Spider-Man: Brand New Day (PG-13)
10/08/26 21:01 Filed in: 2026
Starring: Tom Holland
July 2026
Warning! This is NOT a movie review. This is a critique of the film. Intended to initiate a dialogue, the following analysis explores various aspects of the film and may contain spoilers. For concerns over objectionable content, please first refer to one of the many parental movie guide websites. Ratings are based on a four star system. Happy reading!
When last we saw Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), he was ordering coffee in a NYC café from his girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya)—who has no idea who Peter is. To protect the ones he loves, Peter reset the universe in the previous film, Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Now, Peter must learn how to live without the ones he cares about most—his guardian, Aunt May (Marisa Tomei); his best friend, Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon); and MJ.
So how does Peter respond to such a catastrophic personal loss? By throwing himself into his work. The Friendly, Neighborhood Spider-Man is back with a vengeance, ensnaring countless criminals in webs and handing vanquished villains over to the police. Well, maybe remove “Friendly” from his moniker. This new version of Spidey is far more aggressive and reckless; when he goes on a rampage, there’s collateral damage, namely destruction of property and an injured cop.
With most of Spider-Man’s rogue’s gallery behind bars, a new threat emerges and begins terrorizing the city. First, a mysterious force orchestrates an elaborate jailbreak, then an attempt is made to infiltrate a corporate building that houses a secret vault. This unseen assailant can enter a person’s thoughts and manipulate them in any way desired. As Spidey searches for a way to regulate his heightened arachnid senses, he also must track down the invisible enemy and prevent them from harming MJ, Ned and the entire city.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the fourth Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland, who now becomes the most tenured actor to suit up in red spandex. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Brand New Day is a significant departure from the earlier Holland trilogy; the Harry Potter-esque easy camaraderie and teen angst that existed among the central triad is replaced with an adult story and a darker tone as Spidey goes it alone…a new day indeed.
Cretton creates a moody atmosphere with a series of superb establishing shots of NYC, often under an overcast sky. The director also takes us into gritty corners of the city previously unexplored in the earlier Holland Spider-Man movies. These are excellent creative choices as they perfectly match the somber mood and tortured psyche of the titular hero.
Though the POV shots of Spidey swinging from building to building are thrilling and immersive, the CGI isn’t much better than what you’d see in the newer Spider-Man video games. The scenes where Spider-Man holds MJ while soaring through the air are also exhilarating and recall the Superman and Lois Lane flying sequence from Superman (1978).
Brand New Day boasts a bevy of side characters, both heroes and villains (and some heroes that act like villains). Though most only have bit parts, several familiar Spider-Man villains appear in the movie, including: Ramrod (Billy Clements), Scorpion (Michael Mando) and Tombstone (Marvin Jones III). On the good side are Frank Castle/Punisher (Jon Bernthal), Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Yelena Belova/Black Widow (Florence Pugh).
Potty-mouthed Punisher feels out of place alongside the wholesome wallcrawler; his appearance here feels shoehorned (to raise awareness of the TV show on Disney+?). Dr. Banner and his alter ego have significant screen time, but ultimately, The Hulk is just a blunt object wielded by both the villain and the writers in the climactic action sequence. Though Black Widow provides Spidey with valuable information, her superfluous scenes (all shot in one room) could’ve been cut with little consequence.
Another new character for the good guys is NYPD Detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas). Though she doesn’t know Spider-Man’s true identity, she has him on speed dial and they often consult on cases…her kids are big fans. Detective DeWolff is to Spider-Man what Commissioner Gordon is to Batman; but she doesn’t need a Bat-Signal to summon her superhero, just a cell signal.
For those who haven’t been following the news about Brand New Day, wild speculation has swirled around Sadie Sink’s unnamed role in the movie. Don’t worry, for those who haven’t already guessed, I won’t reveal the identity of the mystery character. I will say that a word linked with Sink’s character, “V-Max,” is a clever inside gag since her character’s name in Stranger Things is Max. Cutting deeper, “V-Max” is similar to “V’Ger” in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) since both words contain missing letters that reveal important aspects of the plot during climactic moments of their respective movies.
When Peter begins to experience physical changes, presumably due to added stress, he desperately searches for a way to keep his arachnid DNA from triggering aggressive behaviors during heightened situations. Peter wants to rein in the negative aspects of his mutant abilities, which are causing him to commit harmful actions. He doesn’t want to do what’s wrong, but he can’t stop himself.
