Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) Movie Review
Synopsis:
Peter Parker (Tom Holland) fights crime full-time as Spider-Man in a city where no one remembers him. He must also face the pressure of witnessing his past friends live their lives without him. This causes his powers to evolve, ones he may not be able to control. Meanwhile, he deals with the powerful telepath, Jean Grey (Sadie Sink), a threat he cannot even see.
Review:
Context and general thoughts:
With a brand new change in direction, Brand New Day delivers fast-paced action and characters in abundance.
This is brought about by Destin Daniel Cretton. This wouldn’t be his first time directing an MCU film.
For context, Cretton directed the kung fu flick, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, in 2021.
Similar to that film, Brand New Day’s action is its main strength. Its camera angles are sweeping, allowing the viewer to register each web shot, punch, and kick.
Where Brand New Day suffers is with its narrative and certain character choices. This makes its second half, despite a good first, less consistent in quality.
Characters:
For viewers unfamiliar, Peter Parker was left with very little at the end of No Way Home. This includes having to make his own suit in a cramped apartment with few resources.
With that in mind, fans anticipated that Brand New Day would pick up there. Whilst his suit appears to be homemade, Peter now has an AI called E.V.
With it, he designs his own web shooters and has it discover nearby crimes for him. He also uses it to design two separate inhibitor chips later on in the film.
Though this may show his evolution, how he acquired the funding for these is questionable.
Spider-Man is known for his resourcefulness, depending on his intelligence to design new equipment. This includes swinging around New York City, detecting danger with his Spider-Sense.
In this film, an AI does most of the heavy lifting for him. It detects crimes for him, also informing him of when his powers start evolving.
For viewers who wanted to see a continuation of No Way Home’s Spider-Man, they may be disappointed here.
Viewers may also express disappointment in the lack of many Spider-Man-related villains. For such an extensive Rogues Gallery, this film doesn’t explore many of them at all.
All fans get are Scorpion (Michael Mando) and Tombstone (Marvin Jones III). Their screentime is very limited, being glossed over in an introductory montage scene.
Though Scorpion gets to appear in one other scene, that’s the extent of his appearance.
For one, it isn’t even him in that scene. Scorpion’s mind was under control by this film’s antagonist, Jean Grey (Sadie Sink).
This is where one of the film’s other problems lies. Though Sadie gives a competent performance, her characters’ actions are questionable.
Take how she mind controls innocent civilians just to toy with Spider-Man. In one instance, she even detonates a bomb within a facility.
Though the film doesn’t outright state civilian casualties, it’s implied. She also threatens to kill Peter’s former girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya), if he doesn’t cooperate.
Whilst her motivations are revealed later on, it doesn’t excuse her actions.
It’s revealed that her sister, Sara (Olivia Booth-Ford), had been experimented on. This was by the Department of Damage Control.
Her main target is soon revealed to be their director, William 'Bill' Metzger (Tramell Tillman).
Rather than take over the minds of innocents, it would have made more sense to target him first.
This makes the second half, despite Jean’s motive, seem far more questionable.
This film also reintroduces Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova from Thunderbolts* (2025) and Black Widow (2021).
Aside from serving as comedic relief and providing exposition to Spider-Man, she’s a pointless addition. Still, for fans of her character, she may be entertaining enough.
This is also the same with Jacob Batalon, who returns to portray Ned.
Though his performance is energetic, he exists to tell MCU-style jokes. This means carrying one on for longer than necessary.
He also develops the Spidey Tracker in the film. It has no real bearing on the plot and is more of a tool to set up a future instalment.
Zendaya’s MJ also returns, offering some worthwhile moments with Tom’s Peter. Though her scenes are more thoughtful, Zendaya’s performance remains familiar.
This may have been to do with the film’s scriptwriting more than anything else.
A solution to this could have been to remove MJ and Ned from the film altogether. As Peter moved on in No Way Home, this film should introduce audiences to new faces.
That way, the film acknowledges past development, paving the way for new ventures.
Despite these issues, Tom delivers his most confident performance as the character.
As the character’s powers evolve, so does he. This is most present in the film’s first half. Tom manages to convey guilt and remorse in believable ways.
Jon Bernthal as The Punisher also has fun interactions with Tom’s character. Their interactions resemble a buddy-cop dynamic, which fans may appreciate.
For those familiar with his Netflix TV show, it took full advantage of its R-rating. With it, the show produced graphic action.
As this film is PG-13, The Punisher is toned down to a significant degree. For those who can forgive that, they’ll appreciate his character here.
