Spiderman: Brand New Day
Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas West Hartford
West Hartford
July 31, 2026
When I was hired for this job, my editor ordered me a camera. I eagerly waited days for it to arrive, and when it finally did, I was so excited I couldn’t contain myself. I told my brother, “I’ve been upgraded to Peter Parker status!”
I probably should have realized it then. My whole life I’ve told anyone who asked that my favorite superhero is Spiderman. However, after watching the latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spiderman: Brand New Day, I learned something important about myself: I’m actually a Peter Parker fan.
Brand New Day picks up four years after the events of Spiderman: No Way Home, where Spiderman was forced to make everyone forget him in order to save the world. I was hopeful that in Brand New Day, the focus would be placed more squarely on Peter Parker (Tom Holland) than his super alter ego as he worked to rebuild his relationships with best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and former girlfriend MJ (Zendaya).
Alas, it was not meant to be. Spiderman has been the main focus of the MCU movies, not Peter Parker, and BND continues that trend.
As a movie, BND is competent. I won’t spoil anything major here, but suffice to say there are well-done set pieces, tons of cameos, humor, and special effects. Basically, everything you’ve come to expect from the MCU. Zendaya continues to impress as an actress. Her performances grow more confident and nuanced in every one of these films, and she was the emotional center of the movie.
But I couldn’t help being bored. My relationship with Spiderman started way back in the '90s with the Spiderman animated series, and has continued through the movies. I didn’t watch to see Spiderman punch bad guys or zip around the city. Of course those things are cool, but I was watching to see how Peter Parker navigated the choice between his desires and his responsibilities.
That simply doesn’t exist in BND. Peter gets to have his cake and eat it too at almost every point in the movie. Spiderman is a celebrated hero who actively works with the police. He doesn’t seem to have a job or classes to get in the way of his heroing. There’s no J. Jonah Jameson targeting him. Everything is actually going great for Peter Parker (except for Ned and MJ not remembering him), and there’s absolutely no tension between his life as a regular person and being a superhero.
To me, that’s the core of the character and his stories. What does it cost Peter Parker to be Spiderman? That question is never asked in BND. He never worries about money. He’s never concerned about letting his friends down. He has no family to interact with. Without the other pressures on Peter Parker, it’s mostly a movie about Spiderman beating people up. While it was visually pleasing for sure, it was boring.
In fact, Peter Parker is so missing from BND that when he does begin rebuilding his relationships with Ned/MJ, he’s literally wearing his costume. Even in the moments when Peter should step to the front, he’s overshadowed by Spiderman.
Well, what about Spiderman then? If we can’t get Peter, is he at least cool? Holland is certainly game for all the physicality that comes with the role, but as with the other MCU films, this is not your friendly neighborhood hero.
The buzz before the film came out was that this was going to be a return to the street-level, grinding-it-out Spiderman, but that idea went out the window in the first five minutes when we saw an automated sewing machine stitching together his costume. He has an AI unit so advanced it can monitor his hormone levels. He builds machines that can manipulate DNA in his loft for goodness sake. Spiderman is still, basically, mini-Iron Man.
BND is not a bad movie by any definition of the word, and to be fair, it continues the style of Spiderman that has been on display since he made his appearance in the MCU in Civil War. I just have to accept that this is not a version of the webhead that I enjoy.
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Jamil goes to the Wadsworth to learn about photography from some up and coming artists.
