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Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) Spoilers- About That “Mysterious” Character And That Ending

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*Warning! This article contains MAJOR spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day! If you haven’t seen the movie yet and/or don’t want anything spoiled, then you might want to click off the article right now! You have been warned!*

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has hit theaters everywhere and it’s expected to make money and a LOT of it, far surpassing initial box office projections and expecting to earn an bat*hit insane $900+ Million worldwide in it’s opening weekend ALONE! If those projected stats hold, that will make it the biggest opening weekend of the year, the biggest opening weekend of the decade, and the second biggest opening weekend of all time, only surpassed by Avengers: Endgame‘s $1.2+ Billion opening weekend in 2019. With what was looking like a very underwhelming summer movie season outside the animated movie involving toys taking on iPad screens, the 20 year-long sequel that could’ve just been a zoom call, and original horror flicks with a beer money level budget, Brand New Day and The Odyssey was able to get the summer box office the kick in the pants it DESPERATELY needed before the kids go back to school! Movies really are coming back, baby! I guess all it took was putting Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jon Bernthal in more things!

Even taking in Spidey’s insane popularity among worldwide audience, the fact that Brand New Day was able to make THIS level of money without needing the likes of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire to drive audiences to the theaters is a special kind of impressive. Yes, I know the buzz killers out there will bring up inflation and the ACTUAL number of ticket prices but come on, regardless if this movie came out in 2026 or 2006, this is still an INCREDIBLY impressive opening weekend.

The main question is how did they do it? How did this movie have such mass appeal among fans and moviegoers? What is it about this particular movie that it was able to tip over the edge of not just potentially making more than the No Way Home but nearly guarantee to join the rare two billion dollar club with the likes of Avatar, Titanic, and Avengers: Endgame?!?!

Many will say it has to do with the movie delivering the exact kind of Spider-Man adventure that everyone was wanting after No Way Home! After going from a big bombastic multiverse style adventure which paid off the loose ends of not just Tom Holland’s own respective trilogy but also the likes of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, following that up four and a half years later with a smaller-scale, street level film that’s just about Peter Parker going through his personal needs as Spider-Man along with a couple of MCU friends along for the ride just felt like the perfect route to take! Credit should be fully given to Mr. Holland for that, who has claimed that he scour the internet after No Way Home to deliver the exact kind of Spider-Man film that the fans wanted.

But I think it also had to do with the right amount of twists and turns and surprises that are to be found here, all which work as not just fun fan service and crowd pleasing moments but also plays actual, legit importance of a role to the film’s overall themes and messages. You have the Punisher, the Incredible Hulk, and even Yelena, A.K.A. the new Black Widow, that are present and accounted for here. And of course, you also have the one mysterious character in the movie, played by Sadie Sink, who also just so happens to be *SPOILER ALERT* Jean Grey!

That’s right! After all that bizarre “mystery box” build-up in the marketing/PR press talk from Sony and Marvel, the worst kept secret in a mainstream movie since “Benedict Cumberbatch is totally NOT Khan!” from 2013’s Star Trek: Into Darkness and the worst kept secret in the superhero python since “Jason Todd is totally NOT the Arkham Knight!” from 2015’s Batman: Arkham Knight is pretty much exactly what everyone thought it was going to be. Sadie Sink is now Jean Grey, the well-known red haired mutant from the X-Men, who is almost certain going to be playing a huge role in the MCU moving forward as Marvel Studios begins to re-introduce the X-Men and will probably make an appearance in at least one of the upcoming Avengers movies, Doomsday and/or Secret Wars.

To be fair, if you consider the context of the film, you can understand why Sony and Marvel were so eager to keep Sadie Sink’s character a secret. Having an antagonist involve someone that has the powers to telepath, telekinesis, and possess themselves into someone’s else body no matter who it is does make for an intriguing mystery for our main character. Even if the audience member themselves can see it the reveal coming from a mile away as to who the character herself is, seeing how Peter discovers the identity of this new character does help see his character progress throughout the course of the film.

At the beginning, you see a Peter Parker who now believes that Peter Parker himself doesn’t matter anymore, only Spider-Man does. After Doctor Strange cast the spell that made everyone forget who he is and losing Aunt May, Peter only sees value in himself as Spider-Man, not as Peter Parker. As a result, he has kept himself in an incredibly sheltered life, making zero contact with any old friends and not even attempting to chase any potential life changing college degree. He’s only committed himself to be a full-time Spider-Man, being able to accomplish many tasks through his tenure as a “prime” web swinger, teaming up with NYPD detective Jean DeWolff, to take on the big known crooks in the city he’s sworn to protect. To put it simply, he has nothing left…..except Spider-Man.

However, this mindset starts to change once Peter comes in contract with not just his two best friends in MJ and Ned but also with Jean Grey. Much like Peter, Jean is also out on her own in the world, invading custody from Department of Damage Control (DODC) after they abducted her sister Sara. Instead of following the traditional comic book origin story with Jean unlocking special powers within herself after being involved in a car accident, she developed her powers alongside her sister, based on their mutant physiology rather than by a special radiation or serum.

Throughout the course of the film, Jean is using mind games on Peter, who tries to help the DODC to subdue her before she becomes a very serious threat to New York City. She dares to hope mind herself into those that are close to Peter, most notably MJ, where she is not only the first person to discover post-spell that Peter Parker is Spider-Man but that she is willing to use that knowledge to go after the people he loves and manipulate them.

