Spider-Man: Brand New Day overview: “The most authentic Peter Parker we’ve seen”

At a glance

Expert’s Rating

Our Verdict

Brand New Day’s version of Spider-Man is one that fans know best, and something that the MCU has been missing. Peter Parker never gives up on New York and those he loves, no matter what life throws at him. However, the dynamic, comic book-inspired pace loses momentum in the final act.

In the run-up to the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, star Tom Holland shared how he and the writers had done extensive deep dives into the fandom online – trawling Reddit and other sources to try and capture exactly what fans of the web-crawling franchise wanted from their next superhero epic.  

As both an Entertainment Editor who has followed this production closely and someone who has been terminally online for a good portion of my life, I can say with great confidence that they have succeeded in that task.  

The first half of Brand New Day feels like it’s been lifted straight from the pages of a comic book. Director Destin Daniel Cretton went to painstaking lengths to achieve shots that mimicked covers of previous issues, while characters – both heroes and villains – popped in and out of the story, showing a glimpse of the sort of life Peter Parker is now living post No Way Home.

I’ve seen criticisms that having such a large roster of characters left the film feeling overstuffed, but that’s not the case for me. Part of what makes Brand New Day have such an impact is proving Spider-Man’s loyalty to the people of New York, and we can’t necessarily see that with just a small handful of supporting cast members.  

If you’ve followed the rumours and speculation as I have, you’ll be vindicated by some reveals and bemused by how wrong some of the ‘leaks’ were – credit to the publicity team for keeping fans guessing throughout the production process.

There are many direct references to popular memes, and even deep cuts to the dark depths of fanfiction and Tumblr art – all of them left me cackling in my seat. While the humour isn’t necessarily as overt as previous Holland films, the moments that do are timed with perfection.  

Plus, too many jokes would clash with the main theme, in which Peter Parker suffers… a lot, emotionally and physically. Believe it or not, that’s something fans have weirdly been hyped for.  

Now dragged into adulthood, this more mature Spider-Man cannot help but torment himself by following the lives of his former closest connections, Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) and Michelle Jones/MJ (Zendaya), despite them having no recollection of him. 

Peter’s depression is a focal point of the story, with the superhero shutting down friendships before they could start – a self-defence mechanism that ultimately results in some dire consequences. His mental state is also captured by the swinging sequences, which have a newfound dangerous edge to them.  

Cretton has brought his love for practical stunts and choreography from Shang-Chi to this film, with sequences filmed on location to capture thrilling fights unlike anything we’ve seen before. While a small detail, Peter wears his suit and mask for most of the film – and it’s a real suit, not a CGI overlay as it has been previously. It moves with him, and that makes it feel more real and grounded.

Brand New Day falls short of perfection in the last act, where we get an exposition dump with Sadie Sink’s character that bogs down that rapid, graphic-novel style pace that has held the film together so well. It’s clear that despite Spider-Man moving away from cosmic threats, his story has another part to play for the greater MCU. But while this movie is happy to reference many areas of this sprawling world, it’s ignored one key thing.  

I do welcome the return of Jon Bernthal as Punisher, who is more comedic than expected but somehow makes it work. That said, it feels like a missed opportunity to not discuss any of the events from the show he originates from – Daredevil: Born Again. I didn’t need cameos from Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) or the Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) but not even having a throwaway line about the pandemonium of New York City during this time is odd, as the events would have had direct consequences for Peter.  

But these shortcomings cannot take away from the heart of the film. While it’s not got the crowd-roaring moments of No Way Home, it’s a love letter to the fans and the most authentic representation of Peter Parker we’ve seen – I’d argue even above the iconic Tobey Maguire trilogy.  

Should you watch Spider-Man: Brand New Day? 

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a return to glory for the MCU. While casual viewers will like it, fans of Peter Parker will adore it thanks to the raft of elements included to make this movie truly feel like a comic book brought to life.  

It’s a fantastic follow-up to No Way Home, but also plants the seeds for something fresh. That’s a tough balancing act to achieve, and Cretton largely succeeds.

The final act does stall the pace, but as the credits roll you’ll realise that the five years between the last Spider-Man film and this one were worth the wait. As just one of two Marvel movies in 2026, it sets a high bar for Avengers: Doomsday to follow later this year.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is out now in cinemas. UK viewers can get tickets from Cineworld, Odeon and Vue, while US viewers can buy them from AMC and Fandango