Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a solid return for Tom Holland, who remains enormously likable as Peter Parker / Spider-Man. One of the movie’s nicest surprises is simply seeing Spider-Man appreciated by the public for a change. After years of suspicion, controversy, and multiversal misery, watching New York actually celebrate its friendly neighborhood hero feels strangely refreshing.
The Spider-Man/Punisher pairing is fun enough, although Jon Bernthal’s Punisher never quite feels at home in this particular Spider-Man adventure. I kept expecting—and frankly wishing—Daredevil would swing by to bridge that tonal gap.
For the most part, the movie moves at a terrific pace. Unfortunately, there’s one section around the middle where the story suddenly hits the brakes hard enough to send the audience through the windshield.
Jean Grey’s role as the initial antagonist was an unexpected choice, and while her pain is understandable, the resolution doesn’t sit well with me. She’s responsible for at least one death and attempts to kill MJ, yet she’s ultimately allowed to literally ride off into the sunrise. Jake Peralta said it best: “Cool motive. Still murder.” Sending an emotionally unstable teenager with extraordinary telepathic and telekinetic powers on her way without meaningful consequences feels less compassionate than dangerously irresponsible.
Brand New Day is one of the stronger MCU Spider-Man movies and an enjoyable ride overall. It’s well paced, Holland is as charming as ever, and the lighter public attitude toward Spider-Man gives the movie a welcome change in flavor.
It just never reaches the emotional satisfaction of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