Peter creates several versions of an inhibitor chip to better balance his human and spider selves, and to sublimate unwanted behaviors. After much trial and error, Peter discovers the correct frequencies and creates a tiny device that he places on the back of his neck. He then wonders if it’s possible to create a universal inhibitor that can control everyone. Unfortunately, he’s late to the party on that idea, since the Mad Hatter from the Batman mythos has already mastered mind-controlling technology.
Like the Mad Hatter, this movie’s villain is all about controlling other people. The shadow character’s ability to enter a person’s mind, and then leapfrog from one person to another, is referred to as “possession,” though the powers on display are more like mental projection or telepathy. The villain can, in essence, hypnotize an individual and make that person do whatever they want; when the person snaps out of the spell, they don’t remember anything. An ethical question arises—is a person responsible for what they’ve done while under the mental control of an evil mastermind?
In one scene, the villain overrides the awareness of a random man on the street and makes him step into oncoming traffic. The mysterious antagonist kills the man, seemingly without compunction or remorse. People are just pawns to this evil mastermind. Finally, a realistic malefactor, unlike the cartoony miscreants listed above.
Though the villain instigates some of the conflicts in the movie, Spider-Man finds enough trouble on his own. Spider-Man fights a few security guards who carry machine guns and some type of electrical wand, which is similar to those brandished by General Grievous’ lackeys in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005).
Spider-Man goes berserk in one action beat; he smashes cars (including a cop car) and pounds the daylights out of Scorpion. His aggressive behavior is similar to that of another Avenger—the Hulk. Though only in a few scenes, the not-so-jolly green giant cracks some skulls and does major damage to a building…nothing new here.
The melee where ninja-like warriors, called The Hand, attack Spidey, is the most elegantly storyboarded action sequence in the movie; it uses a variety of filming techniques including a Matrix-style slo-mo shot as Spidey bends away from throwing stars and another slo-mo shot where the warriors build a human pyramid to launch their leader at the webslinger—absolutely gorgeous cinematography. Though unquestionably violent, most of these sequences aren’t overly bloody or graphic.
While action scenes are clearly the movie’s strong suit, the plot often flounders. Largely missing from the story, written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, is any hint of lightness or levity; the movie only contains a few of Spidey’s signature quips. The one major exception is the uproariously funny “stretching scene”—worth the price of admission.
Brand New Day is a jumbled web of narrative elements that the writers mistakenly think is a complete, and satisfying, Spidey tale. The story is frustratingly uneven; it’s a tug-of-war between the hero and villain, where neither comes out ahead. The movie’s Achilles’ heel is that its focus is fractured: Peter’s emotional trauma, Peter’s physical changes, Peter’s attempts at reestablishing relationships with his former friends, Punisher, Banner, Scorpion, DeWolff, the new villain, corporate corruption, other story elements, ad nauseam. What’s the movie’s overall theme? More importantly, what’s the main takeaway?
Though effective at filling in the backstory and highlighting the emotional connections between the main characters, the movie has far too many flashbacks. First, we’re in Peter’s thoughts for a montage flashback sequence. Then we’re inside the villain’s flashback. Later, the villain is inside Peter’s flashback with Peter watching from the sideline. Which character should we focus on? Whose movie is it anyway?
Despite its plot deficiencies and overblown action sequences, Brand New Day has a handful of meaningful character moments. Though far too predictable, the scenes where Peter tries to reconnect with Ned and MJ are well acted and well executed. At the end of the film, the status of Peter and MJ’s relationship is…complicated. The final scene reveals Peter’s tacit concession that befriending Ned is a far easier prospect than wooing MJ. Peter’s attempts at getting back together with MJ will surely be a major story element in the inevitable sequel.
Brand New Day certainly lives up to its name since it’s a significant departure from the earlier movies in the Holland era. It’s a tale of unrequited love, anger, revenge, and the desire to control the negative aspects of our lives. It’s also a classic example of the hero’s dichotomy: to accomplish his goal, Spider-Man must face the enemy without as well as the enemy within.
Though Brand New Day effectively moves the series forward, it’s actually more of an origin story for the villain than a towering triumph for the hero, which is disappointing. Plus, the movie is unnecessarily serious (Joker agrees).
Sad to say, but compared to many other superhero movies, Brand New Day is small potatoes.
Rating: 2½ out of 4
P.S. For those who routinely sit through the entire movie to catch an additional clip, be advised that Brand New Day contains the lamest post-credits bonus scene ever. Oh, and James Bond called and wants his sign-off back.