Based upon the Marvel Comics series created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Screenplay Written by Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
*** (three stars)
RATED PG 13
RUNING TIME: 2 hrs 25 min
It's still so strange to me when a movie that is often more than quite good ultimately becomes something that is not entirely successful.
At this stage in the elongated and ever continuing game for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which has expanded over the course of 18 years, a variety of television series and now, with the return of our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, 38 feature films in total (and with no conceivable end in sight), it is safe to say that some viewers--including myself--are far beyond any stretch of superhero fatigue and are now teetering on the edge of just not caring anymore and getting off of the Marvel train.
Perhaps what was once innovative, the building block aesthetic of erecting an ongoing narrative and interconnected storylines starring the entirety of the Marvel Comics canon, has now grown tiresome as now even witnessing a new installment requires the homework level duty of having seen and therefore remembering very little detail from the collection of previous films. That, in and of itself, is exhausting and frankly, dilutes the entre purpose of these films in the first pace: that aspiring to being artful and not disposable, to carry true emotion al weight and intent, these things just need to be fun!
Maybe it is also the CGI of it all as well for, as I have expressed upon this site over and again, we live in an age where special effects are so commonplace that special effects ae simply not special anymore and for the viewer, it feels like computers making entertainment for other computers while actors stand around on green screen sets reacting to nothing (provided they are on set at all and not just providing voice work).
Most of all, there is the aspect of quality control for when films are racing to meet a pre-determined release date without having a proper script and story firmly hashed out, the film suffers overall which then erodes trust between the viewer and studio in question.
For everything that the MCU has performed at the peak of its powers, especially during its first 10 year stretch, culminating with the Joe and Anthony Russo's twin epics "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018) and "Avengers: Endgame" (2019), not every installment proved to be absolutely essential--Alan Taylor's "Thor: The Dark World" (2013) and Peyton Reed's "Ant Man and the Wasp" (2018) being the weakest offenders, and I am just not a fan whatsoever of James Gunn's self-congratulatory "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014/2017/20223) volumes at all.
The MCU post-Thanos has been considerably scattershot with some high points--Jac Schaeffer's "WandaVision" (2021), and Michael Waldron's "Loki" (2021/2023) were undeniably stellar--and too many sub par efforts--Sam Raimi's "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness" (2022), Taika Waititi's "Thor: Love and Thunder" (2022), Peyton Reed's "Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" (2023) and Nia DaCosta's "The Marvels" (2023)--churned through the assembly line.
These storytelling stumbles (plus outside controversies involving actor Jonathan Majors, who otherwise performed formidable work as the emerging yet now fully abandoned multiversal threat of Kang The Conqueror) ultimately did not serve their growing multiverse saga well and moreso, it made my interest in seeing new installments diminish as there are some that I have skipped entirely due to my lack of enthusiasm.
Yet, Spider-Man has retained his hold onto me due to all three installments directed by Jon Watts, reaching its zenith with the magnificent, masterful multiverse themed "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (2021), a film that scaled and plumbed into powerfully deep emotional waters making it one of the MCU's tallest achievements. Nothing would keep me away from the next installment as so much precarious emotional territory was left on the line at the previous film's conclusion.
And so, here we are with "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, taking over for Watts and who previously helmed the strong "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" (2021). What has resulted is simultaneously a more than worthy successor but also the least successful Spider-Man entry in this MCU incarnation of the character. I am not even about to suggest that what we have is anything I was necessarily disappointed by or felt was "bad" in any way. On the contrary, there is much about the film that might even exist as the very best qualities of the MCU Spider-Man portrayal so far but it is indeed hindered by MCU issues that have now become problematic regarding their stacked film/television world building, making the entire experience hover a short distance above being an MCU placeholder.
Picking up four years after the devastating conclusion of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," when Doctor Strange, at Peter Parker's (Tom Holland) behest, conjures a magic spell to make the entire world forget about the existence of Peter Parker as a means to save the multiverse as well as protection for best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and true love MJ (Zendaya) from future dangers, we find Parker safeguarding New York City now anonymously as Spider-Man.
While Spider-Man is beloved by the city, Peter Parker is firmly alone in the world, obsessively monitoring, working and battling one arch foe after another with his only significant interpersonal communication existing with NYPD Detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colon-Zayas) and adversarial assistance from armed vigilante Frank Castle a.k.a. The Punisher (Jon Bernthal).
