Spider-Man: Brand New Day Review: MCU Wastes Its Reset
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- Destin Daniel Cretton directed "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," a 145-minute Sony Pictures Releasing sequel opening July 31, which the review calls a "dull and downbeat" wasted chance at a fresh start for the MCU.
- Tom Holland, now 30, delivers what the reviewer calls his "most nuanced and mature Spider-Man performance" as a Peter Parker cut off from MJ and Ned after the memory wipe at the end of the previous film.
- Jon Bernthal's Punisher graduates from streaming to a major supporting role as a "trigger-happy nuisance" buddy to Peter, with the reviewer calling him "delightful" but saying the subplot distracts from Spider-Man's emotional core.
- The villain is a telepath who hijacks people's minds by hopping between brains across Manhattan, an effect the review calls "much neater and more upsetting than what superhero movies usually muster."
- Bruce Banner gets a "tedious" shoehorned appearance, and the Department of Damage Control receives extended screen time in a storyline the reviewer says is "flagrantly inspired by another Sony property."
- Rolling Stone also dismissed the film as "the Same Old MCU B.S.," aligning with this review's verdict that the franchise's stasis is now embodied by Spider-Man himself.
Why it matters: Positioned as a reset after the multiverse era's misfires, the 145-minute film gets dragged down by forced cameos, a Punisher buddy subplot, and a rote villain backstory. With Rolling Stone also panning it as 'the Same Old MCU B.S.,' the cross-outlet consensus frames Spider-Man as part of the franchise's stasis problem, not the fix.
