Spider-Man: Brand New Day — Review
By Dan Gardner
Spider-Man: Brand New Day reminded me of last year's Thunderbolts*. Both films make you think you're getting a new villain's origin story, an enemy who has to be beaten — and what actually has to be beaten turns out to be misunderstanding and assumption.
The real conflict is internal: self-knowledge, and how a person grows up. Also trust placed wrongly — trust given to an organization instead of to a person.
The performances
Do you realize Spider-Man: Homecoming is already nine years old?
Nine years is long enough for this cast to mature, and long enough for them to genuinely grow into their characters. That shows clearly in Brand New Day, especially between Tom Holland and Zendaya. There are several emotionally heavy scenes — Zendaya's in particular, I thought — that you can't carry without real skill.
I suspect the fact that the two of them are married in real life helped. The emotions in those scenes are ones they've probably rehearsed plenty of times in life already.
Sadie Sink is good as Jean Grey, but my sense is she needs another film or two before she's really striking in the part. That's exactly the advantage of this kind of shared universe: she'll have multiple films and several years to grow into the character.
Incidentally, Sadie Sink, who plays Jean Grey, is only 24. Tom Holland is 30, Zendaya 29. I'm looking forward to seeing where Sadie takes this character in another five years.
The action
If you watch superhero films at all, you know about the contest between Marvel and DC.
There's one thing I think Marvel does far more consistently than DC: letting characters grow during the action rather than saving the reflection for after the fight is over.
That's what happens in Brand New Day — Spider-Man's self-knowledge advances inside the action sequences, not in a monologue afterwards. It's subtle, but I've always thought it was one of the cornerstones of a good script.
The action itself is also thoughtfully designed and good to watch. Not groundbreaking, but the sequences serve the part of the story they're supposed to serve, and not one of them runs longer than it should.
One thing worth saying on its own
This film opened in mainland China on 29 July 2026 — two days ahead of North America. Reportedly this is the first time in about seven years that an imported film has led the world from the mainland.
About a week into its run, box office had already passed ¥1 billion.
Verdict
My initial grade is B+, but I have a feeling that on a second viewing it might go up. I don't think one pass gets you all the layers in this story.
Also, in fairness, I was half-distracted looking for Peetimes while I watched.
Film info
- RunPee grade: B+
- Runtime: 145 minutes
- Anything Extra: Yes
Related reading
- Does Spider-Man: Brand New Day have anything after the credits? — Does Spider-Man: Brand New Day have anything after the credits?
- How RunPee grades films — What a RunPee grade means
- How to use it — How to use RunPee at the movies