Spider-Man Brand New Day

A little bit of homework before this one. I made sure I rewatched the last three Tom Holland Spider-Man movies in the run up to this, so I was fully caught up going in, and honestly, I’d recommend doing the same. This film picks up four years after Spider-Man No Way Home, and the emotional weight of that ending is the entire foundation of this movie. Peter wiped himself from everyone’s memory. Nobody knows who Peter Parker is anymore. And Brand New Day is all about what that decision has actually cost him.

A quick bit of background for anyone who’s ever been confused by the whole Spider-Man situation: Spider-Man is a Marvel character created by Marvel Comics, but the film rights are owned by Sony Pictures, so these Tom Holland movies are a joint production between Marvel Studios and Sony. And one thing I really noticed over the last few months is how different the build up to this one felt. The teasers, the full trailers, the little drips of footage along the way, the whole campaign had a much bigger scope compared to the previous Tom Holland Spider-Man movies. It honestly felt like Marvel was steering the ship this time, and the difference showed. It was almost like Marvel turned to Sony and said, take a seat, this is how you do it.

Behind the camera you’ve got Destin Daniel Cretton, who Marvel fans will know from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a film that already proved he could handle grounded character work and big spectacle in the same movie. That combination is exactly what Brand New Day needed, and he delivers.

First impressions? This movie hits the ground running. We kick off in Peter’s apartment with him doing a voiceover, catching us up on where his head is at, and then it’s straight into the action: Spider-Man out there looking after the city, and the swinging sequences are on a whole new scale. What struck me almost immediately is how much of this film was done with practical effects rather than bloated CGI, and it comes across on screen so much better than the previous entries. The movie just has more weight to it. More texture. You can feel the difference in almost every frame. Now, I will say the first 20 or 30 minutes move at a slower pace. It takes a little bit of time to ramp up and get well and truly into the storyline. But here’s the thing: that opening stretch is doing important groundwork. It’s establishing Peter as a loner, adjusting to the changes happening to his body, and setting up the mystery of who exactly is jumping into people’s minds. So be patient with it, because everything it sets up pays off.

A Lonelier, Older Peter Parker

Let’s talk about Peter himself, because this is where the movie really won me over. They are aging up Spider-Man here, and they’re not being subtle about it. This is a deliberate push away from the kid-out-of-high-school version of the character into something far more mature, and it works beautifully. Peter is a loner lost in a big city, and what makes it hit so hard is that this is entirely his own doing. He asked for this at the end of No Way Home. He wanted everyone’s memory wiped. And now he has to sit in the consequences of that choice, watching Ned and MJ move on with their lives without him. There’s a real lost puppy quality to Tom Holland’s performance in these early stretches, and it’s some of the best work he’s done in the role. There’s even a moment later in the film, an arrest scene of all things, where Peter essentially tells the world he’s not in high school anymore, and it lands like a mission statement for the whole movie.

The film also uses some lovely flashbacks to the previous three movies to tie the emotional threads together, and now that we’re four films deep with Tom Holland, those callbacks have real history behind them. And Aunt May, who we know is gone, appears as the voice of reason through flashback-style scenes, and it’s handled with so much warmth. She’s still the moral centre of Peter’s story even in her absence, and I thought that was a gorgeous touch.

Then there’s the transformation storyline, which is where the film gets properly interesting. Peter’s spider DNA is mutating beyond his control, and the biggest visible change is that his web shooters are now organic. No more mechanical gadgets. That’s a lovely old school nod for comic fans, and I loved watching Peter having to essentially learn how to use his powers all over again. But the standout element for me was the sensory overload sequences. The sound design in this movie is outstanding. When Peter’s senses spike, you experience it right alongside him, and it’s disorienting in the best possible way. You feel what it’s like inside that suit when everything gets too loud. Peter has no idea what’s happening to his body, he’s growing angrier, less in control, and the film keeps pushing the Peter Parker side of him further and further away while pulling the Spider-Man side forward. It’s a fascinating direction for the character.