It’s only after a long game of cat-and-mouse and a very entertaining fight sequence with the Incredible Hulk that we haven’t seen on screen in nearly a decade where Peter is finally able to subdue Jean and turn her in. Before losing consciousness, Jean mentions someone by the named Sara, who she has been aiming to find since she got taken by the DODC. Although the head of DODC, Bill Metgzer, claims that Sara was a recently deceased colleague Jean learned about while possessing his mind, we later find out that is a load of bollocks and that Sara is actually referring to Jean’s sister. And the one message that she was given in her head to remember her sister, is that of V-Max.

After we see Jean being interrogated by Metgzer at the DODC, we see that V-Max fading text appear once again. However, that text doesn’t actually represent where Sara is but what her last fading memory was before she died. Yep, the exact kind of interragtion that Jean herself is being through is the one that killed her sister!

Much like how Peter react after the Green Goblin killed Aunt May, Jean has gone full unhinged, wanted to tear apart Metgzer lime from lime. And much like with Peter in the film, the unlocked rage and trauma unlocks even stronger abilities in Jean, including more powerful telekinesis and a large-scaled psychic “bubble” effect that can freeze people’s minds across a wide variety of area, which in the film results in good chunk of NYC. Despite Sara being killed by the same experiments that the DODC is using on Jean, she can now those same experiments to return the favor to Metgzer.

As I mention in my review, this was the moment where the film become CLOSE to losing me. While Jean’s origin story is indeed tragic and makes her character sympathetic, this did NOT feel like the right place or film to introduce her character to. With a near 10 minute long stretch where we don’t even see Spider-Man, this is where the film felt like it was going to completely fall apart, proving the naysayers right that this film is just an advertisement for the MCU’s X-Men and nothing more. However, things take a different turn once we cut back to Peter here.

I should mention that throughout the film, Peter is the one person who is strong enough to resist Jean’s powers to enter his mind. Whether it’s because of Peter’s newly gained abilities or his strong “will”, he’s still himself when he comes in contact with Jean. But that confrontation is put to the test towards the climax, which see Peter making his way toward the DODC to stop Jean but has to come against a large group of ninjas, A.K.A. the Hand, in order to get to her. It’s at this moment where not only the film regains it’s footing but also ties everything together beautifully, proving that this is indeed Spider-Man’s movie first and everyone else’s second.

Throughout the whole film, we see Peter struggling to return to his former self as Peter Parker and not just as Spider-Man. The inhibitor that he gain from Bruce Banner has been keeping his new powers and his own mental state in check…..until this very moment. As the Hand starts to overwhelm to the point where he’s coughing up blood and Jean is on the verge of just not killing the man who murdered her sister but also getting fully inside Peter’s head, she proceeds to ask our hero one distinct question that perfectly describes the theme of the movie in a nutshell:

“Are you Peter Parker or are you Spider-Man?”

Peter willingly replies: “I’m both!”

It’s at that moment that Peter finally lets go, accepts his new abilities, and defeats the hand to get to Jean Grey. Not just because he’s Spider-Man but he’s also Peter Parker. He’s able to have full control of himself and NOT let what he has suffered throughout the course of the film get to him. This is Peter regaining his duology once again!

After resisting all movie long, Peter finally lets Jean into his mind, where she finds an old memory of Aunt May on the day that she discovers that he is Spider-Man. It’s a brilliant scene that shows May accepting her nephew for who he is and loved him for himself. Regardless if Peter is Spider-Man or not, Aunt May will always love her nephew. It’s with this moment that Jean understands what it’s like to experience loss, realizing she is not alone and discovers once again what it’s like to connect with someone.

But then, Frank Castle tries to take a shot a Jean Grey from outside but ends up getting Peter in the process, sustaining him with a near-fatal wound that has him on the near death bed. Jean is able to use her powers to help keep Peter alive, refusing to lose him just like she lost her sister. In the aftermath, Jean that has been consumed with guilt leaves the city on her own, the DODC is under investigation from the NYCP along with the disappearance of Metzer, and with the citizens of NYC right by his side, Peter realizes that he doesn’t need to be alone to be Spider-Man, he can be Peter Parker as well.

The final sequences contains Peter visiting his Aunt May’s grave once again to bring their arc to a full circle, a last-minute added scene with Peter reconnecting with Ned and doing their classic handshake together, giving Ned a hint that he might remember who Peter is, and a rather bizarre post credit scene where the spider tracker is tracking Spider-Man off of planet Earth, potentially hinting at Spider-Man’s role in either Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars.

On paper, Spider-Man: Brand New Day seems like an act of desperation. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe far pass it’s hay days, you would think a Spider-Man movie that feels the need to shoehorn in a bunch of fan favorite Marvel characters such as the Punisher, Hulk, Yelena, and having to introduce Jean Grey to get folks excited for the X-Men coming would be as cynical and cash-grabbing as it gets. But, even when you argue their placement in terms of plot isn’t entirely necessary, they still connect well to Peter Parker and the film’s overall thematic arcs.

The Punisher serves to help Peter’s isolation with an isolation of his own, the Hulk serves to help Peter fight the inner demons that’s inside of him, MJ & Ned are there to show that Peter isn’t the only ones who feel like something is missing in their lives, Yelena is there because she also feels lonely and needs connection with someone else. And of course Jean Grey is there to serve as a mirror to Peter’s arc, as both “special” beings who have lost loved ones and are conflicted on how to handle the “special” powers within themselves.

