284. SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY (2026) dir. Destin Daniel Cretton

It's been 281 episodes since the last live-action Spider-Man review. I'm old.SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, the first of the MCU movies not to be helmed by Jon Watts. With this new change comes a new vantage point. Instead of this movie dropping Spider-Man (Tom Holland) into the wider MCU universe and its ramifications, this film gives the Webhead more of a chance to shine on his own.Some of this is by design: NO WAY HOME ended with Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) granting Peter a spell to make everyone forget not only that Peter Parker is Spider-Man's secret identity, but also to forget Peter Parker even exists. The Witness Protection Program could never.In this isolation, Peter becomes a full-time friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, stopping robberies and cooperating with the cops while wistfully scrolling through Snap stories of his best friends Ned and MJ (Jacob Batalon & Zendaya), who are enjoying their four years at M.I.T.Peter's life at this moment is all work with some aunt-grieving on the side. The constant hero stress and bruising activates a response from Pete's arachnid DNA: it's morphin' time! With it comes a sort of Spider-puberty. He grows much stronger, develops organic webbing (I'm sure Tobey's in the other universe cackling. "How's the spinerette juice, fucker?") , and grows prone to a more feral, angry temperament. For a Spider-Man labeled by New York as a hero, the menace starts to creep in.But wait, there's more! (Rest in peace, Billy Mays.) A new threat begins attacking Damage Control centers throughout the city. This government agency is, in a way, picking up where SHIELD left off, with a focus on repurposing alien and enhanced-human tech for the betterment of all mankind. This threat has a way of possessing people's bodies, hopscotching their way past security officers and into vaults, searching for the most valuable technology called V-Max.A Spider-sense can only do so much against someone who can jump between bodies at will. It does even less against someone with the capability of finding Peter's loved ones and putting them in a danger he previously thought impossible. I haven't seen him this psychologically disturbed by a villain since Hobgoblin from the '90s TV show.The new ground-level approach does well for crafting a more lived-in New York. Holland's performance is better than ever. The different MCU characters introduced don't step on each other's toes. And yet, I find the big issue with these Spider-Man films remain: they're overstuffed. As a result, I spend more time looking at the clock rather than letting my heart get swept away by the drama.But as is, it's a good leap in the right direction for these movies. Let's hope the next film lands as a WINTER SOLDIER to this one's FIRST AVENGER.---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!