Spider-Man: Brand New Day, 2026 - ★★★★

I really appreciate the simplicity of Spider-Man Brand New Day. It's so simple, yet effective. It truly feels like a Spider-Man and Peter Parker story, with Tom Holland fully embodying the role in this film. I used to feel like he hadn't quite grasped the character (but parts of it was due to previous movies’ scripts), but here he finally perfected it. The film carries all the heart of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, hitting the usual themes of responsibility and sacrifice, but with a newfound maturity.

The action scenes and camerawork are amazing! I grinned through scene after scene, thinking to myself, "God, this is cool!" The world-building is also great, it feels so lived in.

I'm quite surprised by how well they balance all these characters. I initially thought it'd be a mess, but each character gets their own time to shine, and boy, do they shine! I felt connected to nearly every character almost instantly, sometimes even more so than with an entire storyline in some other movies (not naming names here, lol).

Some people might feel like the movie tries too hard to set up future MCU movies, but I don't think so. I think it does a great job introducing characters without feeling too forced, and each one serves the story -- furthering Peter Parker's growth as well as their own.

I really like the script. It's an emotional drama with grounded and mature characters. The only downside is the pacing: sometimes it lingers too long, and sometimes it feels a bit rushed. At times, it kind of feels like a few episodes got cobbled into one movie, but it still works as a film, so I don't mind it much.

Lots of emotional impact, lots of memorable scenes, and above all, lots of heart. So what's not to like? I highly recommend watching this one. It might not be one of the best movies out there, but it sure is a Spider-Man movie through and through. I might even say that it’s one of the best Spider-Man movies, though not quite on par with Spider-Verse movies.