Tom Holland is Peter Parker in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”Credit: Sony Pictures
The time has arrived for Spider-Man: Brand New Day,the next chapter for the MCU’s Peter Parker (Tom Holland), directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings).
Perhaps more than other iconic superheroes, Spider-Man’s potential seems absolutely limitless. Parker’s story has been explored through three separate franchises: Sam Raimi’s 2000s Spider-Man trilogy with Tobey Maguire, the pair of Amazing Spider-Man movies from the 2010s starring Andrew Garfield, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version, with Holland at the center.
Beyond that, Sony launched the Miles Morales Spider-Verse movies, bringing a fresh perspective and dozens (maybe hundreds) of multiverse Spider-folk into the fold, including Spider-Gwen, Spider-Noir, and Spider-Ham. There’s also a handful of Spider-Man spinoffs (Morbius, Venom, Madame Web,and Kraven The Hunter), which mostly proved Spidey’s rogues’ gallery just doesn’t work without him.
When the focus is on our friendly neighborhood Spider-Person, we rally for his homespun heroism, goofy witticisms, and undeniable charm. But don’t we also hope for something we haven’t seen before onscreen?
With Raimi’s trilogy, the bones of the modern superhero movie were being built through spectacular action sequences, balanced with critically acclaimed actors sinking their teeth into villainous roles. With Garfield’s swing, Peter’s love interest, Mary Jane, was swapped for Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), who was brilliant and doomed. To director Jon Watts’ trilogy, which began with Spider-Man: Homecoming,Peter was re-imagined as a hero in the vein of a classic American coming-of-age comedy, bringing into the fold his nervy and nerdy bestie Ned (Jacob Batalon) and his smirking, anti-social yet charismatic crush MJ (Zendaya).
While all of these movies have their merits, Watts’ were thrilling not only because of their Marvel connections (including Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man cameos), but chiefly because they had a different energy from the rest of the MCU. Where other heroes were shown in their awkward learning how to use their powers stage, Holland’s Spidey swung into action without an origin story and into an Avengers movie. From there, the MCU skipped the Uncle Ben beat (well, for two movies anyway), and embraced the youth and joie de vivre of its stars. While Peter faced life-or-death scenarios again and again, these films were rebelliously joyous, until the third act of 2021’s No Way Home.
There, this Peter Parker lost his version of Uncle Ben, the cool (and hot) Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), who died in her pursuit to save classic Spidey villains from their pre-established fates. Then, as Peter looks to set the multiverses right, he must surrender being known. By movie’s end, no one in his universe remembers him, including Ned, MJ, and all his Avengers colleagues.
So where does that leave Brand New Day? Well, I’m sad to say in some frustratingly familiar territory.
This review will proceed with no major spoilers. If you’ve seen the trailers, you’re fine.
What’s Spider-Man: Brand New Dayabout?
Spider-Man swings to the rescue.Credit: Sony Pictures
Set roughly four years after the events of No Way Home, Spider-Man: Brand New Daybegins with Peter Parker living a resolutely isolated life. Sure, he’s out thwipping around New York City, fighting crime by webbing up bad guys and snatching would-be bystanders out of the path of carnage. However, because of his grief and guilt over the death of May, Peter won’t allow himself to get close to anyone.
Through social media, he watches Ned’s posts from four years of MIT, but he never comments. When a girl in his apartment building attempts to flirt, he essentially moves to the attic in self-exile. Where the end of the last film had him living in squalor, he somehow has enough cash to fill his apartment with expensive tech, including multiple computer displays and a 3D printer, while Spider-Manning full-time. The closest thing he has to a friend is NYPD inspector Jean DeWolff (The Bear‘s Liza Colón-Zayas), who urges him to address his lack of a work/life balance.
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Totally, totally. But Peter has bigger issues to deal with. First and foremost, his body is changing — well, mutating. The organic webs that he once marveled over coming out of Peter 2’s wrists are now coming out his own. He’s also suffering migraines, blackouts, and states of rage that turn his eyes black. (Think Aang going into the Avatar state, but the emo version.)
But that’s not all! Peter also must face off against a new threat to New York City. A mysterious person (Sadie Sink) is attacking Damage Control buildings in search of — what? Peter’s not sure. But what he has figured out is that whoever this curious foe is, she’s able to “possess” strangers as if they are puppets. (Think the Denzel Washington thriller Fallen.) Who can he trust when anyone can turn against him at the whim of this villain? Bruce “The Hulk” Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Frank “The Punisher” Castle (Jon Bernthal), because sure, why not?
Spider-Man: Brand New Dayis rehashing superhero standards.
Weary is the head that wears the Spidey mask.Credit: Sony Pictures
With the mutation plot point, Peter is once more faced with having to figure out how to superhero. This was something we saw in Homecoming as he unlocked the training wheels protocols, and all of a sudden had access to a bunch of Stark-designed deadly artillery. Later in that movie, and in Far From Home, and in No Way Home, something happens that strips away his tools, forcing him to trust in himself and his friends to save the day.
