‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Review – An Emotionally Resonant Return For Marvel

The Good Of Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Getting right into it, Spider-Man: Brand New Day also gets right into it. The film drops you a bit after we left Peter Parker off in Spider-Man: No Way Home. No one remembers him, he’s the neighborhood hero again. But something is bothering him, something is changing him. Tom Holland continues to be one of the best Peter Parkers that we’ve seen on screen with his boyish charm. You’d think into his college years that the magic would run out, but it still continues throughout this film.

A strange new enemy that can take over people’s minds is at the forefront of Brand New Day, but that’s really an ancillary thing. The true battle is between Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Peter so desperately wants people to remember him and Spider-Man just wants to keep working. Obviously, they’re the same person, but not too unlike the Hulk, Peter and the arachnid DNA inside of him have to duke it out, with Peter losing control at points.

Outside of Peter, there are turns here from Jon Bernthal as The Punisher, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, Zendaya as MJ, and Jacob Batalan as Ned. Seeing Bernthal have to dial back some of the edgier elements of The Punisher is kind of a breath of fresh air. Also, his performance as the villain of the film taking over his mind is gold. The relationship between Peter and Frank might not be Tony-Peter levels of mentor, but it’s some of the best that the film offers. I do wish there was more from the two of them in the film.

The Meh Of Spider-Man: Brand New Day

So what doesn’t quite work in the film? Well, for starters, it does feel a bit bloated from a plot standpoint. Like a lot of later stage Marvel movies, this one has a lot going on. We’ve got The Punisher, we’ve got The Hulk, we’ve got *REDACTED* as a villain, we’ve got their backstory, we’ve got Peter fighting against himself, there’s even The Hand to worry about. So with the 2-hour and 25-minute runtime, there’s only so much screen time to go around. The villain’s arc, once it gets going and once everything is revealed, works really well. But before that and getting to the third act, there’s just a lot.

My biggest gripe was with some of the choices that they make in the film that don’t go as far as they could. The core tenet of the film is Peter wrestling with himself and the changes that he’s going through. His entire life was turned around; he lost his Aunt May, and none of his friends remember him. But it treats that wound like it’s something that isn’t life-threatening. It also makes a big deal about Peter finding a way to control his spider half, and even goes as far as creating something that could end up making Peter into a judge of what powers are good and bad, but doesn’t ever delve deeper. It’s a fascinating question about being able to limit one’s DNA and the powers of other people, but it’s more of a plot device on how to deal with the Hulk and *REDACTED*.

Instead of getting something that really could change how we view Peter and Spider-Man, it falls a bit to the wayside and makes for a buff for the character’s fighting ability in the third act.

Sweet Emotion

Whether it is Peter and Frank finally seeing eye to eye, Peter accepting who is he and that he’s flawed, or the emotional arc of *REDACTED*, the film really hits hard in its final half-hour. The last Marvel movie to make me feel emotion like this was Thunderbolts* and before that was probably Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Brand New Day continues the recipe for the best Marvel movies, and it humanizes a character that is inherently superhuman. By dragging Peter down to our normal levels with his issues and baggage, it makes for a better experience watching.

There’s talk about an inhibitor in the film, and it really feels like Marvel/Sony took the inhibitor off of Destin Daniel Cretton for the big fight scene in the finale of the film. Before that point, the action is fine, if unspectacular, but when Peter goes toe to toe with The Hand, it turns into an action feast. Fans of the Spider-Man video games might recognize some moves, and the action really feels like those games do.

Recent Marvel movies haven’t had the best CGI, but the effects in Spider-Man: Brand New Day range from decent to “I don’t even know that this is CGI”. This is a welcome change to see that things don’t have seams, and they definitely gave the effects artists enough time to work on this film.

The Verdict On Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Overall, Spider-Man: Brand New Day reaches new emotional heights for these movies. It might not be as fresh as Homecoming, as epic and theater-business-saving as No Way Home, or as paranoid as Far From Home. It reaches a point between all of those past films and gives us the best and most emotionally resonant Peter Parker story, though.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day releases in theaters on July 31st, 2026.

Stick through to the credits!

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