It’s notable that one of the major exceptions to this trend is the last movie Cretton directed, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. While that film definitely had some murky CGI, especially the climactic fight between Shang-Chi and Wenwu, the actual fight scenes were legible and visceral in a way that you only get from filming stuntmen performing the action. Cretton praises the practical effects in Brand New Day, saying, “Shooting that opening action sequence was really exhilarating… Putting Spider-Man on the street with cars exploding, it’s just so awesome.” Cretton’s comments play over images of a Spidey stuntman hoisted above a ball of flame.
Certainly, Sony has cherry-picked the best possible moments to include in their vignette. But the mere fact that they devoted a whole promotional clip to highlighting practical effects shows that they understand the importance of the visuals in their film.
Of course, we do have to note that great effects are an important part of a great superhero movie, but they’re not the only part. The first two Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies remain the live-action gold standard for superhero flicks, and they feature some of the most rubbery CGI put to screen. But we don’t care, because the drama and visual design satisfy us enough that we accept the weird contortions as stylistic choices.
We want Brand New Day to usher in a new era for superhero movies, but not at the expense of solid storytelling.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31, 2026.
