‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Early Reviews Keep Coming — “The Best Comic Book Movie Since The Dark Knight”
Superhero movies rarely earn comparisons to Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, a benchmark that’s been treated as something of an untouchable ceiling for the genre for nearly two decades. Yet in the hours following the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’, that exact comparison has started making the rounds.
The premiere took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Monday night, drawing a packed crowd for what marks Destin Daniel Cretton’s fourth standalone Spider-Man film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the 38th movie in the franchise overall. The story picks up after the events of 2021’s ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, which grossed nearly two billion dollars worldwide.
As reactions poured out across social media, one stood out for the sheer scale of its praise. A post from the account Global Box Office called the film “surely the best comic book movie since The Dark Knight,” while also noting that its full review would need to wait a day or two given how many plot details could spoil the experience.
That kind of claim tends to raise eyebrows, given how frequently ‘The Dark Knight’ gets cited as the high-water mark for the entire superhero genre. Still, it wasn’t an isolated sentiment. Critic Austin Burke described Holland’s performance as Peter Parker at its absolute best, comparing the character’s emotional struggles to Tobey Maguire’s arc in ‘Spider-Man 2’ while calling the action sequences the best the franchise has ever produced.
Other reactions leaned into similar territory without going quite as far. Esquire’s Eric Francisco praised the film’s strong emotional center and sincere tone, calling the overall experience excellent following the screening.
Elsewhere, reviewers pointed to a more cerebral, grounded tone compared to the crowd-pleasing spectacle of ‘No Way Home’, with some going as far as to call it the best Spider-Man film since Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man 2’.
Critic Grace Randolph added her own layer of anticipation to the conversation, revealing she remains under embargo but plans to publish her full review the following morning, while teasing that the film might be competing for her favorite movie of the year. That kind of hesitation, paired with reactions like Global Box Office’s delayed review timeline, speaks to just how spoiler-heavy this particular installment appears to be.
Much of that secrecy seems tied to the film’s storyline itself. Following the fallout from ‘No Way Home’, Peter Parker has spent recent years anonymously protecting New York City, and the plot reportedly leans into personal and emotional territory that critics are being careful not to spoil ahead of the official release.
The cast returning for this chapter includes Zendaya as MJ and Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, alongside new additions to the Spider-Man corner of the MCU. Jon Bernthal reprises his role as Frank Castle, also known as the Punisher, while Michael Mando returns as Mac Gargan and Mark Ruffalo appears as Bruce Banner, better known as the Hulk. The screenplay comes from Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, the writing duo behind the previous entries in Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy.
With reactions swinging between genuine excitement and cautious spoiler-avoidance, the gap between premiere buzz and full critical reviews is proving unusually wide this time around. Whether the film can genuinely sustain a comparison to ‘The Dark Knight’ once broader reviews land remains to be seen, especially since early reactions have a long history of running warmer than the eventual critical consensus.
Do you think Spider-Man: Brand New Day can really be as good as The Dark Knight?
For now, the anticipation keeps building as embargo lifts approach and more detailed reviews prepare to roll out. ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ officially swings into theaters on July 31.
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