The long-awaited MCU film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, has officially been released, and there’s been a lot of talk surrounding it. Not a ton of heroes in the MCU get a coveted fourth film in their series, and this is also the first time there’s been a fourth Spider-Man film. (Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man series capped out at 3, and Andrew Garfield’s at 2.) It’s also the follow-up to 2021’s smash hit, Spider-Man: No Way Home.

So, is it worth the hype? Let’s look at what the critics and audience think of the movie and find out together.

What Critics Are Saying About Spider-Man: Brand New Day

IGN

Spider-Man: Brand New Day effectively refocuses on the most reliable pillars of the webslinger: battling inner turmoil, swinging around NYC saving the day, and looking cool while doing so.

Variety

Owen Gleiberman, writing for Variety, had this to say:

You can appreciate that the filmmakers tried to serve up something besides the same old connect-the-multiverse-dots adventure. But “Brand New Day” is watchable without ever being transporting.

Forbes

Spider-Man: Brand New Dayis an exciting, emotionally powerful, often hilarious action-adventure movie that breathes new life into the superhero genre.

A.V. Club

Jesse Hassenger said this to conclude their review:

In spite of its overstuffed plot, this is the first MCU movie in ages that actively invites a direct follow-up, rather than a grudging acceptance that we’ll see the characters again in some team-up or another, while nonetheless ending on a satisfying note.

Roger Ebert

Brian Tallerico gave it two and a half stars out of four and said:

The truth is that the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t exactly embrace change, and so maybe the baby steps of “Brand New Day” to find a more mature tone as it evolves one of its most popular heroes should be celebrated.

The consensus between the critics seems to tilt towards the positive side. But what does the wider public think about the film?

Spider-Man: Brand New Day IMDB Score

On IMDB, Brand New Day has a user rating of 8.1/10 based on 160k reviews.

It’s tied with No Way Home for the highest IMDB rating in the Tom Holland Spider-Man series. Spider-Man: Homecoming and Far From Home have a lower score, with the two films sitting at 7.4 and 7.3, respectively.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Rotten Tomatoes

A score of 8.1 isn’t bad at all, but the movie’s Rotten Tomatoes score makes that look like chump change. It’s boasting a critic’s score of 90% based on 395 reviews and an audience score of 98% based on over 10,000 verified reviews. Marvel/Disney execs must be happy, considering it has the highest Rotten Tomatoes score for any MCU film in recent years.

We’ve seen what the critics think, and we’ve seen what the audience thinks. Now, here’s my opinion on the movie.

My Thoughts on Spider-Man: Brand New Day

This might be recency bias, but I think this is a strong contender for the best film out of the Tom Holland Spider-Man series. The best part of this film was Peter Parker himself, and I think he was given a chance to shine like he hasn’t before. I also have to mention that his chemistry with Ned and M.J is the best it's ever been.

The one critique of this film I would give is that the villain could have been better. I understand that Spider-Man is fighting three uphill battles throughout the film, but I think one or two of these battles could’ve been better with a different villain. Overall, though, that wasn’t enough to dissuade my positive feelings toward this movie. This one is definitely worth watching in the theatres, and it’s worth watching the rest of the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies beforehand to feel the full weight of this movie.

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