'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' review: Web-slingers latest spins a solid, if familiar web

Courtesy of Sony/Marvel

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Spider-Man fever is certainly taking over the nation after "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" cemented the biggest domestic opening weekend in history, which, after finally catching up with Destin Daniel Cretton's latest Marvel adventure, is admittedly a bit of a head-scratcher. Not because the film is bad, far from it. It's entertaining, frequently charming, and anchored by another winning turn from Tom Holland, who is having quite the summer between this and the one-two punch of "The Odyssey." Cretton also continues to prove he has a gift for building empathetic human connections, whether on an intimate scale or against the backdrop of a superhero spectacle. Yet for a movie shattering records, "Brand New Day" feels surprisingly modest. "Spider-Man: No Way Home" arrived with the promise of a multiversal team-up between generations of Spider-Men and delivered exactly that, while the previous record-holder, "Avengers: Endgame," was the culmination of 22 films and nearly a decade of storytelling. By comparison, "Brand New Day" is really just an average Spider-Man movie. The surprising thing is that, in today's blockbuster landscape, that seems to be more than enough.

What the film does have working in its favor is a welcome sense of maturity. Following Doctor Strange's reality-altering spell in "No Way Home," Peter Parker's identity has been erased from everyone's memory. MJ (Zendaya), Ned (Jacob Batalon), and virtually every meaningful person in his life have forgotten who he is, leaving Peter completely alone in a world he helped save. Rather than immediately rushing back into universe-threatening stakes, "Brand New Day" wisely uses that emotional fallout as its foundation.

The result is a film that functions as both a continuation and a soft relaunch. Peter is back to basics, living in a cramped attic apartment, struggling through adulthood, and fighting crime throughout New York City without the safety net of mentors, billionaires, or Avengers. For the first time in years, Spider-Man actually feels like your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man again. The focus has shifted away from saving realities and returned to saving city blocks, and that smaller scope gives the character room to breathe in ways the previous films often couldn't.

Of course, trouble still finds Peter. This time around, he's tracking a mysterious villain capable of inhabiting the bodies of various people throughout the city, including longtime foe Scorpion (Michael Mando), as part of a larger effort to infiltrate Damage Control. At the center of that operation is Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman), who appears to be sitting on information that could have major implications for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The mystery itself is compelling enough, but it's never really the main attraction.

Instead, the film's most interesting conflict comes from Peter himself. Years of trauma, loss, and isolation have finally begun to catch up with him, and "Brand New Day" leans heavily into the psychological toll of carrying both Peter Parker and Spider-Man on his shoulders. His civilian life and superhero life aren't simply competing for attention anymore. They're actively pulling him apart. As Peter becomes increasingly overwhelmed by pressure, grief, and loneliness, he begins struggling to control both his emotions and his actions. In a franchise often defined by quips and crowd-pleasing spectacle, it's refreshing to see the character's emotional scars treated with genuine weight.

That emotional thread also leads to the film's strongest material. Peter's attempts to reconnect with MJ carry an undeniable poignancy because there's no magical shortcut to fixing what was lost. Four years have passed. Life has moved on. MJ has moved on. Peter is effectively trying to reintroduce himself to somebody who once knew him better than anyone else, and the film understands the heartbreak, frustration, and longing wrapped up in that reality. Holland and Zendaya remain effortlessly compelling together, and whenever the movie narrows its focus to their relationship, it finds a level of emotional authenticity that elevates the entire experience.

Likewise, the supporting players provide plenty of fun along the way. Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova continues to be one of Marvel's most reliably entertaining characters, while Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner, or more accurately the Hulk, brings some welcome familiarity. Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle proves to be the standout addition, however, creating a surprisingly entertaining odd-couple dynamic with Holland. Their back-and-forth generates some of the film's best laughs while also highlighting the stark differences between Peter's idealism and Frank's far more brutal worldview.

The frustrating thing is that every time "Brand New Day" feels on the verge of becoming something truly distinct, it gets pulled back toward familiar Marvel obligations. The character-driven storytelling is consistently more engaging than the franchise-building machinery surrounding it, yet the film repeatedly pauses its most compelling ideas to seed future installments, introduce future conflicts, and remind audiences that the next chapter is always around the corner. Cretton seems far more interested in exploring Peter's grief and personal growth than he does laying the groundwork for the next decade of MCU storytelling, but the film is constantly forced to divide its attention between those competing priorities.

The same issue extends to the action. While there are flashes of creativity throughout, many of the larger set pieces eventually devolve into the kind of weightless CGI chaos that has become increasingly common across the superhero genre. The more grounded emotional storytelling gives the film personality; the endless green-screen brawls strip much of that personality away. It's not that the action is poorly executed. It's simply difficult for it to leave much of an impression when the quieter character moments are so clearly the stronger material.

That tension ultimately defines "Brand New Day." On one hand, it's a more mature Spider-Man story with genuine emotional stakes, strong performances, and a refreshingly smaller focus that allows Holland to do some of his best work in the role. On the other, it never quite commits to the reinvention it seems to be teasing. Rather than pushing the character into bold new territory, the film often settles for reminding us why we liked him in the first place.

There's certainly value in that. "Brand New Day" is consistently entertaining, occasionally moving, and more emotionally grounded than several of its predecessors. Still, in a world where this franchise exists alongside the far more inventive and daring "Spider-Verse" films, it's hard not to wish it had swung a little higher. For all of its strengths, this feels less like a landmark Spider-Man movie and more like a solid reset before the next big adventure.

Considering the records it's breaking, that may sound like faint praise. But in an era where audiences seem increasingly desperate for familiarity, perhaps being a good old-fashioned Spider-Man movie is exactly what people were looking for.

Grade: B

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY is now playing in theaters.