Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)

Words by Shobhit Kumar

Warning: the following review contains spoilers for Brand New Day (and other Spider-Man films)

If you asked what my earliest memory of film was, you can imagine me heading up towards the memory bank and scrapping through my rage junked mind, past Wreck it Ralph in Metro Cinemas of Bathurst (shoutout) past even Bathurst, arriving at a Blacktown house in a cul-de-sac and within, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy on DVD. I can trace my relationship to comic books and to the monumental figures of figmentation that shape our very culture back to those 3 sacred films.

To this very day, I still hold that same love, since I was a wee-bit child. I like to think that my liking towards comics and superheroes started here, not just because Spider-Man had powers of great might and used them for good, and that every kid wanted to be a superhero, but rather that I experienced, what my present self can admit, was the pinnacle of superhero drama in cinematic form (yes I’m glazing). My other favourite hero was Batman. Spidey and him would wreak havoc upon my parents; themed birthday parties, getting up on weekends to watch their shows, toys and Lego sets that definitely put a dent in paying back the mortgage and going to the Bathurst library, which had an incredible array of comics. I am disappointed to see such an abysmally little amount in my local libraries of Sydney, but I am yet to go to the State Library, which I know will have comics splayed across the walls.

I’m not that die hard fan nowadays however. Over the years I’d grow, comics would slowly fade away, other hobbies and passions took their place as well as me getting dumber (I should pick up a book). In recent years I found love in cinema as a language and the modal tools used to speak to us that are not limited to dialogue.

Sam Raimi came from a horror background with The Evil Dead series. Watching those films, you can see an incredible amount of passion and embrace of goof and camp. There is a level of commitment that Raimi has to the expression of his films that almost has no ceiling or ground and it can be too much for people but it’s something that I love, and for me it works so well with a medium like comics and its history. Characters wear spandex, brightly-colored costumes with crazed villains and tales of world-dominating schemes, trying to save a damsel in distress. It’s a heightened reality and somewhat conservative, yet Raimi translates it and at the same time finds the human emotion within, that works so well in his cinematic form. It is this communication through his style and his form that I may still have attached like a tumor to my heart from when I was young, that part of myself still feeds to this day, along with that very first introduction to Spidey.

Jon Watts led as director for the ‘Home’ trilogy, the first 3 films of the MCU’s Spider-Man and while I’d like to say he did a good job, given the amount of pressure that has to come with such a job, I unfortunately must say that the pan is dry to the touch, the sauce no where to be seen. Formulaic and Bland, just what the MCU desires. A glaring issue pokes eyes when one realises that cohesion for the greater MCU, whether that be with the narrative or the film form, is nudged between the cracks so hard that everything else simply follows suit. For a character like Spider-man and the stories to be told, the experiences to be had, mediocrity is the worst outcome. What Watts’ did was create a palatable tone for audiences, something that played things safe (yes even the third one) because what's more safe than pleasing the people.

Which brings me to Destin Daniel Cretton’s Brand New Day (BND), which I viewed with “incognito atm” flea, Brock, on my birthday, which I thought would be a more interesting conversation than “the movie was okay” after breaking the news of such to him on the way home. BND stands as the pivotal turning point in the MCU’s Spider-Man saga, with lots of eyes peering on Cretton taking over Watts’ after No Way Home, a huge commercial success for Marvel. Audiences were craving something different and it couldn't come from a fourth film with an even bigger premise and multiverse madness. We were craving change on a deeper level and luckily from the trailers alone, one could tell that Spider-man was being taken in a new and fresh direction, one that was looking hopeful for the outcome of finally a good live-action Spidey flick.

Cretton’s Spider-man is one that finally understands the sensual experience of being Spider-man. The camera finally moves with a rush and joy, above and between a detailed New York. The choreography has upped its game, opting for a lot of practicality, a ditching of the previous films over-reliance of CGI paint over. Peter is more witty and a lot of the bits land for me, with dynamics like Spider-Man and The Punisher being a standout. The movie really embraces a more dynamic and ballsy tone, there isn't the scare of coming off as pretentious that typical Marvel movies have. There isn't a horrid grey wash over everything. They have the balls to introduce some contrast into the image. Finally things start to feel lively, tangible and loving, you start to be immersed more than ever, but all over are cracks, there is something still not right.

This roster of characters for BND includes, Spidey, MJ, Ned, the Punisher, Scorpion, the new Black Widow? (Florence Pugh), the incredible Hulk and Jean Grey, as well as our twist antagonist Metzger and other supporting characters like Dewolf. Somehow the film is able to decently manage the roles that each character plays with their inclusion not being completely baseless or edited with silence for applause, but it still rings of wedding bells for a merging multiverse of cameos and toyboxes.