I was worried when I heard that all these characters are going to be in it but this is perhaps the most natural uses of fan favorite characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Much like Andrew and Tobey in No Way Home, their presences only serve to GROW Tom’s Spider-Man and not shrink him in any way. The movie remembers to put Tom’s Spider-Man front and center. And even when there comes moments where it SEEMS like it is losing track of it’s lead protagonist, those moments always ends up coming right back to him when it is needed.

It might’ve took four films but Brand New Day feels like Tom Holland finally being able to carry the Spider-Man mantle on his own two feet with no assistance from the previous versions required. Even with the returning Marvel characters that are here and the newly introduced one that will certainly come back in other Marvel movies later on down the road, it doesn’t take away the fact that Tom Holland has now become his own definite Spider-Man, providing a different kind of special sauce that neither Andrew Garfield or Tobey Maguire had in their versions. I don’t mean this to downplay the previous Spider-Men but more to WELCOME them to the library as well.

I’m so happy Tom Holland fought for so long and hard to make Brand New Day the best Spider-Man movie he could possibly make. He no longer needs the training wheels, he can now push the lovely bike down the road and never look back! Go Spidey go!

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) Movie Review- Spidey Loneliness Epidemic

AdamLeave a comment

Oh, boy! This movie is gonna be a hard one to review in spoiler-free fashion! Not necessarily because it’s hard to describe my feeling towards the latest cinematic adventure with your favorite web swinger without revealing all the nooks and crannies in it but more that it’s near impossible to talk about the film in it’s entirety without address the GIANT elephant in the room! An elephant in the room that was solely created by the marketing (which has done a surprisingly superb job of not giving too much away and saving the fun surprises for the theatrical experience) that COMPLETELY glosses over a certain character that is meant to act as the film’s central main antagonist (or at least the closest thing this film has to an actual antagonist). For whatever reason, Marvel and Sony has decided to keep that character’s identity a complete secret and went through a great deal in the trailers to show as LITTLE of this character as possible.

Granted, about 99% of Marvel fans probably knows EXACTLY who I’m talking about and what character this certain actor or actress is playing (and I believe there’s already been certain folks at the premiere who basically already revealed the identity of that character) but in case you are the 1% of folks out there who don’t have a clue who or what I’m talking about, I won’t spoil it in this review. I do plan to post a spoiler filled piece after the movie releases worldwide to give a deep dive into that character and how I felt about their role in the film. But for know, I will try to keep this review as vague as possible. Here we go!

It’s crazy how we are actually getting a fourth film with a cinematic version of Spider-Man for once. Tobey Maguire wasn’t able to get his fourth film up and running after the commercially successful but poorly received, Spider-Man 3. Andrew Garfield couldn’t even get a third one after the commercially unsuccessful AND poorly received, The Amazing Spider-Man 2. But yet, it’s Tom Holland of all webheads that was able to get his fourth entry, something which not even his old pal Tony Stark could say (at least for now). However, with the emotionally fulfilling way the last one ended, it left PLENTY of free realm to take this series in a completely new direction.

Sure, No Way Home did make for a bittersweet ending to a somewhat uneven “home” trilogy of our friendly neighborhood NYC hero and it would’ve been fine if that was the last we ever saw of Tom Holland as Spider-Man in the MCU. However, with the way the first three films operated themselves as a slow burn origin story of our (Spider) boy learning to become a (Spider) man (unintentionally or otherwise), it paves a way to FINALLY have a Spider-Man movie in the MCU that legit feels like the “prime” Spider-Man we all know and love. And for the most part, Brand New Day is able to deliver just that and then some.

Premise: Following Dr. Strange’s spell at the end of No Way Home, the world has forgotten that Peter Parker exists. Four years later, Peter (Tom Holland) anonymously protects New York City as the hero Spider-Man and investigates a powerful new threat while his superpowers undergo a surprising and potentially dangerous evolution.

Brand New Day is the first MCU Spider-Man film that is unafraid in giving us the Spider-Man doing his friendly neighborhood duty of protecting the city he’s sworn to protect and doing what’s best for those that he loves. Yes, we get to see Spider-Man at his absolute HIGH points as being the answer to The Big Apple. Yes, we get to see Spider-Man interacting with plenty of faces old and new in this cinematic universe in ways that feel organic, natural, and welcoming every time they are screen. Yes, the action scenes and web swinging sequences are cranked up to 11 in ways that hasn’t been done before in live-action, including a very impressive comic run-like scroll in the film’s opening 20 minutes. But what makes Brand New Day stand out as well as it does is the overall arc that Peter Parker goes through.

Everyone always know that the best Spider-Man stories are ALWAYS the ones where the worlds of Peter Parker and Spider-Man collides among his friends, rivals, and responsibilities. Although, the ones that tend to stand out among the VERY best are the ones that raises the questions of what happen when one side of the personal life/hero persona get abandoned in favor of the other side. In Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, we see a Peter Parker who gives up being Spider-Man so he can focus on being Peter Parker. In Destin Daniel Cretton’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, we see a Peter Parker who gives up being Peter Parker so he can focus on being Spider-Man. This is an arc that not only feels perfectly in line with the titled character and the aftermath of No Way Home (while also making for some interesting metaphors on the new powers he develops out of thin air) but also making Holland’s version of Peter Parker standing out as perhaps the most relatable of his generation.

While this Spider-Man has had plenty of Ws in the four years that have passed since the last movie, this Peter Parker has taken nothing but Ls since then. By feeling he has no choice but to put his superhero life over his personal life, we see Peter being forced to adjust into a world that has forgotten about him and moved forward with their lives. He has no friends, no family, no stable job, and no career ahead of him. He has nothing left…..except Spider-Man. To put it simply, Brand New Day is a Spider-Man movie made for Gen Z, the generation that grew up during the height of covid, a loneliness epidemic, and an economy that is about as depression that Peter is throughout the entirety of this film.

