Tom Holland and Zendaya star in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which opens this weekend, and the first reviews are now online. The 38th installment of the MCU also loops in Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), The Punisher (Jon Bernthal), and Stranger Things actress Sadie Sink for the latest adventures of the titular web-slinging superhero. Holland is the first Spider-Man to go four solo movies, and the reviews are supportive of the effort, calling it one of the actor and character’s most mature installments yet.
Here’s what critics are saying about Spider-Man: Brand New Day:
Is it another must-see Marvel movie?
As one of 2026’s most anticipated feature films, Spider-Man: Brand New Day certainly doesn’t disappoint. – Allison Rose, FlickDirect
It’s an emotionally stirring, dynamically directed Spider-Man movie that gives us the Spidey we want. – Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is everything that I wanted it to be and more. – Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
We don’t get many great MCU movies anymore. That this is one of the highlights of the whole franchise feels amazing. – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
The Tom Holland era of Spider-Man just keeps getting better. – Travis Hopson, Punch Drunk Critics
Brand New Day is a remarkably coherent, often joyful film, dedicated to giving the character some growth and grace. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
It should give fans what they want, which is a good start. – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Brand New Day is watchable without ever being transporting. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
How does it compare to other Spider-Man movies?
Spider-Man: Brand New Day might be the best Spider-Man movie yet. – Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
Coming after No Way Home, Spider-Man: Brand New Day can feel like a balm of contemplative drama. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
This is a movie that is a different kind of fan service than the overwhelming Spider-Man: No Way Home; it honors the character and its legacy in all forms. – Travis Hopson, Punch Drunk Critics
It’s the closest the MCU’s Spider-Man has come to capturing the heart and spirit of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, and I can’t think of higher praise than that. – David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
What Cretton has done is create the most purely Spider-Man movie since, perhaps, Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. – Alexander Zalben, Comic Book Club
If it is not the best live-action Spider-Man movie, it is right there in the conversation, sitting close to Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. – Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
The best of the Holland-starring Spider-Man movies… and the best Spider-Man movie since Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. – Mike Ryan, The Hard Pass
Of all the Spider-Man films, Brand New Day is the most invested yet in the biological… uniqueness of spiders. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
(Photo by ©Marvel Entertainment/©Columbia Pictures)
What’s the best thing about Spider-Man: Brand New Day?
The entertaining new entry has the good sense to stop banging on about the damn multiverse. – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Brand New Day doesn’t aim for galaxy-saving drama; it instead explores what, exactly, keeps Spider-Man swinging — and it’s a better movie for it. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
Where Cretton really thrives is in the direction, which he injects with an energy and kineticism that we haven’t seen in a Spider-Man movie since the Sam Raimi days. – Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse
Peter’s relationship with M.J. and Ned, because those scenes really deliver to anyone who has been following their story through three previous films. – Edward Douglas, The Weekend Warrior
The film works best when it focuses on Peter’s isolation, street-level heroism, and the emotional pull of MJ and Ned. – Kaitlyn Booth, Bleeding Cool
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is, at its most functional, a movie about how much it sucks to make friends after college. – David Ehrlich, IndieWire
How is the action?
The action is easily among the best the MCU has delivered in years. – Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
One of my favorite things about this movie is the action. Not only are the fighting sequences amazing and incredibly well shot, but the swinging through New York scenes are visually stunning. – Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
The action as a whole is smarter and way cooler, including an awesome fight with the ninjas known as The Hand. – Travis Hopson, Punch Drunk Critics
Destin Daniel Cretton stages the Spidey action with a clever, leaping grandeur that delivers what these movies need to. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
Destin Daniel Cretton [leans] more heavily into practical filmmaking whenever possible. The result is a series of ambitious set pieces that demand remarkable precision from everyone involved, and the execution is consistently outstanding. – David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
You can tell that Cretton has a devotion to practical sets and effects, with the fights rivaling his fight sequences in Shang-Chi, but with an extra dose of that heightened action that comes with a Spidey movie. – Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse
[There’s] some spectacularly choreographed, gravity-defying wire-fu fight action. – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Is it a more emotionally moving Spider-Man movie?
It offers… some of the strongest emotional moments of any MCU movie to date. – Edward Douglas, The Weekend Warrior
It’s Peter Parker’s most personal and emotionally resonant journey to date. – David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
The spiky camaraderie between this more mature Spider-Man and rough-hewn vigilante Frank provides an extra dose of heart. – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
This one will leave you in your feels… I cried several times. – Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
The movie is more busy and self-serious than it is emotionally involving. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
(Photo by ©Marvel Entertainment/©Columbia Pictures)
How is Tom Holland’s performance as Peter Parker this time around?
Never better. – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Holland once again delivers a strong performance as Spider-Man. – Allison Rose, FlickDirect
Holland delivers his most grounded and emotionally resonant portrayal of the character to date. – David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
He delivers his most nuanced and mature Spider-Man performance to date. – David Ehrlich, IndieWire
It’s Holland’s best performance as Peter. – Mike Ryan, The Hard Pass
Tom Holland delivers his best and most physically committed performance as Peter Parker. – Patrick Beatty, See It or Skip It
Holland finally gets some dramatic meat to chew on, really selling Peter’s turmoil and loneliness. – Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse
He’s so much better now, and can carry the complex emotions that come with playing the hero who lives by the code “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.” – Travis Hopson, Punch Drunk Critics
Is there enough of him with Zendaya and Jacob Batalon?
