Spider-Man: Brand New Day Review: Destin Daniel Cretton’s Impeccable Action Choreography Saves a Cluttered MCU Pivot

Following Spider-Man: No Way Home always felt like an impossible assignment. That film functioned as both a celebration of two decades of Spider-Man movies and a genuine emotional reset for Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker, leaving him in perhaps the loneliest place the character has ever occupied on screen. Everyone who mattered to him had forgotten he existed. His identity was erased, his support system gone, and for the first time since joining the MCU, Peter was truly on his own. Spider-Man: Brand New Day wisely recognizes that this is the most interesting place the character has been in years, even if it occasionally struggles to balance all the ideas it wants to explore from there.

Without venturing into spoiler territory, Peter has settled into a quiet life protecting New York while remaining disconnected from the people he once loved. That solitude is interrupted when a new threat emerges, forcing him back into the orbit of familiar faces while confronting a villain unlike anything he’s encountered before, and one that jumps from being to being and taking over their bodies without ever being seen.

And the biggest reason the film works as well as it does is Destin Daniel Cretton. After Shang-Chi, it was already clear he had a remarkable understanding of action choreography, but Brand New Day cements him as perhaps Marvel’s strongest action director currently working. The set pieces here have a weight and tangibility that’s been missing from a surprising number of recent MCU films. Rather than feeling stitched together through endless close-ups and digital environments/noise, these sequences breathe. You understand where characters are in relation to one another, the choreography unfolds with real momentum, and Cretton consistently finds visual ideas that elevate what could’ve otherwise been routine superhero action. There are several sequences here that rank among the MCU’s very best.

Tom Holland also continues proving why he’s such a good Peter Parker. This version of Peter carries himself differently than the teenager we first met in Civil War. He’s older, more isolated, and visibly shaped by the losses he’s endured (and the muscle he’s put on). Rather than allowing those experiences to harden him, though, Holland plays Peter as someone who’s simply become more focused. He’s still protecting New York because it’s the right thing to do, even when nobody knows who he is anymore. Watching him develop relationships with local law enforcement, including Detective DeWolf (Liza Colón-Zayas), and officials within the Department of Damage Control, led by Tramell Tillman’s Bill Metzgar, gives the character a welcome sense of growth beyond simply fighting the next villain.

The supporting cast is similarly strong, even when some performers aren’t given a tremendous amount of screen time. Zendaya has considerably more to do than simply reprise familiar beats, with the film exploring her relationship to Peter from an entirely new perspective. Jacob Batalon remains one of the franchise’s most reliable sources of comedy, particularly now that Ned’s admiration for Spider-Man exists separately from his friendship with Peter Parker. Sadie Sink also makes a strong impression, although it’s clear much of her role is laying groundwork for stories still to come.

The standout, however, is Jon Bernthal. Bernthal injects an energy into the film that nobody else quite matches. His wisecracking arrogance and unapologetically rough edges provide exactly the contrast this version of Peter needs, especially during the movie’s heavier emotional stretches. Without giving anything away, he’s doing an enormous amount of the heavy lifting when it comes to giving Brand New Day its own identity rather than simply feeling like another Spider-Man sequel. If the film ends up connecting with audiences the way I suspect it might, I honestly don’t think it’s ridiculous to imagine his performance entering the broader awards conversation, especially given he’s never been nominated for an Academy Award. It’s the kind of supporting turn that continually elevates every scene it touches.

What impressed me most is that, despite all of the MCU baggage surrounding it, Brand New Day often feels like a filmmaker trying to make a real movie rather than simply another franchise obligation.

Cretton seems almost impatient whenever the film is forced into lengthy exposition or comic book mythology, rushing through those moments at a pace that suggests he’d much rather get back to character interactions or another elaborately staged action sequence. In many ways, I appreciated that instinct. The movie has a confidence to its filmmaking that’s occasionally been absent from Marvel’s recent output.

Unfortunately, it’s also where many of the film’s problems begin. Like so many MCU projects, it’s difficult to know where studio mandates end and the director’s own creative decisions begin. Whether those choices came from Cretton or elsewhere, Brand New Day feels like it has too many stories competing for attention. There’s a compelling movie about Peter and MJ slowly rebuilding their relationship. There’s another about Peter reconnecting with Ned under entirely different circumstances. There’s another centered around the film’s primary antagonist. And there’s yet another exploring Peter’s own internal struggles with Spider-related DNA. Any one of those ideas could’ve comfortably carried an entire Spider-Man film on its own.

Instead, all of them are compressed into a 145-minute blockbuster that rarely pauses long enough to let its strongest moments resonate. That overstuffed structure leads to a surprising amount of overexplaining. Characters spend considerable time unpacking mythology and scientific explanations before the film abruptly rushes toward its next action scene. It’s almost as though Cretton understands exactly which parts audiences will enjoy most but can’t entirely escape the obligation to service every piece of larger franchise storytelling surrounding them.

The emotional stakes also occasionally suffer because the film has a habit of undercutting its own biggest moments almost immediately afterward. Time and again, scenes that initially feel significant are quickly softened by explanations or reversals that diminish their impact. It reminded me of some of the more frustrating storytelling habits from films like The Rise of Skywalker, where dramatic turns rarely have enough time to settle before they’re walked back in one form or another. As a result, it’s difficult to ever feel genuine uncertainty about where things are headed, even when the performances themselves are selling the emotional weight.

I also suspect some viewers hoping to be genuinely surprised may walk away a little disappointed. Without revealing anything specific, I’ll simply say that many of the theories circulating online prior to release end up landing remarkably close to what the film actually delivers. That doesn’t necessarily diminish the experience, but it does make some of its intended reveals feel less seismic than they probably would’ve a few years ago.

Still, I walked away encouraged. Spider-Man: Brand New Day isn’t the focused, character-driven follow-up to No Way Home that I think it could’ve been, but it does feel like Marvel may have found another filmmaker capable of steering one of its biggest heroes in an exciting direction. Destin Daniel Cretton directs action with a clarity and confidence that immediately separates him from many of his contemporaries, Tom Holland continues to deepen his take on Peter Parker, and Jon Bernthal nearly steals the entire movie whenever he appears.

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