And it’s not just Peter himself that has a massive black hole needing to be filled within himself, we get to see that sentiment shared with other characters as well. The Punisher is still operating as his own independent vigilante after losing his family all those years ago, there’s Bruce Banner who still has that battle within with the green monster that can always break out at any moment, which causes him to keep his distance from those he loves, and MJ and Ned pursuing the lives and career choices they’ve desired, they still feel like they are missing something which just so happens to be Spider related. And of course, there is also the film’s antagonist/mystery character which will NOT be mentioned in this review that serves the best parallel out of all of this to Peter Parker. While plenty will be said about the film’s overabundance on characters and subplots, there’s no denying that the film’s overall themes surrounding loneliness, isolation, and the needing to reconnect with one another is fairly consistent throughout the entire film.

And speaking of which, Brand New Day certainly does try to juggle a lot throughout it’s entire 145-minute long runtime. It aims to be that perfect mix of being a proper sequel to No Way Home with it’s smaller-scaled, street level ambitions while also laying the groundwork for a newly introduced character that is clearly going to play a big role in future Marvel endeavors. Thankfully, writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers prove they are up to the task with making both of these major storylines intertwine in a way that feels consist with the overall narrative of the film that doesn’t forget that this is a Spider-Man movie, even more so with how they juggled the Far From Home aftermath of Mysterio spilling the beans of who Spidey is and just making a live-action version of Into the Spider-Verse last time around.

There is a slight detour towards the beginning of the third act that nearly takes a noise dive and makes it seem like all of the thematic plates spinning in the air are about to come crashing down. But then, the film remembers what it’s about by cleverly taking a page from the climax of a recent MCU film, properly expanding upon that film’s and this one’s relatable dilemma, and everything’s good again. I can’t properly answer whether or not this character needed to be introduced in THIS movie but they work rather well for what I imagine was forced upon them by Kevin and company since the 2025 MCU entries couldn’t move the needle on getting audiences enthused on what comes next after the multiverse shenanigans is over. Like the very best MCU movies, it’s able to have it’s cake and eat it too in the ways that are even more delicious than what you ordered.

While Jon Watts did a fine job overall with the “Home” trilogy, Destin Daniel Cretton proves himself to be more than worthy of continuing this version of Spider-Man on his own with no extreme guidance necessary. He’s able to bring so much energy with the film’s action sequences and web swinging moments that makes them all exhilarating to watch, while also able to embrace it’s comic-booky feel without it feeling too jarring or far stretched to the casual movie goer. I’m sure there’s a shot or two that Film Twitter will nitpick to death for the next three years until the next Spider-Man movie comes along but the same proper care and treatment that Cretton gave to his other (underrated/overlooked) MCU projects in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Wonder Man are properly shown here. Looks like Mr. Feige has ANOTHER director he can take under his wing.

The entire cast gives everything they got here. Tom Holland still shows great passion and vulnerability as perhaps the most relatable version of Peter Parker we have seen to date, shockingly still able to explore hidden depth and intrigue despite being four movies in, while also being more jokey and confident than ever before as Spider-Man. Jon Bernthal is able to fit perfectly in movie form as Frank Castle as he does in streaming service form. Zendaya and Jacob Batalon are given more depth to MJ and Ned than you might’ve expected. Liza Colón-Zayas and Tramell Tillman are fun in their brief roles as totally NOT Commissioner Gordon and totally NOT Head of ICE! Mark Ruffalo is given a lesser role than you would probably expect as Bruce Banner/Hulk but he’s still here (even if he’s no where to be seen at the premiere).

And without getting into spoilers, Sadie Sink is absolutely great as her “mysterious” character. While it does take a while to actually get to her on screen, she is able to perfectly match the presence of Holland and all those she shares screentime with. If the rest of the cast of the series that she will be attached to from hear on out is as pitch perfect as this, then there might indeed be some hope for the MCU yet.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is that rare fourth installment in a franchise that not only works strongly in it’s own right but is able to greatly justify it’s own existence with no financial apology needed whatsoever. It’s able to act well as being a proper follow-up to the last movie while also setting things up for what could be a even more promising second trilogy with a more “proper” Spider-Man this time around. There are characters that I would’ve like to have seen more of and there’s one resolution towards the end that does feel like a complete copout but any potential narrative shortcoming here is completely washed away with the film’s overall sense of wonder and awareness.

It’s no secret that superhero films aren’t the box office juggernauts they used to be but films like Spider-Man: Brand New Day prove that there is still a dire need for them in this day and age. Even if the quality is in shorter supplies these days, there is just nothing like seeing a cast and crew using their great powers to take on great responsibilities when tackling these popular superheroes. It might’ve taken a film of Tom Holland being sad and lonely to give this genre the potential two billion dollar booster shot it needed but hey, there’s no superhero that does it quite like Spider-Man.

Just please let him be happy once this is all over, okay?!

Other thoughts:

  • Don’t bother staying for the end credits scene because….it sucked. It just sucks!

  • Also, don’t expect much out of the Spidey villains shown off in the marketing because they don’t really matter that much, outside of MAYBE Scorpion. (There’s a reason why there’s only been ONE leaked shot of Tombstone!)

