Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Spider-Man: Brand New Day follows an isolated Peter Parker (Tom Holland) four years after the events of No Way Home. Defending New York City full-time as Spider-Man, the solitude starts to wear on the city’s beloved superhero, sparking physical, emotional, and mental changes that affect more than just himself.
A dangerous new threat appears in NYC, but the eerie and most difficult part to accept is that only Peter can see it. He hasn’t been coping well with loneliness, and instead of telling his friends, MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon), the truth, he periodically tracks them to ensure their safety. That emotional grief alters his mental state, which in turn sparks a physical change in his body.
As seen in the trailer, Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is an instructor at Empire State University and is approached by Parker under an alias (the spell in No Way Home wiped everyone’s memory of him). Avoiding revelation of his true identity, he asks about the science behind the tech he wears to keep his powers under control.
The two things that stand out the most in this film are Peter’s emotional depth and the cinematography. After screening both this and The Odyssey, Holland definitely had a more dramatic, impactful showing in Brand New Day. Watching MJ and Ned move on with their lives without remembering him is a pain he refuses to address. A handwritten note to MJ sits in a coffee cup in his apartment, untouched since its creation. Why won’t he just give it to her? The pain of loving someone so much that believing the best thing for them is to distance yourself begins to drag him down. Crime in the city is almost nonexistent, but it takes a toll on his body and mind. All of this while the arachnid in his DNA starts to spike at random and fuel an almost uncontrollable rage. Spanning the entire emotional gamut, Holland gives an excellent performance.
The New York City skyline is your tapestry, and a web-slinging superhero is your focal point. Swinging through the city, sometimes by rooftop, sometimes hovering above the streets, the Spider-Man we know and love is painted like a Da Vinci’d-hero. From the fight scenes to their choreography, the camera work was simply incredible. It was often the simple scenes, like the one below or the opening scene, walking on a rooftop, where we’d be side-swiped by beautiful imagery. It’s enough to whisk you away in amazement.
The film does a nice job weaving between action, adventure, and mental health while sticking to the story. A firm confrontation by a familiar face forces him to confront his trauma. The best part? An extremely aggressive word of warning with a sprinkle of kindness from Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal). In the most emotionally detailed film in the series, Brand New Day shows Spider-Man as we’ve never seen him before.
Spider-Man Brand New Day gets a 9 out of 10. There are a lot of easter eggs and a very short end-credits scene, so be sure to sit tight. This one is worth seeing in the theatre as it’s a cinematic spectacle. He seeks help from some familiar faces, and a new character enters the fray, but as always, we stay spoiler-free over here.
Spider-Man Brand New Day hits theatres this Friday, July 31.
-Jon Jones
Photos: Sony Pictures
Genre: Superhero/Fantasy
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 2 hr 25 mins
Trailer: Watch
U.S. Release Date: July 31, 2026