After years of battling multiverse-level threats and Avenger-sized foes, the newest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man series brings Peter Parker back to his roots — the gritty, bustling streets of New York. The film premiered in theaters July 31, and it follows a sullen Parker grappling with loss as he navigates a world that has forgotten his identity. With plenty of anticipation surrounding the movie’s release as early trailers teased returning fan-favorite characters and new villains, the film had high expectations to meet. The film delivered on much of that promise, excelling in portraying the superhero’s unique struggles and role as a friendly neighborhood hero. However, it slightly falters in its pacing and occasionally overpowering connection to the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The film opens nine months after the events of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” with Parker reciting an unsent letter addressed to his former girlfriend Michelle Jones or “MJ” Watson who no longer remembers him because of Dr. Strange’s memory spell. Reprising this role for the eighth time, lead actor Tom Holland’s restrained mannerisms and somber expression strikingly capture the weight of losing several loved ones. As Parker straps on homemade webshooters and interacts with a self-created artificial intelligence assistant, the opening scene immediately establishes a sense of isolation, contrasting Peter's reliance on Stark Industries' technology in previous films.
This sense of independence extends beyond Parker’s personal journey, allowing “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” to embrace a more traditional and stripped-back version of the character. The film leans into Spider-Man’s comic origins, including several adversaries featured in the original Marvel comics. Holland’s fight choreography — designed by the Jackie Chan Stunt Team — also draws inspiration from Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man video games, with several hand-to-hand combat scenes and end poses mimicking the games’ style. By drawing from source material like the comics and video games, Director Destin Daniel Cretton, who previously spearheaded Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” brings to the screen a superhero that feels remarkably familiar and grounded.
Beyond its action, the film is anchored by Parker’s evolving relationships, new and old. Joining the franchise is Parker’s bickering, polarizing alliance with Jon Bernthal’s The Punisher. While their friendship makes its film debut, Holland and Bernthal’s quick-witted banter fleshes out their relationship efficiently, allowing both sentimental and humorous scenes among them to land effectively. Furthermore, Parker also explores old relationships with Zendaya’s MJ Watson and Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds. Marked by an underlying sense of uncertainty, Zendaya’s performance skillfully depicts MJ struggling to find purpose in her current life post graduation. Meanwhile, Batalon effortlessly revives Leeds’ warmth and humor, making Parker’s struggle over whether to reunite with the duo feel all the more real.
These relationships also make Parker’s descent into a darker mindset all the more convincing. Holland portrays the transition with composure, allowing Parker’s growing anger and avoidant tendencies to slowly overtake his character instead of an immediate transition. As Parker’s arachnid DNA begins to overtake his humanity, Cretton crafts a world where Parker struggles to keep up with the physiological changes wracking his body, slowly forcing his arachnid DNA to surpass him. These solemn moments are cut with humor and rapid-fire action, though, preventing the film from fully delving into more serious and heavy themes.
A harbinger of Parker’s slow descent into frenzy is the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s newest villain, whose telepathic abilities fuel a violent rampage across New York. The mystery surrounding the villain initially creates a sense of intrigue and ambiguity, as the film slowly unveils their identity and the surprising motivations behind their destruction. Marked by a compelling performance, Parker’s opponent’s intimidating presence is balanced with moments of emotional vulnerability. However, the antagonist’s fast-paced backstory and rushed defeat create an underdeveloped character whose character arc didn’t fully resonate.
Where “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” gets tangled in its own webbing is in its pacing. The film initially settles into a somber lens, highlighting Parker’s lonely existence after the end of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” while simultaneously barreling through cameo appearances with anticipated villains like The Scorpion. This uneven pace slows significantly as Parker grapples with his changing DNA before it quickly accelerates into a relentless bombardment of battles in the film’s latter half. These sudden shifts in pacing are hard to ignore, leaving several resolutions feeling both rushed and unearned.
Though Cretton succeeded in anchoring Spider-Man back to a street-level fighter from his previous Avenger-level exploits, he faltered in including too many Marvel characters and franchise connections. While an appearance from Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova added humorous banter, her role in the film seemed to serve more as a connectivity point between the New Avengers and Spider-Man ahead of “Avengers: Doomsday.” Rather than strengthening the film’s individual story, her cameo appearance highlights Cretton’s struggles with balancing an individual Spider-Man narrative alongside the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While Parker defends the five boroughs of New York from various levels of crime, an overall strength to the film’s cinematography is the small details that draw attention to the city itself as a character. A primary driver of this is the film’s musical score, crafted by Academy Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino, which features a range of instrumental and orchestral compositions to tracks from artists like Tame Impala to Bad Bunny. This soundtrack makes New York feel more central to Holland’s Spider-Man as he swings through the city enveloped by music that feels like a window into his mind.
Although “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” occasionally gets caught in the web of uneven pacing and franchise expectations, the film excels in returning Peter Parker to the qualities that make him a beloved hero. Lonely, altruistic and with a newfound sense of self, Spider-Man is offered a lens to display his growth through. With grounded storytelling and heartfelt performances that emphasize the person behind the mask, the film takes the character through a transformative journey that ultimately lands back at his roots.
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