  • Michael Giacchino deserves more credit for the scores in this series. It’s able to stand out gloriously well as it’s own distinct Spider-Man score without much reliance on prior Spider-Man scores to make it stand out. This man in general might be the legit saving grace when it comes to the score in the MCU.

  • I can definitely see why Mark Ruffalo hasn’t join the press tour for this movie. Taking away his political persuasions and being busy shooting another tv show, Bruce Banner and Hulk aren’t in the movie that much.

  • It still is cool to see an unhinged Hulk that we have NOT seen since the beginning of Infinity War.

  • I REALLY need more of The Punisher and Jean DeWolff in the future. They work off of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man PERFECTLY!

  • Now, please just bring in Kingpin for the next time and have Daredevil join along for the ride. We can’t have a complete Devil’s Reign adaption WITHOUT Spider-Man playing a big role in it.

  • Oh, and that ONE character that shows up is a lot of fun to. Try to guess which one I’m talking about when you see them!

The Odyssey (2026) Movie Review- Absolute Cinema

AdamLeave a comment

I don’t think there is a director in Hollywood that always seems so eager to top himself the way that Christopher Nolan does! And I don’t just mean in terms of trying to green mushroom himself in terms of the size, scale, and scope that he chooses to shoot his films with or how grand, epic, and unconventional he wants to go with telling his stories (Although, that should DEFINITELY be noted!) but more in how he goes about it through the actual motivations of his main characters. I could go on talking about how The Odyssey is yet another cautionary tale in Nolan’s filmography about a man who wants nothing more but to get back to his family he abandoned (Inception, Interstellar) or another story where his main character who is forced to rebuild and rediscover himself to remember his true purpose (Memento, Batman Begins, & The Dark Knight Rises) but what is always so fascinating and even inspiring is how much the main protagonist in those films will go through in order to accomplish these goals that Nolan clearly has behind the camera or in the writer’s room.

The Dark Knight sees a “non-limited” Batman going through hoops and ladders to stopping the Joker while realizing that even he must have a breaking point or else he will lose himself. Inception has a professional thief that is given the chance of a lifetime to have his criminal record clean if he is successful in literally going into someone’s dream and planting another person’s idea into one’s own target subconscious. The Dark Knight Rises gives us a broken Bruce Wayne that is given no choice but to tear himself apart and start over from scratch in order to defeat Bane and save Gotham City one last time as the Batman. Interstellar has Matthew McConaughey traveling to infinity and beyond in the hopes of finding a new home for his own children before it’s too late. Dunkirk has soldiers well…..doing everything in their power to save themselves in an actual war! Tenet follows someone literally named THE PROTAGONIST trying to do their job as being the film’s literal protagonist by messing with time before it messes back! And lastly, Oppenheimer, sees an infamous physicist nearly destroying the world once and for all to make himself go down in history as the man who invented the very first nuclear bomb.

I bring all this up because you really get the feeling that ever since The Dark Knight, Nolan has consistently have a strong desire to make his films as big, ambitious, and personal as they can possibly be. Not strictly because for the sake of the audience’s own entertainment but with Nolan’s own grand ambition as a filmmaker. Even if he is the last man in the world that needs to prove and justify himself with each new film he makes, he will still go through the great lengths and means to do so anyway, with the complete mindset that each new film he makes could be the very last one. These aren’t just stories about flawed protagonists pushing themselves beyond unrealistic measures to see the light at the end of the tunnel but also about how Nolan himself is willing to push himself beyond unrealistic measures to achieve an even bigger level of peak that nobody think is even possible anymore.

And with The Odyssey, Nolan is here to tell us his biggest and most daring tale yet. Not only with adapting one of the most epic poems in history with Homer’s The Odyssey, developed by the Greeks (We’ll get to that in a moment!) but with crafting his most layered and human story yet, centered around a man being forced to go through hell and back to return to his family and home, no matter how long it takes or what methods he has to use to get there. This is Nolan with his biggest cast, grandest scale, most nonlinear storytelling, and the most personal stakes of any film he has released to date. And the results is nothing short of magnificent!

The Odyssey is cinema at its absolute finest! The cast from top to bottom is absolutely outstanding, the unconventional storytelling of this adapted classic tale works without any hesitation whatsoever, the action and set pieces are extremely thrilling and make paying the extra few dollars for the “special” screenings all the more worth it, there’s not a single minute of it’s near three hour running time that feels wasted, and while I can’t say that I agree with every single creative choice that Nolan makes along the way, the way everything comes full circle by the very end makes any potential glaring issue up to that point feel like a complete dust in the wind. Although it might take me another rewatch or two to declare this my absolute favorite film from the great Christopher Nolan, The Odyssey is prove that the king of modern cinema still has plenty of days remaining on his throne!

Premise: It follows the Greek King Odysseus (Matt Damon) attempting to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. While he faces a treacherous voyage and is held captive by the nymph Calypso (Charlize Theron), his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) struggle to fend off aggressive suitors trying to claim his throne.

At this point, you have probably already read or at least strongly familiar with the story of Homer’s The Odyssey. It’s a epic tale that has been told for many generations with many different iterations of this beloved/infamous story that have been made. Through every single moment of it’s 173 minute runtime, Nolan is in the mindset that you know the ins and outs of this story but is still wanting to tell it in the freshest and newest way possible, almost like you are seeing this countlessly told story being told before your eyes for the very first time. There’s clear inspiration on display between many translations of The Odyssey, including those from Emily Wilson, E.V. Rieu, and Robert Fagles, AND even other great epic historical films such as Andrei Rublev, Ran, Gladiator, and yes, even Troy. While I can’t imagine the 2026 version is exactly what Homer had pictured when he first made this story, there is a strong sense of confidence here of being able to perfectly capture the spirit of Homer’s tale, translating itself with the best possible update of the story that one can imagine.