The film questions what happens when those who are gifted, those who choose to move in silence to protect the ones close to them, are finally pushed to the brink of such involuntary solitude. There is a connecting theme amongst all the super-abled characters about their burden of loneliness and how their being of power is either a direct or indirect cause of that. The resolution of the film is both the conquering of this sentiment, as well as the birth of connection within the shared trauma of superhero responsibility. Banner after enraging himself into the Hulk, chooses to tame himself after Spider-Man, in a last ditch effort, refers to himself as “your friend”,  Peter & Frank share a scene where both reside in each other as friends in the hospital after all their bickering, and moments earlier in the climax, Jean says she has no one, Peter replies “you have me”.

Watching the film there was a big and clear influence from my favourite Spidey-flick, Spider-man 2. It too deals with a similar issue of Peter struggling with his powers due to the weight of his responsibility finally starting to break him and on top of that seeing his life long love be with someone else. In BND he deals with an almost second pubescent hormonal imbalance in his powers that he cannot control, MJ has a boyfriend and has moved on and there is a real attempt by Peter to rekindle a forgotten love.

Not only was the story reminiscent of Raimi’s, but the elements of form impressed me. Cretton emulates Raimi’s impeccable tonal balance that utilizes the score, his earnestness towards the stories he told and empathy for his characters. There is a scene in the film where Peter and MJ are hunkered down within The Punisher's hideout, and each are reflecting on their relationships and people in their lives. In this moment the film showcases its strength. It does away with the fear of having to justify its obsceneness or any perception of it being cringy and fully embraces the emotions of the respective characters in its form and prose. Another highlight is the Tank chase which boasts a proud heroic score as we swing close with spidey into treacherous oncoming fire. It gets you fired up and its formal reminiscence that I mentioned earlier gave me a sense of nostalgia and glee. It's moments like this that place this film above the ‘Home’ trilogy for me.

Some more direct comparisons to Raimi even, scenes like Peter stepping out into the crowd of supporters, I thought of Spider-Man 3. A simple sunrise shot, Spider-Man 3. Spider-man swoops in to save a kid, has small dialogue, “woah that's like Spider-Man 2”. MJ’s hands grace Peter’s mask, with a reach of love and the pain of not being able to answer, woah my heart, like Spider-Man 2.

For me though, it's one of the reasons BND falls flat in convincing the emotional tangent of my heart that this story matters. The form of what works for Spidey is hijacked here, and it's placed with something that is not strong enough to support it. I'm talking about the rest of the film. It does not make me care about one of the most important aspects, which is Peter’s relationship with MJ & Ned. I sat there wishing there was more yearning not just from the characters but from the film. Wanting more scenes like one in The Punisher’s hideout and generally there being more at stake for their relationship. The amount of development that could be had is diminished by the redirection towards such a massive ensemble.

Marvel movies have the crutch of their expanded universe being inescapable and while I did praise it for melding nicely together, that's really all it is, ultimately taking away from what could have been a strong core of a Spider-Man movie. The antagonist, Jean Grey, doesn’t possess any weight for me either, not until her reveal and backstory do I really care and start to invest myself. The film castrates itself by leaving the depth of the character till the very end and her relevance to the future MCU projects removes audiences from the film, like making a movie just for a post-credits scene for a bigger film. A lot of moments where we may spend time with Peter figuring out his powers or visiting other characters of the connected universe, dissipates the momentum.

For me it just always comes to the form. It's having the sauce to make an audience member care, to feel the emotions of the character, visually, sonically, rather than expressing them through crafted dialogue, nicely lit environments and shot reverse shots. A lot of the time this film had me questioning its formal choices and why there wasn’t the same level of commitment from elements I so lovingly praised. There was a real moment when watching the film that I said in my mind, “oh, I’m just going through the motions”. There was that bland taste I was all too familiar with again.

This film definitely has more sauce than the others (or maybe just a pinch of two spices), and it's for sure the best Spider-man has been on the big screen in a long while (Apart from the Spider-Verse films), but inevitably this is made under the constrictive umbrella of the MCU. Leaving this film, the mere feeling of its mediocrity had me disappointed. Cretton showcased what Spider-Man could be and in the same movie, showed what not to do. Moments of bravery and belief within itself, ultimately taken from what worked in the past and mixed into the boiling pot of the traditional Marvel movie.

Having to leave that theatre with an “okay” on my mind was unpleasant. There seemed more voices on the table for what this movie could be which ultimately crowded out a voice that could have been a generation defining one. Without the baggage the film carries and with a little more bravado for the fantastical and zany world and more love towards the development of strong relationships, I could see this being great. But unfortunately that day for a great Spider-Man is not today, but Cretton does come closer than most in the recent scope of things.

'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' is screening in cinemas now

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