Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026): Tom Holland’s Webhead Enters a Fresher, More Mature Era

“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Wonder Man, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and stars Tom Holland (Cherry, Onward), Zendaya (Dune, Challengers), Sadie Sink (Stranger Things, The Glass Castle), Jacob Batalon (Novocaine, Reginald the Vampire), Jon Bernthal (The Accountant, The Wolf of Wall Street), Florence Pugh (Dune: Part Two, Don’t Worry Darling), Tramell Tillman (Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Severance), Marisa Tomei (The King of Staten Island, My Cousin Vinny), and Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight, Dark Waters). This film is the fourth standalone Tom Holland “Spider-Man” installment and follows a forgotten Peter Parker as he lives life without his former friends and loved ones. He also has to deal with physical changes and a telepathic threat.

The Tom Holland “Spider-Man” movies remind me a bit of the Tom Cruise “Mission: Impossible” movies, particularly the run from “Mission: Impossible II” to “Fallout,” because each film, for me anyway, entertained me more than the preceding one. The run from “Spider-Man: Homecoming” to “No Way Home” played out in a similar manner.
As much as I enjoyed “Homecoming,” I found parts of it underwhelming, and I had some gripes with certain portions of the story. Then came “Far from Home,” which not only did I think was better than “Homecoming,” but the best comic book movie of that year. Keep in mind, this is 2019… A year that includes “Joker” and “Avengers: Endgame.” I liked both movies. I prefer “Far from Home.” Flash forward to 2021, when “No Way Home” hit theaters. This was a movie that I was both looking forward to as a fan of the property, but found myself incredibly nervous about, as I was worried it was focused more on quantity than quality. While the film may not have been the best-looking or directed of the “Spider-Man” movies, I still find it to be one of the most entertaining, exciting, and engaging films of the decade. I rewatched the film recently and thought it maintained a perfect pace. It even made me tear up at one point.
With “Spider-Man” being Sony’s most notable property, it should not be a surprise that “Brand New Day,” also starring Tom Holland, would be happening. After all, “No Way Home” ends in a way that effectively closes out the Jon Watts-directed trilogy, while setting a rather clean slate for someone new to add a touch of their own. Enter Destin Daniel Cretton, whose credibility at Marvel is fairly high at this point given how he directed “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and was involved in the production of “Wonder Man” on Disney+.
Going back to what I said about “No Way Home” not being the best-looking “Spider-Man” movie… When I say that, I do not necessarily mean that it looks downright terrible, but there are a couple effects or minor points that I thought could have been cleaned up. To reference another “Spider-Man” movie, those specific parts failed to “maintain the illusion.” Nevertheless, if I said that “Brand New Day” was a bad-looking movie, I would be lying to you.

Of the Tom Holland “Spider-Man” installments, this is definitely the best looking of the four, just from a general color perspective. Not only is the film graded in a way that often pops, much like an epic comic book frame, but a lot of the costumes and character designs make for eye candy as well. From Spider-Man’s new, simple suit to the outfits worn by the Hand. In fact, when those characters are in the same space, they face off in an incredible looking-action sequence with immaculate framing. By the way, said camerawork just so happens to be pulled off by Bill Pope, who in addition to collaborating with Destin Daniel Cretton in “Shang-Chi,” was also the cinematographer for “Spider-Man 2” and “Spider-Man 3” directed by Sam Raimi.
That Hand faceoff is just one of the many action scenes that stand out, including a chase sequence early on where we first see Spidey with the Punisher. Not only is it a good-looking scene, but it is just the first moment where we get a sense of Tom Holland’s brilliant chemistry with Jon Bernthal.

Another incredible-looking aspect of the film is the swinging. As far as the “Spider-Man” movies go, I cannot name any that had outright awful swinging scenes, but there are some that stand out more than others. Even though I was not a fan of the film as a story, I did find the swinging scenes in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” to be creatively done, immersive, and downright sick. “Brand New Day” has my favorite swinging scenes in a “Spider-Man” film since “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” These scenes are absolutely fluid and awe-inspiring. I truly felt at times that I was leaping through Manhattan.
Not to digress, but I do not know how this is not amazing… This is the second movie released in the span of two weeks that has Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, and Zendaya in it. I should note, for those who wanted more from these three as opposed to “The Odyssey,” good news, “Brand New Day” has you covered. Holland should be no surprise as he is playing the lead. Bernthal takes up a good amount of screentime and is maybe the funniest of all the characters in the cast. Well, except for one… I will leave that as a surprise. And if you like the sound of Zendaya’s voice, you will be hearing a lot more of it in this movie than “The Odyssey.”

