Spider-Man is probably one of the greatest superheroes to ever be created. At his heart, he is your everyday average Joe who is just trying to get by as he attempts to find a balance between his personal life and his responsibilities. The difference is that his responsibility happens to be fighting crime with the powers of a spider. This balance between his life and his responsibilities takes a massive toll on him both physically and psychologically. He is forced to make sacrifices that leave him isolated, exhausted, and heartbroken, but he continues because he knows it is the right thing to do. That is what makes Spider-Man such a compelling character. Despite his extraordinary abilities, his struggles are deeply human.
Across the many Spider-Man adaptations, only Sam Raimi’s trilogy and Insomniac’s games have truly understood why this character has resonated with audiences for decades. They recognize that, more than anything else, Spider-Man is an ordinary person trying to navigate an extraordinary life. His victories matter because they are earned through hardship, and his failures are just as important as his successes.
The MCU Spider-Man, led by Tom Holland, has been close to capturing the essence of this character. However, by spending three films focusing on Peter Parker’s high school years, the series has largely emphasized a coming-of-age story with a lot of mentorship rather than the defining struggles that made Spider-Man an icon. Now, with Peter living with the consequences of No Way Home, stepping into adulthood, and a new director at the helm, Spider-Man: Brand New Day marks the beginning of a new era. It is an era that finally places the character himself front and center. While it may not be the greatest Spider-Man film ever made, it is unquestionably the strongest Spider-Man film the MCU has produced.
Peter Parker (Tom Holland, The Odyssey) has devoted his life to protecting New York City as a full-time Spider-Man. But as the demands on him intensify, the pressure sparks a surprising physical evolution that threatens his existence and morals. All the while, an even stranger pattern of crimes gives rise to one of the most powerful threats he’s ever faced.
What makes Spider-Man: Brand New Day work so well is that, at its heart, it is a character-driven superhero story. We have not seen many of those in quite some time. Sure, we have gotten glimpses of it with Thunderbolts* and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but those films still had to balance their character work with larger franchise obligations. The last time character truly took priority over spectacle and world-building was during Phase One of the MCU. For Spider-Man specifically, the last cinematic adaptation to fully embrace that approach was Sam Raimi’s trilogy from over twenty years ago. Needless to say, it has been a long time since a superhero film has put its character ahead of everything else.
When we meet Peter Parker, it has been five years since the events of No Way Home where the entire world forgot about Peter Parker. Given that his loved one and his closest friends have forgotten about him, he has devoted his entire life to becoming a full-time Spider-Man. He spends every waking moment listening to a police scanner, swinging into action whenever he hears someone in need. Living as Spider-Man full-time has taken an immense toll on him. Physically, he is exhausted from a never-ending cycle of injuries. Psychologically, he is in an even worse place. Peter has become a ghost. He has no friends, no social life, and no one to confide in. The closest thing he has to human interaction is watching the social media accounts of the people who used to know him as they continue living their lives without him.
Whether Peter would like to admit it or not, he is miserable. He is lonely, depressed, and empty. He is terrified of opening himself up to anyone because he fears putting them in danger. He convinces himself that throwing everything he has into being Spider-Man will fill that void, but it only makes it worse. Years of grief, anger, and resentment have festered inside him, manifesting in ways that begin to frighten even him. He becomes increasingly reckless, more violent, and starts losing sight of the person he once was.
That is ultimately what Brand New Day is about. It is not about Peter learning to become a better Spider-Man. It is about him learning how to become Peter Parker again. He has to rediscover that he can be both Spider-Man and Peter Parker, and that the two identities do not have to exist at the expense of one another, and that he does not have to carry the weight of the world alone. It is sort of a mirror of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. What surprised me the most is just how seriously the film commits to that journey. It never treats Peter’s emotional state as a plot device or something to quickly move past. Instead, it allows his loneliness, guilt, and healing to become the emotional foundation of the entire film.
It is immediately apparent that there was a creative shift between the first three MCU Spider-Man films and Brand New Day. Director Destin Daniel Cretton brings a grounded, lived-in quality to Spider-Man that we have not seen since the Raimi’s trilogy. His focus is almost entirely on Peter Parker as a person, examining the character through an intimate lens. When Peter is suffering, the film allows us to sit with that pain instead of rushing to the next action sequence. When he is overwhelmed by panic, we feel every second of it. Even the action scenes have a weight and physicality to them that make every punch and fall feel consequential. It is amazing what can happen when a filmmaker prioritizes character and visual storytelling over empty spectacle and nostalgia.
That said, this is still an MCU film, which means the film cannot resist itself by reminding us that there is a much larger universe surrounding Peter. There are several moments where the narrative undercuts itself just to remind the audience that the Hulk, the New Avengers, and mutants all exist in New York and have their own place in the MCU. None of that was necessary. The only exception is Jon Bernthal’s The Punisher, who is integrated into the story with a clear purpose. Frank Castle serves as a dark reflection of what Peter could become if he continues down his current path. Their ideological clashes are not just entertaining. Their clashes reinforce the film’s central themes. Becoming a superhero full time comes at the expense of oneself. While the two constantly disagree on how justice should be carried out, their dynamic becomes one of the film’s strongest elements.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day shows that the MCU still has some life left in it. More importantly, it proves that Marvel is still capable of making director-driven films that prioritize character and storytelling over interconnected universe-building and endless references. The question remains, does Marvel want to commit to character-driven storytelling again or do they want to continue on spectacle and references over storytelling? Time will tell. Though Brand New Day is not perfect, it’s a bit bloated and weighed down by MCU baggage, it is certainly a step in the right direction for Marvel.
My Rating: B
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now in theaters nationwide.
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