And while we are on the subject, yes I would be lying if I claim that Nolan’s take on The Odyssey is as historically accurate as it gets. From the silver armors in Bronze Age to the “modernized” dialogue to the character of Simon basically replacing the character of Achillies to there being little to no Greeks in this overall Greek tale, this is definitely an adaption that you can tell was made in the year 2026 and NOT 1926!

If this was your typical adaption made by your typical filmmaker, these kind of bizarre changes would make the whole thing feel dead on arrival! However, just like with Odysseus himself, Nolan is clearly up to the challenge and is willing to go through any sort of controversy and pre-release PR disaster to craft the best possible version of his grand vision.

And the main thematic throughline that helps Nolan’s The Odyssey be up to par with the very best adaptions of it’s source material is that it never forgets that at it’s heart, The Odyssey is about a man learning the humanity within himself and using that as strength to pull off the biggest comeback of all time. Each character from the film’s extremely stacked cast plays a role that ties back to Odysseus’ overwhelming journey, with trying to get home after the Trojan War and the encounter of mythical beings along the way in order to reunite with his wife, Penelope, and a son that he may or may not know about.

It’s through these first two hours of the film that do their damnest of carrying the weight of the complete damning picture. Big important sequences are told out of order and through the perspectives of other characters played by the most talented actors and actresses you can think of, it has a balanced tone that knows when to take it’s material seriously and when to have some completed messed up fun with it (That “pig” scene will live rent free in my head for a long time!), and it never forgets for one moment that is a story about Odysseus first and everyone else second. While this is all well and done for the first two hours, there are definitely some moments along the way where you can’t help but hear the gears turned out a little too loudly, wondering how much of this narrative plate spinning is Nolan showing confidence with himself and Nolan just being forced to grind through certain moments of backstory in order to show off the most important set pieces of the story.

Thankfully, the final hour of this film completely makes up for any prior shortcoming. Not only is it able to make nearly every questionable creative choice and casting decision beforehand seem completely justified but it all culminates to one of the most satisfying climaxes in recent memory, with Matt Damon being able to relive his “good old days” in about the best way possible (I imagine Universal will be on the phone with him Monday morning to discuss resurrecting a certain franchise that made him what he is). It’s hard to go into details without major spoilers but the way everything is paid off in the final 30 minutes is so damn good, making a man’s journey come full circle and taking back everything that he lost along the way.

The cast, as you would expect given how much AURA is on screen here, are all excellent. Matt Damon as Odysseus is able to perfectly sell himself as a believable warrior king in his middle age and able to carry himself as well as among the best featured films with him. Tom Holland excels as the son, Telemachus, clearly comfortable in stepping out of the shadow of Spider-Man and into the shoes of a young man waiting for his father to return. Anne Hathaway as Penelope should be the current frontrunner for Best Actress come the Academy Awards next spring, giving an amazing and vulnerable performance as a troubled mother, wife, and queen of a kingdom that she is forced to rule by herself.

Robert Pattinson is entertaining playing the complete asshole that is Antinous, Himesh Patel makes for a solid second-in-command of Eurylochus, Charlize Theron is great as always as Calypso, the woman that takes care of Odysseus and wants him for herself, Zendaya is given a similar role as she did in Dune: Part One as Athena but she makes it play, Jon Bernthal as Menelaus acts as the right guide for Telemachus, a man who represents the version of a father that he might want, and John Leguizamo is completely unrecognizable in the best way as Eumaeus, given more focus and depth than I was expecting. I would’ve liked to have seen more from Mia Goth and Logan Marshall-Green as twin siblings in Melantho and Melanthius and Benny Safdie as Agamemnon but they are able to fit in alongside everyone else. Oh, and although Samantha Morton’s Circe is only in one major sequence in the film, nailed it just……nailed it!

And of course, you have to address the GIANT elephant in the room in regards to the controversy surrounding the casting. Yes, Travis Knight, Lupita Nyong’o, and Elliot Page are all in this film as their roles of Phemius, Helen of Troy/Clytemnestra, and Sinon (A.K.A. NOT Achilles) respectively but their roles are about as minor as they come and don’t hog the spotlight as majority of the cast members already mentioned that it’s baffling it attached as much backlash as it did. Sure, I can question if it was the wisest choice for Nolan to cast a rapper in a Greek tale (Even if Travis’s newest song in the end credits is catchy as hell!) or I would buy Elliot Page as being the bravest warrior that Odysseus has ever seen (To be fair, it’s NOT implied he is the best or strongest warrior of them all and the film is clearly aware of that!) but for anyone that is familiar with The Odyssey, they are all given the same extended cameo roles they did in the books, given a combined screentime of five to seven minutes at best. So, even if you are among the unhinged folks that are outraged of these castings, they are not in it nearly as much for them to hold you back on your enjoyment of the film, especially since all three of them are great in the film with their limited screentime (And yes, I do indeed buy Lupita Nyong’o as the most beautiful woman in the world! Don’t @ me!).

