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Spider-Man: Brand New Day is Tom Holland’s fourth solo Spider-Man film and the first directed by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton. More importantly, it may be the best MCU Spider-Man movie so far!
Picking up after the events of No Way Home, the film finds Peter Parker living almost entirely behind the mask. With everyone’s memories of Peter erased by Doctor Strange, Peter has become more isolated than ever, operating primarily as Spider-Man and working with the NYPD to make New York safer. But his new routine is disrupted when a dangerous threat emerges: a mysterious villain capable of controlling the minds of New Yorkers while attempting to steal government secrets.
I had a great time with Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Tom Holland gives a strong performance as an older, lonelier Peter Parker trying to navigate life in a completely new way. Cretton’s direction keeps both the audience and Spider-Man off balance as the mystery surrounding this new villain slowly unfolds. There are several moments where I genuinely wasn’t sure how Peter would find a way out.
The villain, whose identity press were specifically asked to keep secret until after release, is compelling and visually exciting. Their powers are genuinely fun to watch, and the threat they pose feels fresh. That said, there are moments where the villain’s storyline becomes so prominent that the movie almost stops feeling like a Spider-Man film. Thankfully, the third act does a solid job of bringing everything back together.
The action is excellent, with easily the best web-swinging sequences of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man run so far. Jon Bernthal’s Punisher is also a standout, presenting a sharp opposing perspective to Peter’s sense of justice. Their dynamic adds both tension and a surprising amount of humor.
Overall, I highly recommend seeing Spider-Man: Brand New Day as soon as possible, especially if you want to avoid spoilers. It’s a fun, emotional, action-packed return for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. There is one end-credit scene, and while I found it a little disappointing, this is still a Marvel movie, so make sure you stay seated until the very end.
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY is Exclusively in Movie Theaters July 31st, 2026
Rating: 4 out of 5
Logan Wischmeier (Contributing Editor) is a Texas native and a massive fan of all genres of film. You can find him talking about movies on YouTube or in line for the latest Star Wars/Comic Book film.Click Here to check out Logan's Articles.