Spider-Man: Brand New Day delivers the required fan service in spades and enhances the complexity of the franchise's central characters while not relying too much on the cosmic hoodoo and time-bending that, frankly, weighed down previous installments.
This is quite an accomplishment for director Destin Daniel Cretton's first venture in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Of course, he gets major assists from returning screenwriters Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna and the much-loved principals Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Zendaya as girfriend MJ, and Jacob Batalon as BFF Ned.
At the end of the previous episode, Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Peter suffered a devastating personal loss, and, to avoid further pain, he invoked a spell via Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to restart the universe and wipe him from everyone's memory. This meant his true love MJ and bestie Ned would not know who he was, even though he would be the neighborhood genius boy and masked crime fighter, a lonely double life.
Brand New Day borrows crucial elements from both the Avengers and X-men story world for its tale about the inhibition of people with "special gifts." One of Spider-Man's particularly challenging opponents, played by Sadie Sink, has mind-control powers and seems intent on using them to thwart the work of the secretive Department of Damage Control, headed by Bill Metzger, Emmy-winner Tramell Tillman of Severance.
With assists from Black Widow (Florence Pugh) and the loose cannon Punisher (an always welcome Jon Bernthal), Spider-Man takes on the formidable puppetmaster and discovers the mystery behind Damage Control, all while his spider side goes through raging puberty. (Cue guest appearance by Avengers MVP Mark Ruffalo as Empire State University professor Bruce Bannon/Hulk.)
Brand New Day is a guaranteed crowdpleaser with the right mix of MCU utility and new flavorful spice. The film swings and swoops with both a huge heart and street-level brawn.
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