Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) Review

It has been five year since the excellent Spider-Man: No Way Home and we now have got our next Tom Holland led Spider-Man film with Brand New Day. I went into a packed cinema to watch it today and here is my review for the film. The premise of the film sees Peter Parker attempt to navigate adult life alone as he tries to balance being Spider-Man with the new things going on in his life. 

Main Character

I feel like every time there is a solo Spider-Man film led by Tom Holland, I always say that it is his best performance in the role and this is no different. He is excellent here and this is easily the darkest portrayal of the character that he has had to portray. There is so much going on with his character and Holland nails it and makes me really care about Peter and the struggles that he is in. 

Supporting Characters

Zendaya is back as MJ and I actually found her part in the film to be really well realised. Obviously, she can't remember who Peter is and I think that made the dynamic really different here and it felt like a natural progression for her character and their relationship. 

I was nervous when Jon Bernthal was announced to be playing The Punisher here, that they would neuter him. But I am happy to report that they don't and it feels like a slightly toned down version of the great character we have. The chemistry between Holland & Bernthal is off the charts and for me is one of the aspects that carries the film. 

Sadie Sink plays the villain here and I won't mention her role as it wasn't revealed before the films release. She was really good in the film, I think her character had a few issues but that doesn't take away the really good performance by Sink. 

Smaller roles for Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova and Liz Colon-Zayas as DeWolff were fun characters and even though they weren't in the film that much, they added just about enough. 

Story

The story is good. I really liked the personal nature of Peter's story as he goes through these mental and physical issues that really change how he is seen as Spider-Man. I also liked Sadie Sink's characters overall story and arc throughout the last arc of the film. However, the film has way too much going on in it to really develop everything as much as it should. There are a few characters and story bits that could have been cut out of the film to give the major story beats a bit more depth and make it a really amazing story. 

Script

The script is great. As I mentioned above, this is probably the darkest Spider-Man film that has ever been made and the dialogue and writing really sells that and takes this usually light hearted character into some dark places. But it also knows when to have fun and the humour still works, making it an overall great experience. 

Style

The action scenes are superb. We had a change in director for this film and Destin Daniel Cretton who directed Shang-Chi shows his skill in directing action scenes and really adding some uniqueness to the character who has been on the big screen for over 25 years. The pacing is really good too, I was never bored and it kept me engaged throughout. 

Overall

Overall, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a Fantastic Film that does the character justice. It keeps up the strong run of Tom Holland's Spider-Man films and is a really fun watch in the cinema. It is a truly great comic book film and definitely worth a watch. 

Rating - 9/10