A new, unseen threat arrives on the scene as several Department Of Damage Control (DODC) facilities have been attacked by a mysterious telepath with the ability of body/mind hopping from one person to another. Additionally, something strange is happening inside of Peter Parker's body as his arachnid side is metamorphosizing into new abilities as stronger sensory awareness and the ability to naturally produce webbing.
With mounting danger and rising internal stresses, Peter Parker shoulders and struggles with his grief and loss combined with his sense of duty and purpose, especially as MJ again finds herself a target.
As with its predecessors, Destin Daniel Cretton's 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day" is a top fight production with the state of the art aesthetics that are now an MCU staple and expectation. What has changed is that Cretton has delivered a more traditional, street level Spider-Man, stripping him of the Tony Stark/Avengers accoutrements, ensuring the humanity of the character remains front and center. In doing so, we have a Spider-Man story that is moodier, darker, sadder and somber affair. No, we do not have anything resembling some sort of a dirge but there is a true emotional weight to the film that is as refreshing as it is poignant and palpable as we view Peter Parker, no longer in high school, but as a young adult navigating the world and clearly battling PTSD from past adventures, depression, isolation and powerful grief at lives lost and the friends as family he cannot reach out towards anymore because there have no memory of him.
As Peter Parker/Spider-Man, this fourth go-around for Tom Holland is easily his best work in the role thus far. He continues to capture the verbal/physical/emotional agility required of the character but again, he has done a wonderful job of internalizing everything this character has endured over the course of the continuing MCU story. Holland always allows us to remember every step of this character's journey as he has faced his triumphs certainly, but one tragedy after another undeniably, from the deaths of cherish family and the attainment and loss of treasured mentors, to the trauma of being snapped out of existence by Thanos only to return five years later, to this point where the people he loves the most and could lean on for emotional support never knew he existed.
This is that key Marvel melancholy that sits at the soul of the character (and really, the entire Marvel canon) and is the crucial ingredient and his willingness to continue marching onwards despite the failures and the losses that ensures that we will follow him any and everywhere, including several sequences of startling poetry and painful intimacy between Peter Parker and MJ, another with the memory of Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) and a downright lovely moment between himself and Ned. Tom Holland nails every fragile note with skill, dexterity and humanity. His selfless sacrifice as Peter Parker carries this film and supplies new developments with significant gravity, making the film exist as an empathetic plea for the need of communication and community in an increasingly socially fragmented world.
And still, "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" felt to be a tad slighter than previous installments. There are serious pacing issues, for instance. Yes, the action sequences are handsomely presented but they don't enthrall. One battle sequence between Spider-Man, The Punisher and one more (kind of, sort of) surprise guest star, that would have at one time dazzled my Marvel brain and then some, just felt to me more of the same old summer movie bombast. A character portrayed by Sadie Sink is of major Marvel significance yet it never truly felt to be wholly purposeful as she was seemingly placed into this story as a means of table setting for the next MCU projects to come.
To that end, the film in totality felt to be a tad strained because as "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" builds upwards, it actually lessens. Earlier, I made the reference to some Marvel films existing as placeholders and while what Cretton's film accomplishes is more than that, it does however contain one too many elements that feel to be shoehorned into the story as mere set-ups for what will inevitably arrive in future films instead of natural foreshadowing. Again, there was nothing to the Sadie Sink character that felt to be organic and what her character eventually performs by the climax is akin to what we have already seen visually, emotionally and thematically in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," "WandaVision," Cate Shortland's "Black Widow" (2021) and especially, Jake Schreier's particularly strong "Thunderbolts*" (2025), essentially making "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" feel more than repetitive with its copy and paste developments and revelations.
Table setting for all to come instead of ensuring that what we have presently is the absolute best that it can possibly be is what really kept Destin Daniel Cretton's "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" from web slinging itself over the top for me as it felt so tentative in its cinematic footsteps so as to not upset the MCU apple cart before the arrival of both Joe and Anthony Russo's "Avengers: Doomsday" and "Avengers: Secret Wars"--and possibly due to however much longer Tom Holland wishes to play this role.
While in some ways, Cretton's film occupies a nearby arena to what I feel is the finest Spider-Man film to date, and that is Sam Raimi 's "Spider-Man 2" (2004), "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" suffers from an overstuffed aesthetic and derivative story beats where the grander moments underwhelm and the quieter moments are the ones that soar high above New York City.
Frankly, our Spider-Man deserves a bit better.
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