If you are a Spider-Man fan like me, there is always a little nervousness when a new Spider-Man movie comes out. We have seen great Spider-Man movies, disappointing ones, emotional ones, and movies that completely changed how we look at Peter Parker.
After Spider-Man: No Way Home, however, the expectations were ridiculously high.
That movie gave us Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland together. It gave us villains from different Spider-Man eras. It gave us nostalgia, heartbreak and one of the most emotional endings in the MCU.
So when Marvel announced Spider-Man: Brand New Day, my first thought was simple: How do you follow No Way Home?
After watching it, I think the answer is surprisingly simple.
You don’t try to make another No Way Home.
You give Peter Parker a completely different problem.
And that is exactly what makes Spider-Man: Brand New Day work for me.
So, How Long Is Spider-Man: Brand New Day?
Let’s answer the question many people will probably search for before deciding whether to watch it.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day has a runtime of approximately 2 hours and 24 minutes. The runtime was reported as officially confirmed at 2 hours and 24 minutes, while some movie databases round it to 2 hours and 25 minutes.
So, yes, you are spending more than two hours with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.
And honestly?
I didn’t feel like the movie was dragging.
That is important because a movie can be two hours long and feel like four hours, while another can be two and a half hours and make you wonder where the time went.
Brand New Day belongs much more to the second category for me.
My Review of Spider-Man: Brand New Day
The first thing I appreciated about Brand New Day is that it doesn’t pretend the events of No Way Home never happened.
Peter is still dealing with the consequences.
At the end of No Way Home, Peter made an enormous sacrifice. He allowed the people closest to him to forget that Peter Parker ever existed.
That means MJ doesn’t remember him.
Ned doesn’t remember him.
Peter is effectively alone.
And Brand New Day takes that decision seriously.
Four years have passed since the events of No Way Home, and Peter has become an adult who lives alone and spends his time fighting crime. Sony’s official trailer describes him as a full-time Spider-Man in a New York that no longer knows his name.
That setup immediately gives the movie a different feeling.
This isn’t the Peter Parker we saw in Homecoming, who was excited about being Spider-Man.
This isn’t exactly the Peter from Far From Home, either.
And it isn’t the Peter who was desperately trying to save everyone in No Way Home.
This is a Peter who has lost almost everything personal and has decided that being Spider-Man is enough.
But is it?
That is the question sitting underneath the entire movie.
Tom Holland Finally Gets a More Mature Peter Parker
One of my biggest takeaways from Brand New Day is how much Tom Holland’s performance has matured.
I’ve always liked Holland as Spider-Man because he can sell Peter’s youthful energy. He can be funny, awkward, nervous and completely overwhelmed in the same scene.
But this version of Peter requires something different.
He has to carry loneliness.
And I think Holland handles that extremely well.
There are moments when Peter doesn’t need to say much. His body language tells you that this guy has been carrying something heavy for a long time.
That is one of the reasons I connected with this version of the character.
Peter is still Spider-Man, but there is less of that teenage excitement.
There is more responsibility.
More exhaustion.
More acceptance.
He has basically told himself, “This is my life now.”
And as a viewer, you start wondering whether that is actually healthy for him.
The Movie Understands What Makes Spider-Man Special
For me, Spider-Man has never been interesting simply because he can swing between buildings.
The reason I keep coming back to Spider-Man is Peter Parker.
That’s the difference.
You can give Spider-Man the biggest villain, the biggest CGI battle and the biggest explosion imaginable, but if Peter Parker isn’t interesting, the movie doesn’t work.
Brand New Day remembers that.
Peter is fighting crime, but his personal life is almost nonexistent.
He has chosen responsibility over happiness.
And that creates a very interesting conflict.
Because Spider-Man is supposed to save people.
But who saves Peter?
That question gives the movie some emotional weight beyond the usual superhero formula.
The Action Is Exactly What You Expect From Spider-Man
Of course, we didn’t come to this movie just for emotional conversations.
We came to see Spider-Man do Spider-Man things.
And yes, the swinging is back.
The action sequences are energetic, the city feels like Peter’s playground, and there are plenty of moments where you simply sit back and enjoy watching Tom Holland move through New York as Spider-Man.
The movie also introduces a new threat that pushes Peter into territory we haven’t really seen from this version of the character.
The official synopsis teases a powerful villain that nobody can even see, while Peter is already dealing with strange new crimes and a physical change that threatens his existence.
That combination gives the action more purpose.
Peter isn’t just punching another villain because the movie needs a third-act fight.
There is something fundamentally wrong with him, and he has to figure out what is happening.
The Supporting Cast Adds Another Layer
One of the biggest talking points around Brand New Day before release was the cast.
