Peter Parker is all grown up, and so is Sony’s Tom Holland series of Spider-Man films if the latest installment is any indication. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, follows the webslinger as he navigates life as a hero alone.
It’s been almost five years since audiences last saw the character, which is close to how long it’s been in the Marvel universe since Peter lost his Aunt May and had to erase any memory of him from the world in Spider-Man: No Way Home. A montage leading up to the film’s present day shows that while he’s grown as a hero, he hasn’t gotten over losing his friends.
Meanwhile, he’s living up to his name as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and working with the NYPD. An investigation into attacks on the Department of Damage Control (Marvel loves its made-up government agencies) puts Peter in the web of a telepathic villain (Sadie Sink) who will stop at nothing to find what she’s looking for.
The film carries a melancholy tone throughout, because while New York City is thriving under Spider-Man’s protection, Peter Parker is not. A run-in with Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya), who have since returned from college, exacerbates Peter’s feelings and manifests in biological changes to his spidey powers.
If you thought the growing pains of your early 20s were hard, try having spider DNA mutating inside you. The franchise and Peter Parker are both evolving.
The story is more mature, as are the characters (at one point Peter jokes about needing to stretch because of his age). What the film gets right, though, is that it brings the franchise to this place of maturity without falling into the trap of over-relying on grittiness and suffering to convey that point.
There is still levity and humor and sweetness, because despite all the tragedy and loss, Peter hasn’t completely lost himself. The presence of The Punisher (Jon Bernthal), who ironically provides a lot of comedic relief thanks to his and Peter’s bickering, also serves as a warning: being alone isn’t the option anyone should choose if they can help it.
Cretton, who also directed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, packs in plenty of city-spanning web-swinging along with closer combat fight scenes that look incredible. There’s one sequence involving Spider-Man, the Punisher, and the Hulk that is sure to be referenced by fans for a long time.
As already revealed by marketing, there is still a heavy dose of the broader MCU present in the film despite the more grounded street-level nature of the story. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and the Hulk both show up for some good old-fashioned nerdy science talk and building smashing, and there are more surprises better left unspoiled.
Despite all those added ingredients, the movie doesn’t get too bogged down or feel too long. It just feels like reading a comic book where this kind of crossover is a natural result of world-building and not the machinations of studio executives.
Sink manages to be both sinister and vulnerable as her telepathic villain (no, we won’t spoil her identity even if it’s been the subject of internet speculation since her casting), and provides a mirror image of who Peter could have been and still could be if he chooses to push people away. Their shared scenes, particularly towards the end of the film, are some of the most emotional.
Tramell Tillman’s Bill Metzger, director of the Department of Damage Control, is also sneakily one to watch.
To the shock of no one, Zendaya and Holland’s chemistry still works despite MJ no longer knowing Spider-Man’s identity. Both actors are having banner years yet still manage to slip into these roles like a cozy old sweater, and that’s how you’ll feel watching them.
Holland now has the most solo Spider-Man films of any actor to play the character, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day proves there is no reason for him to hang up the mask any time soon.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31. Stay past the full credits for a post-credits scene.