Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now in theaters, bringing back Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon while adding longtime Marvel favorites Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner and the Hulk and Jon Bernthal as the Punisher.
Sadie Sink’s mystery character also finally stands revealed, and she is a huge, welcome addition to the MCU. More on that below.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day completely delivers. It is a fresh, grounded take on the franchise that gives fans nearly everything they could want from a Spider-Man movie.
Rating: 9/10.
Tom Holland Cements Himself As Spider-Man
Tom Holland is excellent once again as Peter Parker and Spider-Man. With Brand New Day, he cements why he is the definitive live-action Spider-Man actor.
The movie gives Holland great action sequences, emotional scenes that might bring a tear to your eye, and huge crowd-pleasing moments that had the theater clapping.
It also brings Spider-Man back down to street level without making the movie feel small. The stakes still matter, but the focus remains on Peter, his choices, and the people caught in the middle.
Jon Bernthal Steals The Show As The Punisher
Jon Bernthal steals the show as Frank Castle. Fans in my theater started clapping the moment the Punisher first appeared, and Bernthal makes every scene count.
Bernthal and Holland have fantastic chemistry together. Their characters approach crime from completely different directions, and the movie gets a lot out of putting Spider-Man’s moral code up against Frank Castle’s methods.
Fans will also be happy to see the Savage Hulk return. Ruffalo is not in the movie all that much, but when he shows up, he makes it count.
Florence Pugh also appears as Yelena Belova and plays a good role without taking the movie away from Spider-Man.
Sadie Sink’s MCU Role Revealed
Major spoilers follow.
As previously rumored, Sadie Sink is indeed playing the MCU’s Jean Grey.
The movie ties Spider-Man to the X-Men in a smart way, especially for fans familiar with the comic book lore. It does not feel forced or like Jean was dropped into the story simply to advertise another Marvel project. Her involvement matters to the plot and helps bring everything together.
On more than one occasion, I found myself saying, “Mutant detected,” in the voice of a Sentinel. During one especially cool scene, it became, “Omega-level mutant threat detected.”
Wow.
Sink is a big addition to the MCU, and Brand New Day leaves you wanting to see a lot more of her Jean Grey.
The Villains Never Overcrowd The Movie
I was initially worried about the sheer number of villains announced for the movie, but they never overcrowd it.
Michael Mando finally returns as Scorpion and gets some cool fight scenes against Spider-Man. His suit also looks great on the big screen.
The movie does an impressive job balancing Spider-Man, the Punisher, Hulk, Jean Grey, Yelena, Scorpion, and the rest of the story. The characters are not simply thrown together for cameos. Their separate threads eventually connect, and the payoff feels planned rather than patched together.
It is well thought out, and I appreciated that.
The Special Effects Are The One Weak Spot
If I have to nitpick, it is with some of the special effects.
At times, the visuals look overly artificial, almost like AI imagery or a video game cutscene. It is most noticeable during the street-swinging sequences. I also thought maybe the suit’s design and/or colors were to blame, and maybe it wasn’t the VFX per se.
Thankfully, the action improves as the movie goes on. The Hand fight inside Damage Control is awesome and easily one of the standout sequences.
Marvel Takes Another Step In The Right Direction
There is also none of the divisive messaging that has littered previous Marvel and DC movies. Similar to X-Men ’97 Season 2, Brand New Day suggests Marvel is taking another step in the right direction.
The focus is on Spider-Man, the characters, the action, and delivering something fans will enjoy. That should not be difficult, but lately it has felt like an accomplishment.
Final Verdict
You cannot go wrong with Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It is exciting, emotional, funny, and packed with moments made for a cheering theater crowd.
This is a movie you will want to see more than once on the big screen.
I hope Tom Holland sticks around as the Web-Crawler for as long as Hugh Jackman has played Wolverine.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day review score: 9/10.
For everything we know, check out our Spider-Man: Brand New Day guide.