The trio delivers some of their finest work together yet, proving once again why they’re among the MCU’s most endearing ensembles. – David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
The scenes between Holland, Zendaya, and Batalon are the film’s best, even if those three together is far less than in any previous movie. – Edward Douglas, The Weekend Warrior
Destin Daniel Cretton honors that bond and really earns the moments when they are together, while giving their relationships new nuances in a world where essentially all of that history no longer exists. I do wish we got more from Ned. – Patrick Beatty, See It or Skip It
It’s maddening how often Brand New Day sidelines its core relationship in order to spend more time on its villain’s hopelessly rote backstory, which stops the movie dead in its tracks. – David Ehrlich, IndieWire
Who else stands out in the cast?
Bernthal might be the cast highlight: It’s pure pleasure to watch Frank and Peter yell at each other. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
The dynamic between Frank and Peter [is] one of the standouts in the movie. – Kaitlyn Booth, Bleeding Cool
Jon Bernthal is a perfect foil for Tom Holland… These two are comedy gold. – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
Mark Ruffalo’s brief but effective return as Bruce Banner continues to reinforce why he remains one of the MCU’s most valuable supporting players. – David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
I also need to give a quick shoutout to Michael Mando, who plays Scorpion…While he doesn’t get a ton of screen time, he shines when he does. – Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
Is there anything you’re allowed to say about Sadie Sink’s intro in the MCU?
Sadie Sink is absolute perfection in her “wink wink” role. – David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
As it turns out, Sink was some of the most inspired casting for the MCU maybe since Holland was cast as Spider-Man. – Edward Douglas, The Weekend Warrior
She is extremely well cast, making her character all the more believable. – Allison Rose, FlickDirect
Sink’s performance [is] deeply felt, emotionally rendered, and a big jump from even her lauded turn in Stranger Things as Max Mayfield… Sink is a true standout here. – Alexander Zalben, Comic Book Club
I cannot wait for everyone to see what she does here, because WOW. Just… wow. – Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
Ultimately, if there’s anything that breaks the movie, it’s her, and for many reasons that are impossible to get into without spoiling. – Kaitlyn Booth, Bleeding Cool
(Photo by ©Marvel Entertainment/©Columbia Pictures)
How does the movie look?
Cinematographer Brett Pawlak deserves tremendous credit for crafting one of the MCU’s best-looking films in years. – David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
It’s one of the better-looking mostly daylight superhero films, avoiding some of the problems of so many MCU movies all looking the same. – Edward Douglas, The Weekend Warrior
It’s the best-looking superhero movie in quite a long time. – Mike Ryan, The Hard Pass
I loved the visual style director Destin Daniel Cretton brings to the franchise. Everything feels crisp, immersive, and stunning to look at. – Patrick Beatty, See It or Skip It
The special effects are very well done for the most part, with only a few moments here or there that shout green screen. Otherwise, the cinematography and effects are great. – Allison Rose, FlickDirect
How is the music?
Another killer score by Michael Giacchino. – Edward Douglas, The Weekend Warrior
Cretton’s biggest asset in balancing the tone between excitement and tenderness is Michael Giacchino’s excellent score. – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
[Giacchino] outdoes himself again here, bringing back the emotional weight, heroic momentum, and neighborhood adventure spirit that have defined Peter’s journey while pushing the score into a bigger, more intense action space. – Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
While I still rank it as the weakest of his four Spider-Man scores, “weakest” is relative here, as it remains stronger than most superhero scores produced today. – David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
Does it have any major problems?
If the movie is fun at times, it’s also arduous, overly episodic and half an hour too long. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
The screenplay occasionally feels overstuffed, leading to an unnecessary two-and-a-half-hour runtime. – David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
Brand New Day feels bloated at times. Its 2-hour, 30-minute runtime still somehow leaves you wanting more from certain characters and less from others because the film is crammed with as much as it can possibly balance. – Patrick Beatty, See It or Skip It
On the car ride home, you realize the villain’s plan makes no sense. – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
The issue is that Brand New Day eventually becomes almost too connected for its own good. What begins as a grounded, emotionally driven Spider-Man story slowly gets pulled into a larger MCU web. – Nagier Chambers, Big Gold Belt Media
Will it tide us over until Avengers: Doomsday?
If this truly is the blueprint for Marvel’s future, then perhaps a brand new day has finally arrived. – David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
Spider-Man: Brand New Day gets the job done well enough, but whatever magic Marvel wants to capture, recapture, or even create hasn’t happened yet. Maybe Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars will be the things that really tie this whole messy phase together. – Kaitlyn Booth, Bleeding Cool
By the end of his latest “solo” adventure, the MCU’s prevailing need to stall for time has forced Spider-Man into a situation that feels miles removed from the wrenching predicament he faced at the start. – David Ehrlich, IndieWire
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters on July 31, 2026. Buy tickets on Fandango.
Find Something Fresh! Discover What to Watch, Read Reviews, Leave Ratings and Build Watchlists. Download the Rotten Tomatoes App.
