marisa Tomei), Peter has forced himself to fight his battles completely alone and sees his growing abilities like organic webs and ultra-enhanced senses during his mental struggles as unnatural hindrances rather than a part of him.
What makes this special focus of the narrative so special isn’t just that it’s present but that it’s completely intertwined in the core of the movie. The film’s sense of hope surrounding Peter learning to recognize his pain and not let it swallow him up is wonderful to see, but another pleasant surprise of Brand New Day is how, unlike the norm for Marvel, the appearance of other characters here actually is central to the film’s narrative. It makes sense that Peter would go to Dr. Banner (Mark Ruffalo) to ask about heightened sensibilities growing in ways he feels he can’t control since that’s a central part of The Hulk’s whole. The parallel drawn between Frank Castle’s role and Peter forming a wall of isolation like Frank has made his whole life is compelling in a way that makes their constant bickering throughout even more meaningful.
Sadie Sink’s role is where the movie walks its strongest stride between the struggles of another character and Peter’s present burden of feeling lost in his own identity. There are times when the presence of her character takes over the film in a way that’s confusing, considering it’s a Spider-Man film, but the moments she and Holland share in the movies closing is where the themes of not facing the toughest battles of the world alone really are encapsulated and it makes for the most emotionally striking Spidey film since the insane highs of Raimi in the 2000s. After a full trilogy of Peter not knowing what the true focus of his identity is, he’s finally able to embrace both sides of his life in such a great way and realize the importance of human connection even in a new normal.
Both Ned and MJ’s roles here aren’t as central as they were in the previous three films since they aren’t close to Peter anymore, but they do add a special warmth to the movie even when they don’t retain the memories that Peter had with them. The rare scenes where all three of them share a moment are where Peter is at his happiest. The biggest surprise of the film, character-wise, however, is how insanely fun the dynamic between The Punisher and Spidey is throughout the film.
The clashing personality of hardened brutality vs a kinder and less murderous nature of saving the city leads to plenty of funny instances of bickering and jabs between the two, but they shine even brighter in quieter moments where they can both learn from the other’s outlook on why they are where they are in life. Bernthal is particularly great here, having some of the movie’s biggest laughs and a genuinely heartfelt moment of kindness with Peter at the movie’s end.
The finest touch to what makes this the strongest of all the recent Spider-Man films is the much-needed elevation in both visuals and action that Destin Daniel Cretton brings to the table. One of the biggest problems with the Jon Watts-directed movies is just how flat they are visually, opting for grey color palettes and an utter heaping of CGI at nearly every turn. Brand New Day has its fair share of spotty effects work and eventually reaches a point where it doesn’t really meet the true street-level vibes that were hinted at in the marketing, but New York City is finally the most lived-in it’s ever been within the MCU.
Its images aren’t always the best-looking, but it’s truly wondrous to have an MCU film where the cinematography contains actual contrast and the depth of each image has more color to it besides beige. It’s a low bar to clear, but the film actually has a visual identity within the kinetic language of its action; Cretton clearly knows the proper balance to walk of being able to craft a realized version of superhero stories.
Speaking of action, all of the fight scenes here are also dynamic, as Cretton actually does something that more often than not feels unprecedented for the MCU: he *gasp* moves the camera. From websling scenes where we’re attached to Spidey’s shoulder feeling the wind brace over his suit to a standout sequence where Peter has to chase down this unknown presence transferring and taunting him from body to body, it’s great to see actual liveliness to each movement.
There’s also a great practicality to the way more hand-to-hand fight scenes are shot, with Cretton bringing some of his best sensibilities to the weight of the action in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings here. Both the CG elements of the action and the practicality reach a true happy medium in a climactic fight between Spider-Man and the clan of The Hand, where the film’s action is at its most thrilling.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day has its fair share of hiccups and tends to juggle a bit more than it can carry, but it’s the freshest both Spider-Man and the MCU at large have felt in a good while. The world Holland’s Peter Parker inhabits has never been more realized, capturing a fleeting scene of joyful wonder while also bringing back essential grounded parts of the character that evolve emotionally in a beautifully heartfelt manner. With Destin Daniel Cretton’s directorial flourishes as the finishing touch, Brand New Day isn’t exactly a new peak in the ever-growing catalog of Spider-Man films, but it’s certainly a new start in truly embracing the real pathos of this character again.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will debut exclusively in theaters on July 31, 2026, courtesy of Sony Pictures.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day has its fair share of hiccups and tends to juggle a bit more than it can carry, but it's the freshest both Spider-Man and the MCU at large have felt in a good while
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Lover of film writing about film. Member of the Dallas Fort-Worth Critics Association. The more time passes, the more the medium of movies has become deeply intertwined with who I am.