I am not surprised that Peter Parker’s former friends, M.J. (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) are in this movie for as long as they are. For one thing, the two are genuinely likable and bring some soul into these flicks. I am surprised to say this as these are two characters who, quite frankly, I did not immediately latch onto while watching “Homecoming,” but I thought they improved vastly as more movies came out. Early on in the film, we see Peter watching his friends from the sidelines, or more accurately, via the Internet, as they attend M.I.T.. For those who missed “No Way Home,” M.I.T. was the top college Peter, M.J., and Ned were trying to get into, but all of them were rejected from the school, given the public’s shift on how they viewed Spider-Man following Mysterio’s death, before which he revealed the webhead’s identity. M.J. and Ned now forget Peter courtesy of Doctor Strange’s spell towards the end of “No Way Home,” but the two start off the story creating a time to remember at M.I.T., Peter is not tagging along. In fact, he seems to be skipping college altogether. It does make sense, as he is living on his own in New York and needs to pay rent to a landlord who I can only assume has eyes like a rodent.
Instead, Peter seems to start off this movie fighting one bad guy after the next. The information given in an early action montage is being fed at such a breakneck pace and serves as a solid start to the webhead’s journey. It establishes him as the hero New York loves, which for him, must be a nice change of pace after being chased by haters left and right in the last film. Maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, as Doctor Strange’s spell may have helped Peter get out of one problem, but ultimately created another. He has to start his life from scratch. While onlookers through New York may shower Spider-Man with love, Peter is dealing with the fact that he has nothing left to lose. No one knows who he is at this point. His most prominent mentors, particularly Tony Stark and Aunt May, are both dead. All Peter can do is take life one day at a time. It has gotten to the point where Peter himself has almost forgotten who he is. Throughout the film, Holland’s Spider-Man reminds me a little of Robert Pattinson’s Batman. While Bruce Wayne was never erased from existence, I got the sense that there was more “Bat” than “man” out of the character, the Spider-Man in this film feels more Spider than Man. Both figuratively and literally.