However, despite having nearly everyone but the kitchen sink as part of the cast, the real MVP of the film is no one other than Christopher Nolan. His craftsmanship is yet again on complete full display, making sure that regardless of what way you chose to see this film in theaters, it will make for the very best possible viewing experience that anyone could have imagine. With completely sharp direction, gorgeous cinematography from Hoyte van Hoytema, surprisingly consistent editing from Jennifer Lame, and a haunting/riveting musical score from Ludwig Göransson, Nolan yet again deliver the complete full package of a theatrically released film, making sure that every single penny that was spent from it’s $250+ million budget was justified. Heck, even the sound mixing worked for me this time! It’s THAT good!

Even if you are someone that don’t care for Christopher Nolan as a filmmaker, you can’t deny the man is doing everything in his integrity to keep the cinematic theatrical experience alive. With so many achievements underneath his belt, he has every excuse in the book to just play it safe with each new film he now releases and not feel the end to top himself every chance he gets. But thank the Greek gods he REFUSES to do that because man, I can’t think of a bleaker cinematic future in the 2020s if Oppenheimer and The Odyssey never became a thing. For as long as that man is making films, he will always act like a man on a mission, constantly aiming to reach a higher bar with each new film that he makes. I mean, can you name me ONE other director working in Hollywood that is able to CONSISTENTLY deliver films that always end up being in the top 10 highest grossing films of the year because of their name ALONE?! I bet you can’t and that what makes Christopher Nolan such a gift to cinema.

The Odyssey makes for yet another grand triumph from Christopher Nolan along with one of the best grand epics in recent memory, managing to defy all expectations and find new unforeseen boundaries to push. The story centering on Odysseus is captivating, the action sequences whether it involves the Trojan War, cyclops, or Matt Damon going full Jason Bourne are all brilliant, the cast is among the greatest ensembles of all time, and everything about the final hour of the film is so perfectly executed that it literally washed any gripes I had beforehand completely away. I can’t say I would have made every single creative and artistic decision that Nolan makes here but nearly every single one of those decisions is justified and is perfectly shown why onscreen.

Regardless if this is the best Christopher Nolan film or not, I don’t there is a film in his filmography that showcases the grand mindset that this man has had as a filmmaker for the past 30+ years. By constantly trying to find ways to outdo himself and providing you with even grander adventures with grander scales than before, this is Nolan yet again achieving a new level of high quality and a new meaning of absolute cinema! I can’t possibly know how he plans to top himself next time out but man, I will be the first in line for whatever he’s got next!

Although if the cave and “pig” scene is any indication and how ANOTHER certain big someone in Hollywood has reacted to The Odyssey, I think we have a certain genre that Nolan hasn’t tackled yet and a certain actor that Nolan hasn’t collaborated with yet could be a match made in heaven!

Please make it happen!

It’s Time For Sony To Give Spider-Man Back To Marvel

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This Valentine’s Day saw the release of Madame Web, the newest comic book movie which despite being based off of a Marvel Comic character, was developed STRICTLY by Sony (I bring that up because there are surprisingly a large amount of people in the world that don’t realized this was NOT a movie made by Marvel Studios themselves). And just like with Sony’s previous attempt at doing a villain origin story that no one asked for in Morbius, Madame Web has been an absolute critical and (likely) commercial disaster. It’s immediately been regarded as one of the worst comic book movies ever made and will definitely being topping PLENTY of worst movies of the year list come December. And unlike that other trainwreck of a villain origin story that came out two years ago that I just mentioned, I don’t think the memes are going to be enough to save Madame Web‘s reputation, even if I did somewhat try to do so in my spoof review of it.

As if Madame Web is not enough of a lackluster superhero flick to come out this year from Sony, we also have Kraven the Hunter and Venom 3 slated to release later on this year. And if the track record of the last few villain led movies from Sony is anything to go by, I wouldn’t be surprised if they turn out just as bad if not worse. And with the recent funk that most comic book movies are in now, the last thing the sub-genre needs is not one, not two, but THREE terrible comic book movies to come out in the exact same year with the Marvel logo. And as I said at the beginning of the review, even though Marvel Studios are NOT the ones that are making these movies, there is actually a good portion of the population that believe otherwise and could potentially affect upcoming MCU installments such as Deadpool & Wolverine coming out in July.

Of course, the big question everyone is asking is why does Sony continue to make these movies that not only nobody is demanding for but I don’t think even they themselves want to make? Well, it’s basically a similar situation to what led to The Amazing Spider-Man duology being created, to keep the full film rights away from Marvel. Which wouldn’t necessarily be such a bad thing if that sense of obligation wasn’t felt when watching these movies but even if you have the biggest rose-colored glasses on, it’s near impossible to separate the studio politics when sitting through disasters such as The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Venom, Morbius, and Madame Web.

All of this and more is why I strongly believe that it’s time for Sony to return all film rights back to Marvel Studios. Not just the television rights they were forced to fork over when Disney bought Marvel but also the film rights and possibly any other rights to the character of Spider-Man. This isn’t strictly because of recent events with Madame Web but because of the poor treatment that the company has given the character for the past 15 plus years. If you don’t believe me, let’s take a trip down memory lane and go into why certain Spider-Man-related properties have suffered in quality because of Sony.

The first thing I’m sure plenty will point to has to why Sony should still be the father of Spider-Man is the success of the trilogy with Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire. The superhero trilogy that was arguably the most successful series of superhero movies until the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy came along. Yes, Spider-Man (2002) is notable for starting the 21st century dominance of superhero movies. Yes, Spider-Man 2 is still considered to be one of the greatest superhero movies ever made! However, what about Spider-Man 3, which in the day before memes, was considered to be one of the biggest letdowns in not just superhero movie history but possibly film history in general. Well, that’s where Sony comes in.