Though these are positives, the film struggles with its plot execution. This leaves a film with two different halves, affecting the quality.
Story:
This film’s first half is quite grounded. It represents Brand New Day at its most grounded. With it, the film deals with the after-effects of Peter losing the memory of his friends.
His powers begin to evolve, with him even having the ability to use organic webs. This leads to moments where he begins to lose control.
There’s even a moment in the film where he almost kills a police officer. For context, he throws Scorpion (controlled by Jean Grey), with aggression, into the officer’s car.
Though he later learns to control this power, it’s interesting to see a different side explored. With the film’s second half, it sacrifices more story for spectacle.
In it, Jean Grey unleashes her power, controlling a large group of civilians. Though this makes for a unique visual, it focuses on a less interesting character.
It’s revealed that her sister, Sara (Olivia Booth-Ford), had been experimented on. This was by the Department of Damage Control.
Her main target is soon revealed to be their director, William 'Bill' Metzger (Tramell Tillman).
Rather than take over the minds of innocents, it would have made more sense to target him first.
This makes the second half, despite Jean’s motive, seem far more questionable.
She also manages to control Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk for a brief minute or two. Aside from having a recognisable face, his purpose is limited.
Still, there’s an entertaining encounter he has with Spider-Man that some fans may enjoy.
After this scene, Bruce Banner (Hulk’s human form) is carted out of the film. For those who wanted to see him have more agency, they’ll be disappointed. Despite these flaws, the visuals provide some unique moments.
Visuals and CGI:
Speaking of visuals and CGI, Brand New Day is competent. At times, the visual effects help display Spider-Man’s agility in inventive ways.
Take the film’s opening montage as an example. It recreates several iconic Spider-Man comic book covers. Fans of those comics will more than appreciate their inclusion.
As for the rest of the film, it can prove less consistent. With such a reliance on CGI backgrounds, the visuals are less distinctive.
This is prevalent in the second half, with the use of wide shots making it more apparent. Still, the film uses CGI well enough in its action sequences.
Action:
Brand New Day’s action is both well-paced and inventive. Each strike hits with solid impact, along with displaying Spider-Man’s acrobatics.
It uses several wide shots combined with close-ups for variety. This film’s action hits its stride when Spider-Man faces the ninja assassin group, The Hand.
At first, he’s overwhelmed by the assassin’s relentless strategy and team-up attacks. This leads to a moment where Peter unlocks his true power.
Once this happens, he dispatches each assassin with relative ease. There’s also a moment where he propels into the air, spinning downward with webs.
This move should be all too familiar for fans of Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man games. To see that move, and others, be represented, is very welcome.
Soundtrack/score:
Complementing the action is the returning Michael Giacchino’s score.
He brings a familiar sense of joyous energy to his Spider-Man score. There are also quieter moments, where he uses piano notes for the main theme.
These are appreciated, giving the film a little more variety. Beyond this, there aren’t many other themes that stand out. Still, fans of his previous work should find it fun.
Conclusion:
To conclude, Brand New Day is an overstuffed film with effective action. It includes many inventive sequences that Spider-Man fans should appreciate.
They’re also backed by a creative, yet less distinctive, visual style. Still, fans of the film’s recreation of Spider-Man comic book covers will find entertainment.
Michael Giacchino’s familiar yet energetic score should also provide some entertainment. Saying that, some viewers may have wanted more memorable themes.
Speaking of themes, this film does well in dealing with Peter’s guilt in the first half. This is an emotion that Tom Holland portrays well.
Much of the film handles this with care. This is regardless of Peter’s questionable use of AI to solve problems for him.
Sadie Sink’s portrayal of Jean Grey is also questionable. For one, her motives aren’t revealed until later on. This makes her previous actions far less justified.
Brand New Day’s use of Yelena Belova is also puzzling. All giving exposition and joking around, she serves no purpose. This is also the same with Ned Leeds, who exists to provide humour.
Zendaya’s MJ has her moments, though she doesn’t leave much of an impression. This is the same with the film’s use of Bruce Banner/Hulk.
Where the film finds more entertainment is with Jon Bernthal and Tom Holland’s interactions. This is despite Jon’s version of the character being toned down.
Overall, Brand New Day can entertain with its fast-paced, inventive action. For those who can ignore its problems, it’s an adventure worth swinging into.
Sam’s Action Reaction score:
Characters - 6.5/10
Story - 6.5/10
Action - 7.5/10
Visuals and CGI - 6.5/10
Soundtrack - 6.5/10
Overall score: 6.7 out of 10
