Tom Holland’s web-slinger has returned to the big screen in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but according to The Guardian’s chief film critic Peter Bradshaw, it takes a standout performance from Zendaya to keep the superhero franchise afloat.
Giving the film a three-star review, Bradshaw describes director Destin Daniel Cretton’s entry as an “entertaining spectacle” that ultimately suffers from generic deja vu, arguing that a more radical reboot is needed for Marvel’s flagship hero.
Now 30, Holland reprises his role as a noticeably bulkier, more physically matured Peter Parker following the events of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. Living in a scuzzy single room in New York with his tech gear, Parker exists in complete anonymity after Doctor Strange’s spell erased the world’s memory of his secret identity. However, his isolation is compounded by unprecedented physical and mental strain, plunging the character into what Bradshaw terms “the David Cronenberg zone.”
The plot sees Parker suffering severe headaches while facing a sinister entity possessing key figures around the city, starting with Michael Mando’s Scorpion, in a bid to infiltrate the Department of Damage Control. To navigate these bodily and psychological horrors, Spidey seeks counsel from an eclectic cast of allies, including Florence Pugh’s Black Widow—who shares advice from a plunge pool—Mark Ruffalo’s de-Hulked Bruce Banner, and Jon Bernthal’s Frank “Punisher” Castle, Holland’s co-star from Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
Despite the chaos, the emotional core of the film hinges on Parker’s tragic fixation with MJ (Zendaya). Desperate to rekindle their romance, Parker masochistically watches her from afar as she moves on with a new partner.
Bradshaw credits Zendaya’s grown-up acting presence as the saving grace of the production. He notes that her civilian grounding, naturally relaxed style, and self-possession rescue the movie from narrative silliness, bringing a rare spark of real-world gravitas and maturity to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While praising the spectacle, the review notes persistent MCU tropes, such as Spidey’s physics-defying webslinging and the requisite CGI-heavy urban destruction. Ultimately, The Guardian concludes that while Brand New Day offers reliable blockbuster thrills, it lacks the fresh narrative boldness seen in animated iterations like the Spider-Verse series, leaving the MCU at a crossroads with its aging hero.
