Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)

I try to write a review immediately after watching a film, but for this one, I wanted to wait a few days. We got to the theater the second week of its release, and I had managed to stay ignorant of how everything in the movie would play out. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by who showed up in this film. I certainly wouldn't have predicted it.

Okay, so there's a 5-year window between this and the last movie, but Aunt May's (Marisa Tormei) gravestone listed 2024 as her year of death. That means Peter (Tom Holland) has been keeping the secret of his identity from MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) for less than 2 years -- which still feels like a crazy amount of time.

Going back to the last movie: Why does Peter not tell Zendaya who he is when he entered the coffeeshop? Is he trying to protect her, which is probably what he would say he's doing, or is he afraid that he will be rejected -- that she will tell him that the MJ he loved is not the MJ she is now?

Why he doesn't tell Ned is never as fully explored. Again, yes, maybe just to protect him, but it's funny how his connection with Ned, let's be honest, has always been more strongly implied. They are best friends from the start, whereas the relationship between Peter and MJ is something more like a slow burn.

What I like about this Spider-Man franchise is: Yes, the Peter/MJ Romance angle is there, but it's not the end-all, be-all of the movie, as it tends to be in the 1st franchise, and even the 2nd franchise. And if this Peter still has things about himself to work out, at least he doesn't turn into emo Peter, as Tobey Maguire does in the first franchise.

For a while, we were being saturated in Marvel movies, and I think quantity overtook quality. With the current Spider-Man franchise, as well as with the Spider-Man Spider-verse animated franchise, I think it's safe to say the quality is back on top. And it's beautiful to see.

What remains to be seen is how any franchise will stand over time. Many people, for example, originally thought Spider-Man 2 (2004) was a 4-star movie, including Roger Ebert. Ebert also gave 4-star reviews to the original Superman movie, and one or two of the Christopher Nolan Batman movies. A 4-star review is a high bar, and I'm not sure any of those movies now would receive such high ratings. In 10 or 15 years, will we re-watch Brand New Day and think as highly of it as we do now? I hope so. Time will tell.

Rating: 5/5 stars

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