Spider-Man: Brand New Day picks up after No Way Home, with Peter Parker now completely on his own after the entire world forgot who he was. He’s trying to start over and focus on being Spider-Man full time, but that quickly spirals when he gets pulled into a much bigger conflict involving new enemies, street-level threats, and the Hulk (so epic). It’s basically a fresh start for MCU Spider-Man — a more experienced, independent Peter dealing with a New York that has absolutely no idea who he really is.

Performances

Tom Holland has done a great job with Peter Parker/Spider-Man since he was cast. This is the best balance he’s struck between the two sides of the character, especially given where Peter is emotionally after Doctor Strange’s spell in No Way Home. Holland beautifully shows Peter’s dedication to being Spider-Man full time, while we still feel the weight of a life spent in almost complete seclusion from personal relationships. Easily Holland’s strongest performance yet.

Zendaya’s take on MJ is very different from her previous films — less quirky, more mature, which tracks given this movie takes place four years after No Way Home. She’s great here, especially in that rooftop scene.

Jacob Batalon has become one of my favorite side characters over the years. He doesn’t get as much screen time as others in this one, but every scene he’s in, you love it.

Tramell Tillman played a great Metzger — a casual, likable CEO of Damage Control. But I clocked immediately that he was up to no good; he seemed a little too kind. Hoping to see him show up in future X-Men films.

Mark Ruffalo was great as an academic Banner, back in his regular human form. His conversation with Peter brought me back to the Avengers films, to those intellectual back-and-forths he used to have with Stark. Not sure if it was meant as a callback, but it’s a great scene either way. His Savage Hulk transformation might be the best we’ve ever gotten — more on that fight in a bit.

I was curious how Jon Bernthal and Marvel would handle a PG-13 version of Punisher inside a relatively family-friendly Spider-Man film. Turns out this isn’t exactly your average family-friendly Spider-Man movie, and this version of Bernthal’s Punisher worked out so much better than I’d hoped. It felt completely natural. Somehow he ends up as the comic relief, but never once feels like he’s trying to be funny — his back-and-forth bickering with Spider-Man has a great rhythm to it.

Sadie Sink is a star, and this film proves it. As widely speculated, she plays Jean Grey — the first official (future) member of the X-Men roaming around the MCU. She’s lost, hurt, and angry. Sink plays her, for most of the film, in a genuinely sadistic way, which caught me off guard — but it cements her as a fantastic, unique villain for this Spider-Man to take on. Even at her most sadistic, Sink sells the ending perfectly: a reckless young girl who needs guidance, and probably a lot of therapy. Can’t wait to see more of her in the MCU — she’s the future.

One more thing: give me more Michael Mando as Scorpion. Feels like he’s just getting started.

Action & Visuals

Every Tom Holland Spider-Man film has had fantastic action, but this one felt different. No disrespect to Jon Watts, who I love as a director, but Destin Daniel Cretton brought a whole new level to this Spider-Man. This is a continuation of the last trilogy, but it plays like a totally different Spidey film. The fight scenes, the swinging, the New York visuals — it’s one of, if not the, highlight of this movie. It draws from both the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield Spider-Man films and blends them into something that becomes its own visual and action category entirely.

And then there’s the Hulk fight. It’s been almost a decade since we last saw Savage Hulk really go off, and this absolutely did not disappoint. Some of the best Hulk scenes we’ve ever gotten, even if it went by faster than I would’ve liked.

Hulk was NOT nerfed here.

I’m still trying to figure out if he actually remembered Peter.

Emotion

I felt this movie at my core. There’s emotion coming from every corner — Peter alone in his apartment, MJ carefully telling him she doesn’t love him, Jean locked in that chair discovering what happened to her sister, Frank apologizing at the end. I could go on. This movie makes a statement I think we can all relate to: just because your future didn’t turn out the way you expected doesn’t mean you should lose yourself to your circumstances.

It’s a wonderful lesson, and one that hit close to home for me.

I’m sure it did for a lot of people in the audience.

Soundtrack

Michael Giacchino never misses. I love how he took his No Way Home theme and stripped out certain notes to mirror the missing pieces in Peter’s life. It’s hard to rival the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man theme, but this one comes close.

Issues

A couple of things nagged at me. First: Peter’s money situation. Given the tech he’s rocking, it’s got to be more than pocket change — how is he actually funding it? It was a question that stuck with me through both viewings, and it got a little distracting.

Second: I loved Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey, but at the end of the film, Peter pleads with her, telling her she’s not a murderer. To me, though, it looked like the old man she possessed on the street probably died — or came close to it — after getting hit by a car going a solid 50 mph. You can chalk it up to recklessness rather than intent, but it was a big moment where I found myself thinking: wait, she doesn’t care about hurting innocent people? This version of Jean Grey is bad.

Outside of that — not many complaints. Overall, fantastic.

Final Verdict

I loved this film, and even more so on the second watch. This is exactly what people were asking for: a grounded Tom Holland Spider-Man movie that actually digs into Peter Parker’s psyche. What’s most impressive is that Sony and Marvel pulled off a grounded, Spidey-centered film — one where Peter is never overshadowed by anyone else — while still setting up and building the future of the MCU.

It’s like they pulled a fast one on us, but it worked.

A lot of credit goes to Destin Daniel Cretton and to Tom Holland, who took on a producer role for this film and fought hard for this version of the story. Honestly, this is one of the best MCU films to date, and my favorite Spider-Man movie since Raimi’s Spider-Man 2.

Tom Holland has taken the mantle, for me personally. He is now my favorite Peter Parker, and my favorite Spider-Man.

9.5/10