Tom Holland returns as Peter Parker, while Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal and Mark Ruffalo are among the major names attached to the movie.
And yes, seeing some of these characters in the same Spider-Man movie is exciting.
But what I liked is that the movie doesn’t simply throw famous Marvel characters onto the screen and expect the audience to cheer.
They have a purpose.
Jon Bernthal’s presence as the Punisher is particularly interesting because Spider-Man and the Punisher represent very different ideas about how criminals should be handled.
Spider-Man believes in stopping people.
The Punisher is much less interested in giving second chances.
Putting those two personalities together creates exactly the kind of tension I wanted to see.
Then there is Bruce Banner, played by Mark Ruffalo.
His appearance adds another connection to the wider MCU, but the movie still feels primarily like a Spider-Man story.
And that matters.
I didn’t want Spider-Man: Brand New Day to become Avengers 5.5.
Thankfully, it still feels like Peter’s movie.
What About MJ?
This is where things become more complicated.
Peter’s relationship with MJ has always been one of the emotional foundations of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man story.
But after No Way Home, everything changed.
MJ doesn’t remember Peter.
And watching Peter exist in the same world as someone he loves while she has no idea who he is creates an uncomfortable kind of sadness.
I won’t spoil the major developments, but I will say this:
The movie understands that Peter’s decision at the end of No Way Home cannot simply be forgotten.
There has to be a cost.
And that cost follows him.
Is Brand New Day Better Than No Way Home?
For me, no.
And I don’t think it needs to be.
No Way Home was a once-in-a-generation Spider-Man event.
It had nostalgia on its side.
It had three Spider-Men.
It brought back villains from previous movies.
It was the kind of movie that fans had been imagining for years.
Trying to beat that would have been a mistake.
Instead, Brand New Day feels more personal.
It is less about bringing everybody together and more about asking what happens when Peter Parker has nobody left.
That makes it different.
And sometimes different is exactly what a franchise needs.
Why You Should Watch Spider-Man: Brand New Day
If you’re wondering whether you should spend your time watching this movie, my answer is yes.
But I have a few reasons.
1. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Has Finally Grown Up
We’ve watched this Peter Parker mature across several movies.
Now we get to see what he looks like when the consequences of his decisions actually catch up with him.
He’s older.
He’s more experienced.
And emotionally, he’s carrying a lot more weight.
That alone makes the movie worth watching.
2. It Continues No Way Home Instead of Ignoring It
I appreciate movies that respect their own history.
Brand New Day doesn’t just say, “That happened four years ago, let’s move on.”
Peter’s decision still matters.
His loneliness still matters.
His relationship with MJ still matters.
That gives the movie continuity.
3. The Spider-Man Action Is Worth Seeing on a Big Screen
If you enjoy Spider-Man swinging through New York, fighting criminals and using his abilities creatively, there is plenty here for you.
This is still a superhero blockbuster.
So yes, there are big action sequences.
There are massive set pieces.
There are moments where you remember exactly why watching Spider-Man on the big screen is fun.
4. The MCU Connections Are Interesting
I’m not going to pretend I don’t enjoy seeing Marvel characters cross paths.
Spider-Man interacting with characters like the Punisher and Bruce Banner gives the movie another layer.
But the best part is that those connections don’t completely swallow Peter’s story.
5. It Feels Like a New Beginning
The title Brand New Day actually makes sense.
Peter has lost his old life.
Now he has to decide what his new life is going to be.
That’s something I found surprisingly relatable.
Sometimes life doesn’t give you the ending you wanted.
Sometimes you make a decision and have to live with it.
Sometimes you have to start again.
Peter Parker is basically doing exactly that.
My Final Verdict
For me, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a strong continuation of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man story.
It doesn’t have the impossible advantage of No Way Home‘s nostalgia, but it doesn’t need it.
What it has is a more mature Peter Parker, an emotional story, strong action, interesting MCU connections and a genuinely different direction for the character.
The runtime is around 2 hours and 24 minutes, or about 2 hours and 25 minutes depending on the listing, so you will need to set aside a decent chunk of your day.
But I think it’s time well spent.
If you loved Homecoming, Far From Home and No Way Home, I would definitely recommend watching this one.
And if No Way Home left you wondering what Peter Parker’s life would look like after sacrificing everything, Brand New Day finally gives you that answer.
My biggest compliment is this:
It doesn’t try to give Peter Parker his old life back. It asks him to build a new one.
And honestly, that is exactly the kind of Spider-Man story I wanted next.
My rating: 8.5/10.
Not perfect.
Not No Way Home.
But a very enjoyable Spider-Man movie with enough emotion, action and character development to make me glad I watched it.
And if you’re a Spider-Man fan, I think you’ll feel the same way.
James
