Films for Breakfast

It’s hard to imagine a more fitting (almost meta) title for this film than Brand New Day. The ending of the wall-crawler’s previous outing, Spider-Man: No Way Home, felt like a promise of a fresh start. It left Peter Parker (Tom Holland) completely alone in a shabby apartment, carrying an overwhelming sense of loss, yet still embracing the responsibility and burden of being Spider-Man as he swung through the city. No more Stark tech. No more Multiverse shenanigans. At last, he stood at the beginning of the version of Peter Parker that so many of us have always envisioned.

Brand New Day picks up a few years after the events of No Way Home. We find Peter completely immersing himself in his duties as Spider-Man – and on that front, things couldn’t be going better. He’s getting shit done! A fun opening montage shows him clashing with iconic villains, putting them behind bars, building a strong rapport with both the authorities and everyday New Yorkers, and steadily driving crime rates down across the city. But on the Peter Parker side of things, he’s a shell of a person. He has no one and nothing beyond his weekly subway commute, his personal A.I., E.V., and his visits to Aunt May’s grave to replace her flowers. Outside of that, Peter Parker barely exists anymore. Only Spider-Man does.

In true Spider-Man fashion, just when it seems like Peter has hit rock bottom, the floor gives out beneath him. His powers begin to fluctuate uncontrollably: his web-shooters malfunction with organic webbing starts emerging from his body, and he wakes to find himself wrapped in cocoons and his apartment covered in intricate webs. Worst of all, he begins losing his humanity in combat, overpowering his enemies with a brutality that nearly gets them killed and puts innocent people in danger. Suddenly, Peter finds himself in a race against time to uncover what’s happening before he completely loses his sense of self. And as if that weren’t enough, a mysterious antagonist played by Sadie Sink enters the picture, throwing yet another wrench into his already unraveling life.

The film draws heavily from some of Spider-Man’s greatest stories by making Peter Parker’s personal struggles the emotional centerpiece, allowing the action to become secondary to the character drama. That approach is one of the many reasons why I found Brand New Day to be not only Tom Holland’s finest outing as the character, but also one of the strongest entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole.

One of the film’s most impressive accomplishments is the way it builds upon Peter’s sacrifice at the end of No Way Home, when he asks for the world (including M.J. and Ned) to forget who he is in order to stop the Multiverse from collapsing into his reality. Brand New Day fully embraces the emotional consequences of that decision. M.J. and Ned genuinely have no memory of Peter, leaving him to watch the people he loves most from a distance before they inevitably become entangled in the larger story.

What affected me most were the quiet moments where Peter wrestles with how much of the truth to reveal, and the aching longing he feels for people who, despite being the same individuals, have become strangers shaped by entirely different lives and experiences. Holland and Zendaya share several scenes that mine every ounce of tragedy from that premise, and each one absolutely devastated me. By the film’s end, Brand New Day delivers some of the most deeply human drama I’ve seen in a Marvel film in years – perhaps since Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy.

Tom Holland has been excellent as Peter Parker/Spider-Man ever since his debut in Captain America: Civil War, but his work here is truly exceptional. He effortlessly conveys the weight of Peter’s struggles, his aching desire to reconnect with those he loves, and the immense burden of the responsibility he carries. It’s a deeply committed and emotionally raw performance that stands as the finest of his tenure. On top of that, Holland continues to prove himself as an incredibly versatile physical performer, which makes all the difference when so much of the action and stunt work is achieved practically. His athleticism and expressiveness elevate every set piece, grounding even the film’s biggest spectacle in Peter’s humanity.

Another welcome surprise is just how much Peter interacts with established characters from the wider Marvel universe. While his role isn’t especially large, I was thrilled to see Mark Ruffalo return as Bruce Banner/The Hulk. He gets several standout moments throughout the film, including one particularly charming scene that highlights the shared sensibilities between Banner and Peter – two brilliant minds burdened by the immense power they possess. And as for the Hulk action, it’s all exceptionally well-staged and genuinely exhilarating. The set pieces have a sense of weight and scale that’s been missing from the character for years, resulting in some of the best Hulk action we’ve seen in well over a decade.

Building on that, I found Jon Bernthal’s Punisher to be a near-perfect inclusion in the film. When it was announced that he would be joining the cast, I was admittedly a bit nervous, as Frank Castle is such a fundamentally different character from Holland’s Spider-Man. But the film wisely uses that contrast to its advantage. The chemistry between Bernthal and Holland is effortlessly entertaining, and watching two exceptional performers bring these iconic characters together results in some genuinely hilarious and memorable exchanges.

What impressed me most, however, is that the film doesn’t stop at their surface-level differences. It explores the ideological divide between them while also finding the unexpected emotional parallels beneath it all. Frank Castle’s suppressed trauma and grief mirror the darkness and loneliness Peter is experiencing at this point in his life, creating a surprisingly powerful connection between the two. Despite their opposing worldviews, the film understands the shared pain that binds them together – and by the end, their relationship becomes one of its most effective emotional elements.

Sadie Sink’s character is perhaps the most difficult aspect of the film to discuss, largely because she has been kept completely out of the marketing, yet she quickly becomes the emotional and narrative centerpiece of so much of what unfolds. Without venturing into spoiler territory, I will say that Sink’s performance is incredibly effective, and the way her character’s presence and abilities challenge Peter (both physically and morally) feels genuinely unique throughout the first two acts of the film. By the time the third act arrives, the film shifts gears entirely, taking her character in a direction that I found even more impressive. I cannot wait to dive deeper into her role, her importance to the story, and everything the film is exploring with her once spoilers are fair game.

Aside from Tom Holland, Destin Daniel Cretton is the true star of this film. From an action standpoint, it’s immediately clear that he has a genuine appreciation for practical, dynamic filmmaking. The camera is constantly moving throughout the set pieces, finding inventive ways to capture Spider-Man’s agility and sense of movement. One of my favorite examples is that whenever Spider-Man sticks to walls or ceilings, the camera physically follows and flips alongside him – a simple but incredibly effective visual flourish. Beyond the action, Cretton brings the same indie sensibilities that made Short Term 12 such a tremendous film, crafting a deeply empathetic and humanistic approach to Peter Parker’s journey.

The film is undeniably busy at times, juggling a large ensemble of characters, numerous ideas, and a hefty 145-minute runtime. If I have any gripes, it’s that I occasionally wished certain elements of the story had more time to breathe and develop. However, the film is always charging forward toward its destination, and in many ways, that relentless momentum is part of what makes it so invigorating and entertaining. That said, it can undeniably feel like a lot – especially on a first viewing.

However, as a massive Spider-Man fan, I will take a film that is occasionally overstuffed yet completely heartfelt and entertaining over a half-hearted take on the character any day of the week. Brand New Day feels like a breath of fresh air for Holland’s Spider-Man: a big-hearted, wildly entertaining thrill ride packed with emotion, massive set pieces, and unexpected surprises. If you have any affection for this character, it’s difficult to imagine walking away disappointed by just how much of a genuine love letter to Spider-Man this film truly is.