Spider-Man: Brand New Day review: "Marvel Studios' strongest standalone outing since Avengers: Endgame"

Marvel Studios may have hit a rough patch following the box office conquering high of Avengers: Endgame, but the undeniable bright spot of the shaky Multiverse Saga has been Tom Holland's Spider-Man. After 2021's No Way Home – a post-Endgame victory lap featuring all three big-screen Spideys – Spider-Man: Brand New Day is something of a creative refresh. Divisive director Jon Watts is out, Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton is in after an aborted Avengers movie. And while there's much that feels familiar here, alongside some frustrating wheel-spinning as far as the MCU's big picture is concerned, Brand New Day is a home run, and Marvel Studios' strongest standalone outing since Endgame.

Picking up some four years after the events of No Way Home, which ended with Doctor Strange casting a spell that caused the world to forget Peter Parker is Spider-Man, including love of his life MJ (Zendaya) and geeky BFF Ned (Jacob Batalon), Brand New Day takes Spidey back to web-slinging basics. Pete may be keeping the streets safe by taking down colourful costumed villains, but he's the loneliest boy in New York, longing for a reunion with MJ and Ned, and privately mourning the death of Aunt May.

Enter a mysterious hooded individual (Stranger Things star Sadie Sink), who's committing impossible crimes by jumping from mind to mind, and mysteriously targeting the Department of Damage Control, led by Bill Metzger (Severance's Trammell Tilman). The identity of Sink's mystery character has been the source of rampant speculation, and we won't spoil it here, but she's integral to the story and broadens the scope of the MCU in a major way. Also in the mix are The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), who add to the sense of Avengers-like event here, particularly when all three come together for a scrap that feels ripped straight from a comic-book splash page.

Crimes and Punishment

Cretton made one of the more fondly regarded post-Endgame movies in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and his more grounded filmmaking style (born from a pre-Marvel career in indie cinema) proves a perfect fit for a street-level take on Marvel's wall-crawler. The web-swinging here feels as visceral and immediate as the character drama, with significant time and attention dedicated to Peter's hollow personal life. Arguably, it's the first time a Spidey movie has got this alchemical mix just right since Spider-Man 2, as, like Sam Raimi, Cretton knows Spider-Man is at its best when Peter's great power comes with an even greater responsibility.

Speaking of power, Peter's had a bit of an upgrade in Brand New Day, and mercifully there isn't a nano-bot in sight. Peter's homemade, primary color costume pops off the screen, and might be the best a Spidey-suit has ever looked outside of the comics. His organic evolution is also a key part of the story, allowing Cretton and co. to take Peter back to square one, as he learns to use even more powerful organic web-shooters and heightened senses as if for the first time, increasing the danger as the threat to the city escalates.

And while the reality-ending stakes of No Way Home are brought down to Earth here, Brand New Day doesn't fall short when it comes to spectacle. The aforementioned Hulk/Punisher three-way is a knockout; it's the scariest Hulk has been since his helicarrier rampage in the original Avengers. A dazzling battle with ninja assassins The Hand is like something out of House of Flying Daggers, with graceful wirework and furious fight choreography captured with a corkscrew camera. And what a delight to have a wisecracking, cocksure Spidey in his prime at the center of it all.

Under the hood

It's a more personal, more emotional story than any of the Holland Spideys, one that reckons with the consequences of Peter's decision at the climax of No Way Home in a way that doesn't let him off Scott-free. Zendaya and Holland are particularly strong in a number of key heart-to-hearts. As is Bernthal's Punisher, who's softened only slightly for the family-friendly Spider-Man crowd, his big-brother-little-brother bickering with Peter a constant delight whenever the pair are (reluctantly) brought together.

Some ropey VFX aside, it looks terrific; Cretton has an eye for New York that Watts never did (it's telling that the credits play over gorgeous, verite-style footage from across the city). It never quite troubles Spider-Man 2 as the very best of the superhero genre; it plays things a little too safe for that, with a predictable third-act villain turn, and a certain sense that we're retreading old ground with a character we all know inside out by this stage.

And without getting into specifics, if you're tapped into the rampant speculation around the movie, you may be a little disappointed by the lack of true surprises in Brand New Day. But – Sadie Sink mystery aside – there's a sense that, for the first time in a long time, this is a Spider-Man movie that's been made for the right reasons, with its long-term legacy in mind, not just Friday night audience reactions. Brand New Day is all the better for it.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day releases in theaters on July 29 in the UK and July 31 in the US. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows on the way and our breakdown of how to watch the Marvel movies in order.