Marvel’s latest Spider-Man takes Peter Parker into an action-packed, emotionally charged new era.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day review: Bigger, darker and surprisingly emotional
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Cast: Tom Holland (Peter Parker), Zendaya (MJ), Jacob Batalon (Ned), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Jon Bernthal (Punisher), Sadie Sink (Jean Grey), Michael Mando (Scorpion)
★★★★
Dubai: “Are you Peter Parker, or are you Spider-Man?” Jean Grey (Sadie Sink) asks Peter, and that single question becomes the emotional core of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The title couldn’t be more fitting. Peter Parker is back where it all began after the heartbreaking ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home, where the world forgot he ever existed. Watching him grapple with that decision is devastating. He erased himself from the lives of the people he loved to save them, only to be left navigating a world where he is invisible, unknown and utterly alone.
The MJ scenes are the film’s real superpower
For me, Zendaya is the heart of this film. Every time she appears on screen, Brand New Day finds its emotional footing.
The scenes between Peter and MJ are easily the strongest in the film, and my biggest complaint is that there simply aren’t enough of them. Zendaya brings a warmth and authenticity that elevates every moment she shares with Tom Holland. Watching Peter quietly long for someone who no longer remembers him is heartbreaking. As MJ moves on with a life that no longer includes him, the film delivers its most powerful emotional beats—not through explosive action sequences, but through quiet moments of loss, longing and sacrifice.
Those scenes remind us that beneath the mask, Spider-Man’s greatest battles have always been deeply personal.
Ned deserved far more screen time, too. Jacob Batalon has always been the goofy, grounding presence that gives these Spider-Man films so much of their heart, and I found myself missing him whenever he wasn’t on screen. Peter and Ned’s friendship has been one of the trilogy’s strongest emotional anchors, and Brand New Day is at its warmest whenever it remembers that. Their bond has always made Peter’s world feel more human, making its absence all the more noticeable here.
Spidey’s body-horror twist
One of the film’s biggest surprises is the body-horror direction it takes with Spider-Man’s evolving powers. Peter’s crushing isolation, grief and longing don’t just weigh on him emotionally—they trigger something biological. A hormonal mutation pushes him into the next stage of his spider evolution, leaving him with hypersensitive senses, relentless sensory overload and the unsettling feeling that his own body is turning against him.
Then there are the eyes. Every time Peter’s eyes turned completely black, as if a switch had been flipped, it was genuinely chilling. It’s an eerie visual that leans into the horror elements without ever losing sight of Spider-Man’s humanity, making this one of the film’s most memorable and unexpected twists.
Call it Spider-Man’s own Super Saiyan moment. The friendly neighbourhood hero evolves into something far more primal, unpredictable and dangerous. It had me on the edge of my seat, hoping Peter wouldn’t lose control, wouldn’t shatter the city’s hard-earned trust, and wouldn’t end up being seen as the very monster he’s always fought against.
It’s a bold, slightly unsettling direction for a Spider-Man film, one that flirts with body horror without losing sight of Peter’s humanity. The transformation raises the stakes in a fresh way, reminding us that sometimes the greatest threat isn’t the villain—it’s the hero’s fear of what he might become.
That tension—the fear of becoming the very thing he’s fighting not to be—ties beautifully back to Jean Grey’s question. Peter’s physical transformation mirrors his emotional crisis. Who is he, really, when everything that once defined Peter Parker has been taken away?
Seeing the world from inside the mask
One of the film’s biggest surprises is its technical ambition. For the first time, we truly get to experience Spider-Man’s perspective from inside the mask—seeing the city the way Peter does, feeling the rush of web-swinging between skyscrapers and the sheer danger of throwing yourself off a rooftop just to get across town.
It’s genuinely immersive, and it instantly reminded me of Marvel’s Spider-Man, with that same exhilarating feeling of racing through Manhattan at impossible speeds. It’s perhaps the closest a Spider-Man film has come to making audiences feel like they’re wearing the suit rather than simply watching someone else wear it.
I can only imagine how incredible these sequences would be in 4DX, with every drop, turn and swing reflected through the movement of the seats.
Acting that carries the whole thing
The performances are where Brand New Day is genuinely stacked from top to bottom.
Tom Holland has grown into the role in a way that is impossible to ignore. At 30, he brings a greater maturity and physical presence to Spider-Man, giving Peter a steadier, more experienced edge. Yet what still makes him the perfect Peter Parker is his face—the same wide-eyed innocence and vulnerability that have always defined the character. That’s exactly why the heartbreak hits so hard. When Peter is broken down by loneliness and loss, Holland sells every moment, making you feel the full weight of what he’s going through.
Speaking to other cinema-goers afterwards, one name kept coming up: Frank. Jon Bernthal’s Punisher doesn’t just hold his own—he completely steals scenes. The character brings a different energy to the film, and from the reactions around me, it was clear audiences loved every moment he was on screen. Florence Pugh’s Black Widow cameo is another standout, brief but genuinely enjoyable, adding another welcome surprise to the film.
I also have to give credit to the supporting cast, especially the actors portraying characters under Jean Grey’s influence. The way they would suddenly snap back to themselves, blinking in confusion and asking, “Spider-Man, what am I doing here?”, created some of the film’s funniest and most unexpected moments.
It was a small detail, but one that added so much personality to the story. Across the board, the performances are strong, with every actor bringing something memorable to the world around Peter Parker.
Where it wobbles
Not everything lands perfectly. Jean Grey, despite being positioned as such a crucial part of Peter’s journey, didn’t connect with me in the way I expected. I found myself wishing the film had spent more time with MJ, Ned, or honestly, even Hulk.
And that last one hurts a little. Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner should have been one of the film’s biggest highlights. The potential of a Peter Parker versus Hulk dynamic is right there, teasing something genuinely exciting, but the moment disappears almost as quickly as it arrives.
After all that buildup, give us the full Spider-Man and Hulk clash the film keeps hinting at. That’s the kind of superhero spectacle audiences would have happily waited for.
So, is it actually a brand new day?
By the end, yes. Genuinely.
Brand New Day earns its title by giving Peter Parker something he hasn’t had in a long time: the chance to rebuild. It isn’t just about a new chapter for Spider-Man—it’s about rediscovering who Peter is when the mask, the memories and the people who shaped him have all been taken away.
The film doesn’t pretend that starting over is easy. It leans into the loneliness, the uncertainty and the emotional cost of Peter’s choices, but it also finds hope in the idea that he can still become something greater.
The Peter who begins this film forgotten and alone finishes it as the hero New York loves again—the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, Ned’s best friend once more, and a person finally ready to embrace a life that has room for him.
He answers Jean Grey’s question, too. He isn’t just Peter Parker or Spider-Man anymore—he’s both. It’s a satisfying full-circle journey, even if the path there occasionally loses focus and spends too much time away from the characters that matter most.
Flawed and a little uneven, Brand New Day doesn’t always stick the landing, but its heart is always in the right place. And more often than not, that heart belongs to Zendaya’s MJ.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into UAE cinemas on 30 July, giving audiences the chance to see their friendly neighbourhood hero return to the big screen once again.