And this is where Bruce Banner comes in. Mark Ruffalo’s Banner is working as a teacher now, and Peter goes to him for answers about why his body is overloading. The classroom scenes are really amusing, and honestly, this finally feels like they’ve got the Hulk right. The Spider-Man and Hulk material in this film is some of the most fun Ruffalo has had in the role in years, and when things escalate into full savage Hulk territory later on, it’s an absolute treat. If this is the level we’re getting, I want more of these two together.

Mind Games and a Mystery Worth Protecting

Now, the villains. On the street level you’ve got a rogues’ gallery of threats, Scorpion, Tombstone and more, keeping Peter busy while something much bigger stirs underneath. Damage Control also has a large part to play, and their offices are a brilliant scene with loads going on in the background. But the real central threat is a mysterious antagonist who can slip into people’s minds, jumping from person to person, making every ally and every encounter feel potentially compromised. It reminded me so much of the ’90s Denzel Washington thriller Fallen, where the villain hops between bodies and you never know who to trust. If you’ve never seen that film, add it to your list, because it’s a fantastic slice of paranoid ’90s thriller-making, and Brand New Day captures that same unsettling energy. There’s a moment involving MJ and Spider-Man that seems sweet on the surface and turns out to be something far more sinister, and it’s genuinely unnerving.

Which brings me to Sadie Sink. Now, I am not going to tell you who her character is. That reveal is much better discovered on screen, and I don’t want to ruin the fun for you. But what I will say is this: her character is fantastic, her motivation involves searching for a family member, and her role here is going to be huge for the MCU and beyond. Stranger Things fans already know what she’s capable of, and she brings all of it here. Marvel and Sony keeping her character under wraps through the entire marketing campaign created a little bit of a grey area for fans to speculate in, and I’ll just leave that word sitting there. When her powers go to full level in the third act, the shockwave sequence is spectacular.

And then there’s Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle. Here’s a fun bit of connective tissue: I saw Tom Holland and Jon Bernthal together just a few weeks ago in The Odyssey, and now here they are again. These two clearly love working together, and the chemistry carries over. When Peter goes to Frank for help, the dynamic between them crackles, the idealistic kid trying to hold onto his humanity and the man who gave his up a long time ago. The Spider-Man, Hulk and Frank Castle scenes are among the best in the movie, and there’s one moment late on where Frank essentially gets to play Spider-Man for a few seconds. That’s all I’m saying, because you need to see it for yourself. If you’ve only ever seen Bernthal as the Punisher, do yourself a favour and check him out in The Bear as well, because the man has range for days.

Roosevelt Island and Everything After

The final act goes down at Roosevelt Island, and it’s a stunner. Without giving too much away: ninjas turn up, the Hand gets involved, and Spider-Man finds himself completely outmatched, forced to remove his inhibitor and go full spider mode to survive. It’s thrilling, it’s emotional, and it ties every thread of the film together. The transformation, the isolation, the mind-jumping threat, all of it colliding in one place. Peter trying to reason with his enemy while barely holding onto himself is the whole movie in miniature.

Oh, and a fair warning for my fellow Easter egg hunters: this movie is chock full of them. Comic book cover tie-ins, small on-screen cameos, background details in the Damage Control offices. I’m going to need two or three viewings to catch them all, and honestly, I can’t wait. And yes, the rumours are true. There is a bath scene with another Marvel character. I’ll say no more.

So, final thoughts. This is an emotional powerhouse of a Spider-Man movie, and it works so well. The runtime absolutely flew by for me. Is it perfect? Not quite. The opening act takes its time getting going, and I was hoping for a few more cameos than we actually got. But those are small niggles against everything this film gets right. The maturity, the practical effects, the performances, the emotional depth: for my money, this is probably the best Spider-Man movie since Tobey Maguire’s first two. And I will not reveal anything about the end credits. That’s something you need to experience on the big screen yourself.

But look, that’s just how Brand New Day landed for me. Entertainment is subjective, and what swept me up completely might not hit you the same way, and that’s completely okay. Maybe the slower opening tests your patience, or maybe the darker, lonelier Peter isn’t the Spider-Man you fell in love with. Either way, go watch it, form your own take, and come join the conversation, because this is one I suspect we’ll be talking about for a long time.