Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon return, joined by Jon Bernthal, Sadie Sink, and Mark Ruffalo in the super-powered adventure.
If you are now or have ever been single for a meaningful length of time, especially due to circumstances not of your own choosing, you can definitely relate to Peter Parker (Tom Holland).
Having chosen a course that saved this world and the next, and having accepted the consequences of his choice, which erased the memories of his existence from everyone he has ever known or loved, most especially MJ (Zendaya), the love of his life, as well as his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), Peter Parker has spent the years since the events in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) forlornly tracking his friends from afar, watching Ned’s videos on social media for an occasional peek at MJ, and paying regular, mournful visits to the grave of his dear Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), whose loving words and sage advice echo through the memories of his mind.
Ordinary mortals might well have buckled, turning to drugs or drinking or some other type of self-injury to salve their broken hearts. Super-powered individuals, like Peter Parker, have the option to save lives, stop crimes, and work with local law enforcement in order to keep themselves (and their super-powered minds) occupied, lest they succumb entirely to the inevitable depression.
Peter Parker has chosen to don his trademark mask (to ensure his anonymity) and his body-hugging suit (because it looks cool) to catch criminals and save their victims, inadvertent or otherwise, to the point that New York City is said to be largely crime-free, thanks to the tireless, self-deprecating efforts of Spider-Man, who is eager to work loosely, and, apparently, unofficially, as a volunteer under the guidance of Detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas, who also moonlights in Chicago as a cook on The Bear).
Early on, he steps in to prevent Frank Castle, aka The Punisher (Jon Bernthal), from exercising his merciless (and foul-mouthed) brand of deadly crimefighting. Otherwise, he avoids the press and spends his non-crimefighting time alone, obsessed with Things that he researches on the internet.
Several years pass. MJ and Ned are rooming together platonically in the city, contemplating possible career paths. MJ has a boyfriend (Eman Esfandi, who somehow escaped from the Star Wars spin-off series Ahsoka), though it doesn’t appear to be a very strong relationship. They don’t remember Peter Parker at all, though they remember that Spider-Man saved them on more than one occasion. Instead, they are young adults who are thinking about the days ahead, not the ones that have passed.
Without anyone to talk to, Peter retreats into his solitude, pining for the past. So when a great, mysterious, seemingly invisible force begins disrupting the city, apparently taking temporary possession of different people for reasons that are not apparent to anyone , it’s a relief: Ah, something to do! His curiosity intensifies when he talks to Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman, on leave from Severance), who leads a local unit of Damage Control, a government entity. Metzger requests that Spider-Man help Damage Control to locate and capture the mysterious force. Spider-Man happily complies.
From there, Spider-Man becomes occupied with his investigation, which leads him to Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), aka The Incredible Hulk, who has developed a device that inhibits him from transforming into the big green guy. He also talks with Black Widow (Florence Pugh), who has a unique, if wet, “office.” And, inevitably, he crosses paths with MJ and Ned, as well as superpowered folks on the dark side, including the Scorpion (Michael Mando, resurrected from Better Call Saul), and an extremely mysterious figure (Sadie Sink, a Stranger Things survivor) who plays a key role in the proceedings.
A plaintive character study resides at the emotional core of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, surrounded and nearly crowded out entirely by all the corporate requirements of a super-powered movie that probably costs more than the national budgets of numerous nations. On the plus side, that means temporary employment for hundreds of digital artists and technicians, which is no small thing.
On the other side, we again have the aforementioned 70-minute character study buried deep inside a movie that runs two hours and 25 minutes. (Psst: there’s only one post-credits scene at the very end of that running time.)
In a comic book, it’s OK to have only a few pages with dialogue and character development, with the remainder occupied with dazzling visual artistry. Too often, however, Spider-Man: Brand New Day feels like the filmmakers want to hold your head still and force you to stare at one page with only a few panels to occupy your attention; I kept wanting to turn the page and get on to the end of the story.
Nevertheless, the sweetness got to me in the end. Like Peter Parker, many single people would rather have supportive friends, even if they don’t have a romantic partner. For us, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is our movie.
The film is now playing throughout Dallas and Fort Worth, only in movie theaters. For locations and showtimes, visit the official site.
Dallas Film Now. 
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