Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the fourth Tom Holland-led Spider-Man film, has opened to a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the best-reviewed MCU movie in five years, according to GamesRadar+. The last film to top 90% was Spider-Man: No Way Home, which hit 93% in 2021; since then, MCU releases have had mixed results, with some like Thunderbolts and Guardians of the Galaxy 3 coming close and others, including Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and Captain America: Brave New World, falling well short.
Directed by Shang-Chi's Destin Daniel Cretton, who replaced Jon Watts, the film is set about four years after No Way Home, following the spell that erased the world's memory of Peter Parker as Spider-Man, including for MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon). GamesRadar+ describes Peter as isolated, patrolling the streets alone while mourning Aunt May and longing to reconnect with his friends. A mysterious hooded figure played by Stranger Things' Sadie Sink drives the plot, jumping between minds and targeting the Department of Damage Control; the character's identity has been kept secret by the studio, though Kotaku notes the mystery drew strong reactions from critics. Jon Bernthal's Punisher and Mark Ruffalo's Hulk also appear, contributing to what GamesRadar+ calls an Avengers-like sense of scale.
Many reviews praise the film's emotional focus and craftsmanship. GamesRadar+ calls it Marvel's strongest standalone film since Avengers: Endgame, highlighting its street-level style, visceral action, and the performances of Holland and Zendaya. TheWrap similarly calls it 'a fantastic film' about Peter Parker's struggle to do good despite personal cost, adding that supporting heroes and villains 'never outstay their welcome.' The Independent praises the action as the best in the series, citing high-frame-rate photography influenced by comics and the Insomniac Spider-Man games. Kotaku notes Kevin Feige has said Marvel Studios will prioritize quality going forward.
Other outlets are more critical. IndieWire's review argues the movie fails to meaningfully advance Peter Parker's story, saying the MCU 'knows it can't go back to the way things were' but is 'clueless about how to push forward.' But Why Tho similarly argues the film 'lacks soul' and relies on manipulation rather than earned emotion, adding that its spectacle now feels 'perfunctory.' The Globe and Mail states Holland does what he can with the role but that it isn't enough to elevate what it calls 'a non-event of a film.' Additional negative notes come from Variety, which said the film is 'trying too hard,' and The Guardian, which gave it three stars while arguing 'a more radical reboot is needed.'
GamesRadar+'s own review gave the film four stars, praising its visuals, action, and emotional stakes, but noted it doesn't move the broader MCU story forward much ahead of Avengers: Doomsday, plays it safe in places, and offers fewer surprises than anticipated. Kotaku observes that much of the critical divide centers on how tied the film is to the wider MCU and its multiverse plotlines, even though it is nominally a neighborhood-level Spider-Man story. UPI's review criticizes the secrecy around Sink's character, arguing that true drama shouldn't depend on withholding a casting reveal, while also suggesting Marvel is unlikely to change its formula given the commercial success of the Holland-led films. The film is set for release July 29 in the UK and July 31 in the US, with a runtime of 145 minutes.