Spider-man Brand New Day

Currently only in theaters

Runtime: 2 Hour and 25 Minutes

Rated PG-13

‍ ‍Spider-Man: Brand New Day catches up with the Wall-Crawler four years after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Thanks to Doctor Strange's spell, Peter Parker has been erased from the memories of everyone he loves. As Ned and MJ have moved on, graduated from MIT, and built new lives, Peter has spent the past four years quietly protecting the streets of New York as Spider-Man.

Now, burdened by loneliness, lost love, and the sacrifices that come with being a hero, Peter is also forced to confront a mysterious change happening within his own body. But his personal struggles are only the beginning. A dangerous telepathic villain emerges, launching a violent assault on the Department of Damage Control while manipulating the minds of those around him. As Spider-Man finds himself caught in the middle, he'll face an enemy who doesn't just attack with brute force, but knows exactly how to get inside his head.

Themes:‍ ‍

Responsibility, loss, being alone, teamwork, evolution, the Department of Damage Control, family, inhibiting genetics, mutation, heroes, telepathy, loss, friendship, love, New York City, human connection, mind control, science, human connection, death, choice, not allowing others to choose for themselves, values, and compassion.

Language:

A*s - 4 D*mn - 8 Hell - 11 Sh*t - 15 Religious Exclamation - 25

One character almost says the “f” word but gets stopped.

A few times they start to say sh*t, but get cut off.

Stuff to be aware of: (Some of this may be considered spoiler territory)

Alcohol and Drugs - There are a few brief scenes with what is assumed to be alcohol.

• A character carries a small keg that is assumed to be beer.

• During a party, people are drinking out of red solo cups and glass bottles.

• One character mentions people bringing, “beer and chips.”

‍ Gross -

• An alien-looking head is seen in a jar.

• A few characters’ bloody faces are shown after fight scenes.

‍ ‍LGBTQ - None

‍ ‍Scary - Nothing more intense than most MCU movies.

• The villain jumps from controlling one person to another. When the villain enters, they are kind of thrown off guard.

• Spidey passes out during an intense, emotional scene.

• A dog tries to bite a person.

• During some scenes, a character’s eyes go black.

‍ ‍Sexual - There are several scenes with male and female characters kissing.

• During one scene and man and woman are seen making out.

• Spider-Man is seen in his underwear.

• A female character is sitting in a hot tub; only her shoulders and head are out of the water. She appears to be naked, but nothing is seen.

‍ ‍Violence/Gore - Most of the violence and gore in the movie are in line with the last three Spider-Man movies. Here are a few things of note.

• There is an intense car chase, with humor injected throughout.

• One character gets knocked from a moving vehicle and spits out blood.

• Spider-Man gets hit by a car, but is okay! This is a comical moment.

• A random man gets hit by a taxi, but the camera switches so the audience doesn’t know if he is okay or not.

• There is a scene in which an experiment is taking place and a character acts as if it hurts, and the scene feels like torture is taking place.

Overall:‍ ‍

Seeing It With Your Family

When it comes to violence, gore, and the overall scare factor, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is very much in line with the previous Spider-Man films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If your family has seen the first three movies, you'll find a similar level of PG-13 action, comic book violence, and suspense here. There are intense fight sequences and a few frightening moments, but nothing that feels significantly more graphic or disturbing than what longtime fans of the series have already experienced.

The biggest content concern continues to be language. As I've mentioned in reviews of several recent Marvel films, profanity has become more common throughout the MCU, and Brand New Day follows that trend. Much of the stronger language comes from Jon Bernthal's Punisher, who has a larger role in the film than I expected. His dialogue reflects the character's gritty, hard-edged personality, so parents should be prepared for more frequent profanity whenever he is on screen. Most of the language count above is from scenes with him in them.

Overall, if your family was comfortable with the content of the previous Spider-Man movies, the violence and intensity here shouldn't come as a surprise. The increased language, however, may be the primary factor parents will want to consider before taking younger viewers.

What I Thought

The MCU has had its share of missteps over the last few years, but with Thunderbolts, The Fantastic Four, and now Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it finally feels like Marvel has found its footing again. More importantly, it feels like it took three Spider-Man films to arrive at the version of Peter Parker comic fans have known and loved for decades: the down-on-his-luck hero, struggling to balance his secret identity while carrying the weight of responsibility largely on his own. The story is grounded, stays rooted in New York City, and embraces a slightly darker tone than the previous trilogy. We've watched Peter grow up, and now we finally get to see him as an adult.

Brand New Day often feels like a love letter to Spider-Man fans. Several members of Spidey's rogues' gallery make appearances (though a few are gone too quickly), iconic comic book imagery is brought to life, and one of the defining elements of Spider-Man's mythology takes center stage: Peter choosing to bear the burden of being Spider-Man alone. With Aunt May’s death in the previous movie, Peter now believes that protecting the people he loves sometimes means keeping them at a distance, a classic trope from the comics. That conviction is on full display here as he refuses to reconnect with Ned and MJ, believing it's the only way to keep them safe.

What makes this theme especially compelling is how it intersects with the film's villain. Peter makes the choice for his friends instead of allowing them the freedom to decide whether they want him back in their lives. Meanwhile, the antagonist literally strips others of their free will through mind control. The parallel is surprisingly thoughtful, giving the film an emotional depth that goes beyond the action and making Peter wrestle with whether protecting people is the same as controlling them.

One of the movie's biggest surprises is Jon Bernthal's Punisher. After seeing the darker places Frank Castle has been in Daredevil and his recent Special Presentation, it was refreshing to see a version of the character who, while still unmistakably Punisher, is in a healthier place mentally. His interactions with Spider-Man are some of the film's most entertaining moments. Frank comes across like Peter's rough-around-the-edges older brother, and the way they argue, challenge one another, and gradually build mutual respect makes for an unexpectedly fun dynamic.

One thing I've always appreciated about Tom Holland's Spider-Man films is that each one embraces a different movie genre while still feeling unmistakably like Spider-Man. Homecoming leaned into the John Hughes-style coming-of-age comedy, Far From Home mixed superhero action with a European vacation adventure, and No Way Home delivered a multiversal event film. Brand New Day continues that tradition, trading the high school coming-of-age feel for an engaging blend of psychological thriller, mystery, and buddy comedy.

In the end, Spider-Man: Brand New Day stands shoulder to shoulder with the previous three films while delivering the most comic book-accurate version of Tom Holland's Spider-Man yet. If this truly is the beginning of a new Spider-Man trilogy, I'm more excited than ever to see where Peter Parker's story goes next.