Five years after our friendly neighborhood web-slinger “saved theaters” post-COVID, and twenty-four years after the first Raimi film broke the $100M opening weekend barrier, Spider-Man has swung back into theaters to break box office records once again, this time unseating Avengers: Endgame. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (indie darling turned steady studio hand), Brand New Day brings back a “grounded” Spidey, giving audiences some reprieve from Holland’s adventures in space and, after a trilogy of films, seemingly restarting his narrative. Given where No Way Home left Holland’s Spider-Man, Marvel and Sony set themselves up to deliver an honest-to-god true Spider-Man film. Unfortunately, this franchise is still too entangled with the wider MCU ever to reach the heights of the Maguire/Raimi trilogy.

Brand New Day is a considerable step up from the previous Jon Watts-led films in almost every way. First of all, they put Holland in a real suit. Nothing annoyed me more than watching three movies where Spider-Man is never a kid in a funny-looking suit, opting instead to CGI the character entirely and leaving Spider-Man feeling less like my friendly neighbor and more like a virtual action figure, seamless and without flaw. So kudos to Holland, Cretton, and the team for making that a reality again. The direction is much more stylish, and the color grade pushes away from the grey sludge of most MCU films. It takes place almost entirely in New York City (jk, they shot it all in Glasgow) and has most of the hallmarks of classic Spidey fare. But the film’s need to tie into the MCU’s future will forever be its fatal flaw.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Sadie Sink’s highly discussed character is, in fact, Jean Grey, a member of the X-Men, and much like Captain America: Civil War, the MCU uses this film to introduce her and the idea of mutants broadly. It’s laying groundwork for what’s to come. That’s not always a bad thing; it worked perfectly in Civil War. But this film is too entangled in cameos and wider universe connections to spend time in Peter Parker’s world. We are four movies into Holland’s portrayal of the web-slinger, and we have yet to see him work a real job. He has never once picked up a camera or delivered a pizza. Those things may seem trivial, but when included, they allow the world to feel lived-in and create space for character moments and levity. Brand New Day gestures at Parker’s lonely existence and his “rundown” apartment (if we’re being honest, most of us would kill to live there), but it never rang true. Most importantly, it doesn’t feel earned. I want to see Parker navigating life as the city’s favorite hero while everyone finds his simple existence annoying. Some of the best humor in the Raimi trilogy comes from exactly these situations: in Spider-Man 2, the opening pizza delivery where he eventually gets fired for always being late; the moment he drops his backpack on campus and everyone else’s bags start smashing him in the face; any scene with Maguire at the Daily Bugle. These small moments put us in Parker’s shoes and build genuine empathy for his journey. Holland’s Peter Parker has none of this. His life revolves entirely around being Spider-Man, his only connection to Peter Parker being his friends MJ and Ned. That’s nice and heartwarming and sad all at once, but movies need different flavors in the pot. That’s where the Raimi trilogy thrives: bouncing effectively between action movie, melodrama, and screwball comedy within the same film.

The will-they-won’t-they dynamic between Peter and MJ is a necessity in any Spider-Man film, and this one has a great jumping-off point given that MJ doesn’t remember who Peter Parker is. Unfortunately, it all falls a bit flat. Where Kirsten Dunst’s character had a whole arc in her second film, nearly marrying an astronaut, Zendaya’s MJ is mostly stagnant. We don’t get much interiority into her life outside of one good conversation with Holland on the Punisher’s houseboat (lol). They give MJ a perfunctory boyfriend for exactly three shots, then mostly forget he exists. There’s no real tension around what MJ will decide, because we instinctively know she’ll end up back with Peter, and the film didn’t lay the groundwork to make us properly question that. If the Hulk, Jean Grey, Black Widow, and the Punisher weren’t in this movie, maybe they’d have had time to make that storyline really sing. But then it would be a different film, and a better one in my eyes.

I’ve been comparing Brand New Day to Spider-Man 2 (2004) because both find Peter Parker at similar points in his life: alone in his apartment, MJ seeing someone else, his powers changing. Where Raimi made the most of those circumstances, Cretton and the MCU leave a lot on the table. A good example: Peter Parker’s neighbor. In both films, Peter has a sweet blonde neighbor making a move on him. Spider-Man 2 nails it by giving Ursula (yes, that’s her name) room to make an impression. She has a small moment in the stairwell about a phone call, offers Peter some leftover cake, and shares a quiet moment in his apartment. It’s some of the sweetest stuff in that film. Brand New Day takes the general idea of that character, makes her look like an influencer, and gives her exactly two lines of dialogue. Her apparent purpose is just to show that Peter is still hung up on MJ and won’t let himself look at another girl, which is frustrating. The whole reason I love Spider-Man is that he’s constantly torn between being the city’s hero and just wanting to kiss the girl. That’s it. You don’t need to over-complicate it. Does he want to be Spider-Man, or does he want to be happy? That’s all any Spider-Man film should be asking.

That was a lot of shoe leather just to say I had a good time at the movies but couldn’t help feeling like more was left on the table. Spider-Man, much like Batman, is one of the few superheroes whose films rise above cultural movements. The MCU and DCU may die one day, but Spider-Man and Batman won’t; they’re just too popular. And I don’t want that to happen. Holland is a great Spider-Man. There’s a small moment where he and the Punisher argue over CCTV footage that’s genuinely hilarious; you can see Peter’s frustration just from his body language. I just wish Marvel and Sony would truly give him his own film and tell a story of love and despair. This movie has already passed the billion dollar mark less than two weeks into its run, so Spider-Man will return for a fifth film. I can only hope they continue to learn from their mistakes.