This Spider-Man’s arc has been all about rebuilding with a little help from his friends. In Brand New Day,this dynamic is marred because Peter hasn’t reconnected with Ned or MJ yet. So, his figuring out his new natural web shooting solo feels like a pretty blatant ripoff of the same sequence from Raimi’s Spider-Man.Which is odd tonally, because this movie is not remotely as wilfully silly as Raimi’s films.
Despite its optimistic title, Brand New Dayis a recurring bummer. Peter is thrust into the brooding sadsack role that we’ve seen in heroes like Captain America, Iron Man, Superman, and Batman. Weary is the head that wears the Spidey mask and all that. And yes, story-wise this makes sense. Peter’s lost the only parent figures he’s ever known, between May and Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame. Now, his only friends don’t know who he is. But Marvel movies post-snap being unending meditations on grief and trauma has been exhausting. To make the whole of Peter’s arc this retread is tiresome, especially since it leads to near re-enactments of past big moments (a kiss, a fall) rather than making interesting new ones.
Spider-Man: Brand New Dayis more a puzzle piece than a film.
Tom Holland is Spider-Man.Credit: Sony Pictures
Further frustrating, Spider-Man: Brand New Daydoesn’t feel like a weird little corner of the MCU, like the past three Watts’ films did. The screenplay by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers (who wrote Far From Homeand No Way Home) feels like a web of IP, more than a cohesive creative vision. Sure, the last movie tied in heroes and villains from past Spider-Man film series,’ as well as other MCU characters like Daredevil. But those felt like fan service towards the narrative’s purpose of exploring cycles of violence. It was fun andsurprising and interesting.
Brand New Dayis none of the above. There’s nothing here as gleefully surprising as the reveal that Vulture was the dad of Peter’s homecoming date, as fun as the Night Monkey shenanigans, or as interesting as giving all of the past Spider-Man’s big bads a second chance to get it right. Instead, Hulk is back to smash like we’ve seen before (“puny god”). And then, there’s Bernthal’s Punisher and the impressive, martial arts-fighting gang known as The Hand, with their rough edges smoothed off to fit into a PG-13 movie, where no one murders dozens of people with guns or casually sneers “motherfucker.” (When Frank tries, Spidey webs his mouth shut along with his guns.)
Naturally, there are other MCU characters too, new and old, who appear. But to save you what little surprises this film does offer, I’ll not identify them. Instead, I’ll say this: It’s not that these characters or these actors in the roles aren’t entertaining. It’s that they feel shoved in toward some mysterious purpose aimed at setting up Avengers: Doomsday.And so, Brand New Daybecomes less about Spider-Man than about the future of the phase.
Brand New Day gets some core Spider-Man details dead on.
Tom Holland is Spider-Man.Credit: Sony Pictures
For all my gripes, there were things Cretton got right. Like the past three Spider-Man movies, and Raimi’s as well, Brand New Dayshows a deep understanding/appreciation for New York City. I love this place, and I love it when a Spider-Man anything reflects that love. In Brand New Day, you see it in the web-slinging around the city, the setting of key scenes at gorgeous urban landmarks, like the top of Silvercup Studios in Queens, and the casting of fleets of background actors and under-five players, who burst with character even in brief moments. And you hear it in Holland’s accent, which has definitely gotten more New York as this franchise has gone on.
And look, he’s still a terrific Spider-Man. While I was disappointed that mopey Peter quips way less, Holland still has that twinkle in his eye, and a gift for the physical comedy of social embarrassment that makes this kid from Queens feel real even as his powers are unreal. The whole of the cast is impressive, buying into the reality of Brand New Day,meeting its weird mix of humor and heartache.
To circle back to the web-slinging, Cretton’s version is extraordinary. Some scenes do feel inspired by Marvel’s Spider-Man 2video game, which had an expansive map that allowed players to thwip into the outer boroughs beyond Manhattan and across bridges. That very thing happens in Brand New Day, and it’s so sensational that I could practically feel the breeze I imagined hitting my face in such moments of gameplay.
Cretton’s cinematographer and VFX team also offer some exciting shot variations in these sequences. Occasionally, we get a POV shot — allowing us to briefly imagine the rush of leaping off a building with no fear of falling. Other times, an over-the-shoulder shot of Spidey swinging makes us a part of the action as essentially a passenger, as if we’re hanging on behind him. And sometimes, Brand New Daycuts inside the mask, to a close-up of Peter’s eye. This is initially jarring, but in context creates a moment of calm and intense focus before the next battle. It’s almost as close as you can get to the inside of Peter’s head. Almost.
In the end, yes, Spider-Man: Brand New Dayis entertaining, but it falls short of the last three films in terms of imagination, surprises, and joy. Instead, this sequel feels bogged down by IP connections and brooding, which have been the albatross of too many other superhero movies to count.
Kristy Puchko is the Entertainment Editor at Mashable. Based in New York City, she’s an established film critic and entertainment reporter who has traveled the world on assignment, covered a variety of film festivals, co-hosted movie-focused podcasts, and interviewed a wide array of performers and filmmakers.
