A character that means so much to me, so much so that I have a tattoo of him, and I don’t think I could have left the cinema feeling more happy. Finally a MCU Spider-Man film where it truly feels like a film. Without a doubt the best live action Spider-Man film since Spider-Man 2.
- Director – Destin Daniel Cretton
- Runtime – 145 minutes
- Certificate – 12A
- Country – United States
I have been saying since No Way Home that Tom Holland is the best Peter Parker/Spider-Man and this film makes me feel so vindicated. I don’t know what else to say apart from this man is Peter Parker. Tom gives his best Spider-Man performance but also his career best. He never has any loud in your face moments but the way he just stares and Ned and MJ distantly with such pain and yearning is brilliant. These moments are what sell this entire film. I do think that his first trilogy isn’t as bad as people make it out to be, but this feels like a Spider-Man project.
With the suit being canonically inspired by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield the film also feels inspired. Most notably from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 with the mental health aspect. Peter being isolated for 4 years straight is so perfectly depressing for him. It serves as a perfect Spider-Man plot point but also as a message for real life. AI can’t replace human interaction and if you ever feel like this, you’re never alone. The hope in the message is at the core of the film, woven between all the characters and is what makes it feel like a true Spider-Man project.
I do feel at times the themes and message of that can be a bit heavy handed at times. Like it can be a bit too self aware at times. We know that he is alone and depressed just from his mannerisms, it doesn’t need to be explicitly mentioned. This is a very minor complaint though.
Another main thing that makes it so ‘Spider-Man-y’ is the city. We actually need to give Destin Daniel Cretton the world. He makes New York feel alive. A citizen helps Spider-Man by driving his car faster so he can catch up to the criminals. I cannot imagine anything better in a Spider-Man film. Not just that. They cheer for him, make signs and crowd around for him. Such essential parts to his character that have been missing for so long and as soon as they are added back you instantly feel the difference. So many times I was moved by how much the city loves him.
Destin Daniel Cretton is a very large factor for why this film is so good. He treats this as a genuine film rather than just an MCU film. Obviously there are unavoidable ‘mcu-isms’ (I’ll get to that later) but I can’t really blame him due to it probably being contracted. The difference between this and Watts’ films are night and day. Not even comparable. I can’t believe I saw real textured and thought out images from a MCU Spider-Man film in the year 2026.
It looks so good with actual lighting and composition. There’s a scene where Peter is on a roof and there’s a massive neon sign where it lights up the suit and it looked incredible. There are scenes where he’s swinging and the green screen is kind of noticeable but honestly it felt almost intentional. I don’t know if it was actually meant to look like that but I actually kind of liked it. It made me remember that this is fiction but in a good way – like a larger than life feeling.
Something else he is a Godsend for is the action. Him directing the scenes and stunt coordinator Peng Zhang choreographing the action are a lethal combo. They previously worked together for Shang-Chi and thank God he returned for this. Taking inspiration from the Insomniac games I was enthralled by every set piece.
It’s the best that Spider-Man has ever moved in a film, and it’s hard not to love a Spider-Man film when he is moving and fighting like this.
Going back to the suit because I cannot get over it. Easily the best suit in any Spidey film – yes even better than The Amazing Spider-Man 2, it’s time to move on. I was debating whether to talk a whole section on it but I truly think it is that important. I’m repeating myself now but the suit adds so much to the feel of the film. You look at him swinging and think ‘yeah, that’s Spider-Man’ and the set photos prove it. Not only does it make it more believable that this is Spider-Man it’s great technically. As mentioned earlier the lighting on it is insane and because it is a practical suit, not smothered in cg like the last three films, it allows for better lit shots.
The side cast of characters is something that I was extremely worried about but honestly it’s done so well. The outlier for me is Mark Ruffallo’s Hulk. It does kind of feel like he’s only here as a marketing ploy because you could easily take him and slightly tweak a plot device and nothing would change. In fact it would probably be beneficial to pacing and the runtime. Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle is perfect. I thought he would only be here for ‘street level’ reasons but he actually serves a narrative reason for Peter. He acts as this warning and look into the future for Peter. If he carries on like this, this is what he’ll become. They actually do have genuine and authentic moments together. Their chemistry is also undeniable. Seeing them squabbling is the perfect comedic relief to an otherwise heavy film.
The other characters I was really worried about was Zendaya’s MJ and Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds. After the perfect ending of No Way Home they could have so easily ruined it by having them go back on spell and make them remember who Peter is. I am so glad that is not even close to being true.
The reunion scenes are handled so well – especially with MJ. The scene of Peter and MJ in Frank’s home is probably my favourite scene of the whole film and it’s because it is so devastatingly realistic. The writers knew exactly how they wanted to handle it and it was executed perfectly. Without spoiling what happens in it, it is the most perfectly stereotypical Spider-Man scene ever. Ned is sidelined and as much as I loved his character in the Home trilogy, I’m glad he was. His smaller presence makes the scenes between him and Peter so much more impactful.
Sadie Sink is extremely hard to talk about because of the level of secrecy surrounding her character. While it is extremely obvious who she is, I won’t delve into it that much. Without saying too much I was surprised in the direction they went with her and how much she is linked to Peter. Narratively they share similar beats and I love how they resolved their conflict. Very typical Spider-Man fashion. The addition of her is very strange (you’ll see why if you see it) that does make you think she’s only here to set up future projects, but if I’m honest I didn’t get that feeling. Especially with Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars coming out within the next year and half.
Going back to the mcu-isms which is probably my main complaint. The individual examples I can think of seem minor but to me this film is very standalone-ish. Obviously it flashes back to his past three films (which you can’t avoid) but other than that this could be its own universe and you wouldn’t be able to tell. So when it has all these bad traits of other MCU films it reminds you it still is a part of that world. Agin they seem small but the very awkward one liner dialogue that is so typical of these films. When Peter is asked if he’s Peter Parker or Spider-Man and he replies with ‘both’ after a short beat with him doing something cool. Sure it’s a cool moment but when the previous 2 hours have felt like a proper film it takes you out of it so fast. Again very small issues like that with the dialogue just rubbed me the wrong way.
The only other issue I had was the runtime and pacing. It is a bit too long. I would say probably around 15 minutes too long, because the end of the film it has felt longer than the actual runtime. Again, remove the Hulk and those issues would probably be solved because as cool as his fight scene was, it was there just to be marketed and then to likely set up his character in the next Avengers’ films.
With a tiny runtime and pacing issue, and some unavoidable ‘MCU-ism’, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is an otherwise almost perfect Spider-Man film. With its engaging choreographed action, beautiful imagery, moving themes and actual direction from Destin Daniel Cretton, it makes for the best live action Spider-Man in over 20 years.