Tag: tom-holland

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)

  • Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
  • Screenplay: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers
  • Producer: Kevin Feige, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, Rachel O’Connor
  • Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Mando, Florence Pugh
  • Cinematography: Brett Pawlak
  • Editing: Nat Sanders, Gina Sansom, Harry Yoon
  • Score: Michael Giacchino
  • Genre: Superhero
  • Runtime: 145 minutes

It’s a brand new day in the neighbourhood.

The fictional universe might’ve forgotten Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is Spider-Man but we haven’t.

After a five year absence, he comes swinging back onto screens with an added sense of maturity. We’ve watched Holland grow up in front of our eyes over the last decade, and his performance in this and a recent role in ‘The Odyssey‘ show he can really hold his own. Peter Parker no longer requires a mentor figure; no Tony Stark or Nick Fury showing him the ropes.

Parker is a changed man and not entirely for the better. He’s altered by solitude, living in a world without Aunt May and where the love of his life, MJ (Zendaya), and his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) know of his heroic exploits as Spider-Man but not the identity of the young man underneath the mask.

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ is a crowd-pleaser. It’s got tons of heart and awesome action sequences. Fan favourites appear in supporting roles along the way: the Punisher (forging a brotherly relationship with Parker), the Hulk and the New Avengers’ Yelena Belova.

As for the big bad, well, I won’t impart anything crucial here. The actor has been bound by an NDA for many months though if you really want an explicit answer, an interview at the premiere with musician Steve Lacy and his loose lips revealed all. He won’t be invited to any Marvel red carpets ever again. Even the notorious plot spoiler Tom Holland kept his trap shut on this occasion.

The mystery foe’s inclusion heralds the introduction of a roster of characters which could be of great significance for the next saga of the MCU. Guessed who they are yet?

My rating: 8 / 10

The Odyssey (2026)

  • Director: Christopher Nolan
  • Screenplay: Christopher Nolan
  • Based on: Homer’s Odyssey
  • Producer: Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan
  • Cast: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, John Leguizamo, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Himesh Patel, Elliot Page
  • Cinematography: Hoyte van Hoytema
  • Editing: Jennifer Lame
  • Score: Ludwig Goransson
  • Genre: Epic action fantasy
  • Runtime: 173 minutes

Go big or go home.

Odysseus only wishes he could. He’s spent two decades away from his darling wife Penelope and son Telemachus after the Trojan War. Ten of those years blockading the city of Troy and a further seven in a lotus flower-induced amnesic state courtesy of the nymph Calypso.

En route, he and his legion avoid becoming lunch to an ugly cyclops, dodge sea monsters, get their arses kicked by the Laestrygonians (armoured giants) and encounter the living dead. There’s a lot to pack into an almost three hour runtime. No wonder it took him so long to return to Ithaca. In the meantime, Penelope is surrounded by suitors vying for her attention. Loads of them. Damn, girl! You’ve got dozens of men to choose from and I can’t even find one!

As for going big, Christopher Nolan puts forth an ambitious epic. From a technical standpoint, ‘The Odyssey’ is a success; excellent imagery, musical score and cinematography.

I can’t help feel that Nolan is ever so slightly a victim of his own hype. Everyone has been raving about his latest directorial effort. This feels like an event. That’s a good thing – he’s preserving the theatrical experience in an era of waiting for movies to drop digitally. Kudos to him. He’s in a select club of auteurs who get bums on cinema seats. But why can’t we treat every film with such reverence? The new ‘M3GAN‘ spinoff ‘Soulm8te‘ was originally meant to be released theatrically. It’s now being dumped on some streaming site. Sure, you can’t compare apples and oranges. With ‘The Odyssey‘, audiences know what they’re getting; it’s not a Trojan horse. An all-star summer tentpole blockbuster. And following the poor critical reception of ‘M3GAN 2.0‘, it’s the safe option to pivot to streaming in case of a financial loss for the studio. We need to take a chance on the smaller films directed by nobodies. There’ll always be an audience for these flicks.

My gripe aside, I ponder: could the film have worked better as a duology? Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune‘ was cleaved, and the final chapters of the ‘Harry Potter‘ and ‘The Hunger Games‘ series were stretched out into two parts. I’ve not read Homer’s text (it’s all Greek to me) yet I’m aware there’s things omitted from the cinematic adaptation that would’ve allowed the supporting actors more screen time. Lupita Nyong’o (Helen of Troy), Charlize Theron (Calypso), Zendaya (the goddess Athena), and Samantha Morton (bewitching as sorceress Circe) feel as though they’re ripples in an ocean.

‘The Odyssey‘ is the mother of all homecomings.

My rating: 7 / 10