If you are tired of “Spider-Man” getting sidelined by other Marvel characters in his own movies, then “Brand New Day” may be the closest the series has come to avoid doing such a thing. Note that I said this is “the closest” example and not that this film has outright kept such a thing from happening. After all, Bruce Banner plays a prominent role in this film, and the Punisher has a fair amount of screentime, but of the MCU “Spider-Man” titles, this may be the purest “Spider-Man” story yet. It feels, in certain ways, more traditional. Spider-Man has no shortage of tech around him, but the suit he wears throughout this latest installment is a lot simpler than the ones he had previously. We see moments of Peter trying to live up to the expectations of important people he lost in life. The stakes in this film are by no means small, but by the end of the film, it was Peter’s mission to “save New York” as opposed to the entire world, or the multiverse. Although the film does in some ways continue to acknowledge the multiverse, as well as the Spider-Men he met in “No Way Home.” It should not be too surprising as the MCU is still in its Multiverse Saga.
The vibe of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” reminded me quite a bit of “Thunderbolts*” by the film’s conclusion. Much like how “Thunderbolts*” centers around its characters’ handling of their mental health, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” features Peter Parker constantly trying to deal with the fact that his life has changed. Even as the years go by, it still hurts. The mental struggles are not just exclusive to the heroes, as the film’s antagonist also has struggles their own that we see through flashbacks.
While “Spider-Man: No Way Home” remains my favorite of the Tom Holland “Spider-Man” movies, “Brand New Day” comes with a perk that “No Way Home” lacks. I think one can find enjoyment in “No Way Home” even if it is their first “Spider-Man” or Marvel film, but I think the experience watching that movie would be ten times better if you watched “Far from Home” or some of the other “Spider-Man” stories. As an entry point, “No Way Home” is not the best option. Despite “Brand New Day” being the fourth film in this saga, it is a good place to start if you are a “Spider-Man” newbie. That is despite having familiar characters like Hulk and Punisher. Yes, it piggybacks off of “No Way Home’s” ending. But the film does a good job at bringing viewers up to speed on what Peter is up to, what happened in his life, and so on. The only factors that would perhaps keep it from being the best entry point are Ned and M.J.. I appreciated the movie as someone who has grown fond of those characters in the original trilogy, as well as their connection to Peter. Even if you are not familiar with Ned and M.J., it is still fun to watch them. Their chemistry with each other, as well as Peter, is terrific.
The film is on the longer side, clocking in at 145 minutes. The pace does get a tad tiresome towards the end. At that point, things felt a bit slower than I would have anticipated. The movie is quite fast at the beginning, but almost the opposite towards the conclusion. For the most part, the pace works, but it is not perfect.
Speaking of credits, there is a post-credits scene in the film, which I will not reveal, but of the scenes that can be found in the end credits of MCU movies, I found this to be one of the weaker ones. Sure, it does play off of something that was previously highlighted in the movie, but it kind of feels lazy. For one thing, unlike most post-credits scenes in Marvel films, which are done physically and in-camera, this one, which only lasts 10 to 15 seconds max, is done on a virtual screen. Heck, even that stupid post-credit scene in “Ant-Man and the Wasp” where the ant plays the drums had more soul put into it! Sure, this new scene offers a tease of sorts, and I would probably would have been underwhelmed to have sat through the credits and not witnessed a scene at all, but the one we got sort of feels like a waste of time.
Keep in mind though, we are just talking about credits here. The post-credits scene did not ruin the movie. The movie is still awesome. It does a spectacular job handling Peter’s character, introduces a fairly compelling villain, has some great-looking and fun action sequences, and offers some really good performances from the entire cast. The pace of the film is not always perfect, it almost doesn’t know when it wants to end, and the story does get to a point where it is nearly overstuffed. Yet as I address these criticisms, the positives heavily outweigh the negatives when it comes to my thoughts on “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”

In the end, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is some of the most fun one can have at the movies this summer. Tom Holland continues to prove that he is an incredible Spider-Man and offers another fine portrayal of the iconic hero. The film is at its best when its main character has to navigate various relationships. It is fascinating to see someone who feels he is alone trying to maintain some semblance of a social life when the opportunity comes up. I was glued to the screen whenever Peter had a chance to reunite with Ned and MJ. These three played off each other well in the previous films, so it is no surprise that they continue to do so in this one. The Punisher and Hulk are fine additions to the narrative, even if, again, some threads nearly make the whole story feel almost overstuffed. I have no idea what is in store for a Tom Holland “Spider-Man 5,” but if one is coming, and it probably is based on how much money this movie has earned so far, I would not mind seeing Destin Daniel Cretton come back to direct. As much as I praise Jon Watts for helming a solid original trilogy, I think Cretton a better eye for visuals. Of all the Holland “Spider-Man” films, “Brand New Day” is by far the easiest on the eyes. This movie has made more than a couple billion dollars worldwide, so chances are you have probably seen it by now, but if you have not seen “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” consider this a recommendation. I am going to give “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” an 8/10.
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is now playing in theaters everywhere. Tickets are available now!
Thanks for reading this review! THIS SUNDAY, AUGUST 23RD, get excited! Because the newest episode of Movie Requests will be available to watch on Flicknerd.com and YouTube! This episode features the incredibly talented comedian Amy Sedaris, who suggested I should watch two of her favorite movies. You may know Sedaris from shows like “Strangers with Candy” and “At Home with Amy Sedaris,” as well as films including “Jennifer’s Body” and “Puss in Boots.” You can watch a promo of the episode above, where Sedaris gives her suggestions. What do you think they are? If you would like to watch the episode, you can do so here, but if you want the fastest way to see it, then by all means subscribe to my YouTube channel!
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