Tobey Maguire will probably always be my OG Spider-Man.

I grew up watching his Spider-Man movies, and I loved them. Then Andrew Garfield came along and did his own thing, and I loved that too. And now, of course, we have Tom Holland. I know people have very strong opinions about who the “best” Spider-Man is, but honestly, I’ve never really felt the need to choose. I’ve enjoyed all three of them in different ways, and I don’t think I could even pick one Spider-Man movie as my absolute favourite. Each era has given us something different, and perhaps that’s why I’ve somehow remained excited about these films all these years later.

So yes, I had been actively waiting for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

After the way No Way Home ended, how could I not be? Doctor Strange had cast that spell and suddenly everyone had forgotten who Peter Parker was. MJ didn’t know him. Ned didn’t know him. Peter was basically alone in a world where the people closest to him had absolutely no idea who he was, while he remembered everything. I needed to know what happened next. How had everyone moved on? How was Peter coping? Would MJ and Ned somehow remember him? There were so many loose ends in my head that I genuinely wanted answers to.

And then there was Sadie Sink.

I’ve been a fan of hers since Stranger Things, so finding out she was going to be playing Jean Grey gave me another reason to be excited. Spider-Man AND the X-Men universe beginning to cross paths? Yes please. You have my attention.

I went to see the movie with friends, and we watched it in IMAX 3D, which was also a first for me because I’d never seen a Spider-Man movie in 3D before. And I have to say, there are certain movies where 3D feels slightly unnecessary, but Spider-Man is definitely not one of them. Watching him swing between buildings with that sense of depth around you was seriously cool. There were moments where the way the scenes had been shot worked beautifully with the format and made the whole thing feel much more immersive.

But what about the actual movie?

I liked it.

I just didn’t LOVE it.

And judging by the reaction online, I might be slightly in the minority because people seem to be absolutely loving it. The critical response has been very strong too, particularly around Tom Holland’s performance, and on that point I completely agree.

I actually think this might be one of Tom’s best performances as Peter Parker.

There’s a loneliness to Peter this time that we haven’t really seen from him in quite the same way before. He’s surrounded by people, he’s still Spider-Man, he’s still trying to do what Spider-Man does, but the two people who were such a huge part of his life no longer know who he is. Tom plays that sadness incredibly well. You can feel Peter wanting to reach out to MJ and Ned while simultaneously knowing that doing so could completely disrupt the lives they’ve built without him.

That emotional side of the movie worked really well for me.

The film itself, though, felt different from the Spider-Man movies I grew up with. Maybe that’s inevitable. Spider-Man is now part of this enormous interconnected Marvel universe, and we’re clearly heading towards something much bigger with mutants and the X-Men becoming increasingly important. I’m actually VERY excited about that, but I did find myself missing something from the older Spider-Man movies.

New York.

Or more specifically, the people of New York.

Those older movies somehow made the city feel like another character. You felt the relationship between Spider-Man and ordinary New Yorkers. There was something very neighbourhood-like about it. This movie is more serious, the world is bigger and the stakes are different, so perhaps that feeling was never really going to be the same. But I noticed its absence.

And then there’s Jean Grey.

I really liked Sadie Sink in the role, but I wanted MORE.

More Jean. More of her discovering her powers. More X-Men. More understanding of what all of this means and where it’s going.

Maybe I’m just impatient because I’m ridiculously excited about seeing the X-Men properly integrated into this universe, but I felt like they gave me enough to get excited and then said, “Okay, that’s all you’re getting for now.”

Excuse me?

I have questions.

I also went into the movie wondering whether we’d see Peter’s mutation progress even further. Anyone familiar with some of the Spider-Man stories will know exactly what I’m talking about. Extra arms and all. I genuinely wondered whether they were going to go there with this movie, but they ultimately chose a different direction.

Now…

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON.

If you haven’t watched the movie yet, I’d probably stop reading here, go watch it and then come back.

Because I NEED to talk about MJ and Ned.

There were several moments where I became convinced that they were starting to remember Peter.

When everyone was frozen and I saw that tear from MJ, my immediate thought was, SHE REMEMBERS.

Maybe she didn’t consciously understand what she was remembering, but something was there. At least that’s how I interpreted it.

And apparently I’m not the only one. There’s already plenty of discussion online theorising that Jean’s powers may have interfered with the memory block created by Doctor Strange, particularly because of MJ’s tear and what happens with Ned afterwards.

Then we get to that final scene.

Peter introduces himself to Ned.

And they do their handshake.

THEIR HANDSHAKE.

For a second I genuinely thought, Wait… does Ned remember him?!

Maybe he does. Maybe he doesn’t. Maybe it’s some kind of muscle memory buried somewhere underneath Doctor Strange’s spell. I have absolutely no idea, and I’m sure Marvel wants us sitting here arguing about it until the next movie comes out.

Well done, Marvel.

It’s working.

And I think that’s ultimately how I feel about Brand New Day as a whole.

It was good. Sometimes very good. Tom Holland was excellent. There were genuinely emotional moments, the action looked fantastic in IMAX 3D, and introducing Jean Grey has made me incredibly curious about where they’re taking this universe next.

Would I watch it again tomorrow?

Probably not.

Why would I? I just watched it. 😂

Maybe before the next major Marvel movie comes out I’ll watch it again to refresh my memory and see whether there are details or connections I missed the first time around. Marvel has basically trained us to do homework before every new movie at this point.

But would I recommend it?

Absolutely, especially if you’re already a Spider-Man or Marvel fan.

I originally thought I’d give it a 4 out of 5, but the more I’ve sat with it, I think I’m settling on…

⭐ 3.5 out of 5

It was great in parts. Tom was excellent. I’m excited about where the story is going.

But something was missing.

I can’t even tell you exactly what that something is.

I just walked out of the cinema feeling con ganas de más.

Wanting a little more.

More Jean Grey. More answers. More of that old Spider-Man magic. More of whatever Marvel is clearly setting up for us next.

And perhaps that’s not such a terrible feeling for a Spider-Man movie to leave you with.

Because despite everything I’ve just written, if you told me another Spider-Man movie was coming out tomorrow…

I’d absolutely be there.

— Raulito