Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a Brilliant Return
As much as Marvel tries to make all their releases feel like event films, even in their prime, few titles managed to dial into quite the same togetherness Spider-Man brings each installment. The web-spinner’s franchise consistently opens with meteoric box office numbers, becoming the hot topic among theatergoers online and in person alike, inspiring conversation anywhere you’ll go upon release. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the superhero’s first outing since 2021, having swapped directors yet keeping the writing team onboard. Pre-release interviews with Tom Holland indicated a different tone the film would take in its performances and narrative, with trailers and stills echoing his sentiment. How did this different tone pan out in the long run for our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man?
I found this film to be more emblematic of the magic that makes Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy so beloved than the previous film that paid direct homage by casting Tobey Maguire. Keeping Spider-Man street level and the plot grounded in New York was an excellent choice, keeping Brand New Day from feeling bloated and fantastical like it must have been hard for the executives to resist. The film is stuffed with many different characters, ideas, and thought trains, but the way they stick close to the locale makes none of it feel out of place at all. I especially loved Jon Bernthal’s role as the Punisher in this, feeling authentically New York just like Spidey as the two banter throughout the narrative. I found it helped build their onscreen bond as characters while allowing Peter Parker to outline how his own is changing.
Sadie Sink’s role in the film is one theorized by many beforehand and accidentally confirmed, and if you’re reading this, you likely already know or can hazard a guess as to who she is. What I will say without spoiling much is that her character’s inclusion felt natural and earned, making sense in line with who Peter has become as a character without feeling like she’s setting up as much as she inevitably has. Setup in a Marvel movie has thrived in the past when it’s not the focus of the original narrative but can be pieced together later on. I don’t think Avengers: Doomsday will hit nearly as hard as this return to Spider-Man has with audiences, but I hope the reality of this film helps put the MCU as a whole into perspective as to where to go creatively.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now available in theaters worldwide. If you’re in the mood for more superhero epics, check out The Return of Captain Invincible on our sister site, Galxy!