TL;DR – While there are limitations from a narrative perspective, the core strength of the characters shines through in a compelling way.

Post-Credit Scene – There is an end-credit sting.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Review Introduction

This was a bit of an odd film for me, because of a number of factors. The first being my love of the MCU has been waning; I have not had the time or strength to keep up with its Disney+ outputs, and some of its recent films have been profoundly lacklustre. To add to this, I found the resolution of the last film, Spider-Man: No Way Home, to feel more like corporate maintenance than compelling storytelling. But given half the cast of the Odyssey is here, I thought it prudent to give it at least a go on its own terms.
 
So, to set the scene, it has been a hard couple of years for Peter Parker (Tom Holland), while Spider-Man (Tom Holland) has been out there becoming the hero of New York as he always wanted to be. Peter has lived a closed-off life, as the memory of the loss of Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) looms large. It doesn’t help that his two best friends, MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon), both forgot who he was and went off to live their own lives. But when an unknown entity starts attacking the Department of Damage Control by jumping between people, Peter realises there could be a dangerous enemy afoot, unless the imbalances in his own body take him down first.

The Story is a Bit Formulaic

While I do plan to be quite complimentary towards the film, I do need to make it clear from the start that if you are here for the story alone, it is not going to work for you. Now, is there a story? Yes, of course. It is just a very predictable endeavour, bar one or two moments. If you understand even a small amount about comic book films, then you will know who the main villain will be among our rogue’s galleries. You will also be able to chart Spider-Man’s journey from the second he mentions the inhibitor. It is a very by-the-books outing that does not leave any cards close to the chest. Okay, maybe one or two, maybe.

It is the Vibe that Elevates

What Spider-Man: Brand New Day does is take this structurally basic film and elevate it with a cast that clearly works well together. I really felt Tom Holland’s pain in watching his friends from afar and feeling like he can’t be with them at all. That juxtaposition between both sides of his life that was fractured in the last film feels like a raw wound that you power through rather than stopping to think about it for a moment. Because the physical pain is better than thinking through the psychological pain of loss, it is something I can deeply sympathise with. The film is full of these moments that elevate, like the juxtaposition between Peter and Frank in how they deal with things.  

The rest of the cast also step up into this space to create a film that was quite compelling for me. I think we are past the point of mentioning that Tom and Zendaya have great chemistry, but there are some moments here where they do step it up and show just how good they can be. Jon Bernthal and Florence Pugh are great additions, because it feels like they are having fun with the roles. Yes, everyone who was terminally online knew who Sadie Sink was playing before the film started, but I saw a screening with an audience where that surprise hit just as much as they wanted it to. She also plays the hell out of that role, which makes the ending land as well as it does.

Visual Styling         

Now, rightly or wrongly, these films will be compared to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and yes, there is no comparison. However, for me, when I compare it to Spider-Man: No Way Home, it felt like a real improvement. The stuff shot on the ground at least did not feel like you were walking around a green-screen box, nor did I feel like I was watching a CGI suit the whole time with Tom’s floating head attached. Having not watched any of the trailers before the film, I came into all the action sequences fresh, and they all did their jobs even if they are cribbing off X-Men 2’s notes a touch at times. I am glad that they took the time to give the possession sequences a visual impact, because it needed it.     

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend Spider-Man: Brand New Day? I think I would. I am not sure it hits as hard as Spider-Man: Homecoming did for me, but it got a lot closer than anything else has recently. It had solid action scenes, a perfectly okay story, and made the most out of the characters. For me, making the most of your actors and characters can help elevate an otherwise dull story, and they do it well here.  

Have you watched Spider-Man: Brand New Day? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked Spider-Man: Brand New Day, we would recommend Finding Emily to you because while it is a very different film, it also understands the power of the actors to bring a story to life.  

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Feel free to share this review on social media and check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Directed by – Destin Daniel Cretton
Screenplay by – Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers
Based on – Spider-Man by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko
Music by – Michael Giacchino
Cinematography by – Brett Pawlak
Edited by – Nat Sanders, Gina Sansom, & Harry Yoon
Production/Distribution Companies – Columbia Pictures, Marvel Studios, Pascal Pictures, & Sony Pictures
Starring – Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando, Mark Ruffalo, Liza Colón-Zayas & Marisa Tomei
With – Naomi Watts, Marvin Jones III, Eman Esfandi, Zabryna Guevara, Olivia Booth-Ford, Keith David, Fan Xiaoshuang, Billy Clements, & Tiffany Espensen  
Rating – Australia: M; Canada: PG; Germany: 12; New Zealand: na; United Kingdom: 12A; United States: PG-13