The main reason that Spider-Man 3 turned out to be the mess that it did was due to Sony forcing Sam Raimi to include Venom and other notable characters such as Gwen and Captain Stacy strictly because they were fan favorites throughout the webhead’s history. Raimi initially wanted to tackle the Vulture with Sandman and Harry as the new Goblin along with them but because the demands from the higher ups at Sony, most notably infamous producer Avi Arad, those plans were abandoned and he had to give up Vulture for Venom. Never mind the fact that Venom is basically a two-movie arc at best and the Stacys were never even hinted at existence in the previous movies of the Raimiverse. They were here because it’s what the fans want according to Sony. Instead of being patient and saving those potential storylines for a future sequel, Spider-Man 3 tried to please everyone and their mother at the same time with introducing so many different characters and plotlines that it was just a mess. Sure, some might enjoy that movie more than others (such as yours truly), but I think most people will agree that the movie would have been much better if one side just let one side do the movie they wanted instead of just trying to appease both sides at the same time.

Despite the negative reviews for Spider-Man 3, the strong box office numbers did encourage plans for a fourth installment. Sam Raimi was set to return as director along with Tobey Maguire and Kristen Dunst in their lead roles as Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson respectively. Raimi had stated many times he was not happy with the end results of Spider-Man 3 and wanted Spider-Man 4 to be the needed return to form and the very best one yet. Spider-Man 4 was planned to include Vulture, the villain initially wanted for Spider-Man 3, along with Black Cat. However, he went through many different scripts and revisions and disliked every single one of them. Then came January 2010, which the film was set to begin filming soon to make for a planned May 2011 release date. However, Raimi was still not satisfied with the script and asked Sony for more time on it. Sony refused and because of that, Raimi stepped down from the project and Spider-Man 4 was officially cancelled. Despite the fact that Sony could have afford to give Raimi one more year because they needed a Spider-Man film out by 2012 to keep the rights to the character and NOT by 2011, they let him go and decided it was time for a full reboot.

Strike one!

The 2012 reboot turned out to be The Amazing Spider-Man, directed by Marc Webb and starred Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. It was approached by Sony as a darker, lower-scaled reboot compared to the Sam Raimi trilogy, containing a larger focus on the teen drama/high-school dynamic aspects of the character. Despite getting solid reviews at the time of it’s release and was able to make 758 million dollars worldwide, it was not the notable success that Sony had wanted, most likely due to the film’s budget of 200 to 230 million dollars. Many believed that was largely due to having a good chunk of scenes that were notably cut out of the feature film, which includes about over half an hour of deleted scenes.

When it came to figuring out where to go next with the series after the first film, The Avengers had come out and it was a global smash worldwide, making it one of the most financially successful films of all time. Because of that, Sony decided that it would be best for them to try to create a cinematic universe of their own within the universe of The Amazing Spider-Man series. Of course, an Amazing Spider-Man 2 and 3 were greenlight but also were a 4th film, a Sinister Six spin-off, a Venom movie, a Black Cat and Silver Sable movie, and even an Aunt May movie (No, I’m not joking!). With such high plans being put in motion, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 had to be a success both commercially and financially.

Two years later, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 came out and it could have not gotten worse for Sony if they tried. Not only was it received with much worse reviews than the first one but it also made even less money than the first film, making barely above 700 million dollars worldwide. While making 700 million dollars should been seen as a success, it was not in the eyes of Sony, most notably because they promised their investors that the film would make at least a billion dollars.

If you look at what went wrong from behind the scenes, it’s easy to see why The Amazing Spider-Man 2 turned out the way they did. It was a movie that drew everything but the kitchen sink at it with so many different characters, subplots, and set ups for future films. There was even several deleted scenes that hinted at even more characters and subplots such as Mary Jane Watson played by Shailene Woodley, Felicia Hardy as Black Cat, Norman Osborn alive as a frozen head, and even Peter meeting his not-actually-dead father in person. It was a directional mess where no one in involved either had any idea with what they were doing or just didn’t care in general.

Because of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 underperforming, Sony didn’t know what to do next. It’s then that they were approached by Marvel Studios who wanted to include Spider-Man in one of their upcoming films, Captain America: Civil War. When giving the offer, Sony decided to give up on trying to make their own cinematic universe of Spidey and formed a partnership with Marvel Studios, which would once again reboot the character with a different actor that would be Tom Holland. If you are keeping track at home, that is now TWO different iterations of Spider-Man that Sony wrecked due to their own incompetence and constant interference of the productions of these films.

Strike two!

While everyone has their own opinion of the MCU version of Spider-Man, I think most folks would agree that teaming up with Marvel and giving up on their Amazing Spider-Man universe was the right call for Sony. This led to Spider-Man being feature in three different films of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, the latter of which is one of the highest grossing films ever, along with notable appearances in the team-up Avengers movies such as Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. However, that didn’t necessarily stop Sony from trying to make Spider-Man related movies of their own.

Believe it or not, Sony actually committed to making at least one of the spin-off movies they were planning with The Amazing Spider-Man universe, which would turn out to be Venom released in 2018. And believe it or not, despite the bad reviews, it was a massive hit for mainstream audiences, grossing over 850 million dollars worldwide. It was the success of that film that motivated for Sony to do another try at their own cinematic universe but this time putting the spotlight on villains from Spider-Man’s rose gallery.

We got Venom: Let There Be Carnage in 2021 which was a decent hit at around 506 million dollars worldwide but definitely not as much as the first one made, then came Morbius which despite it being the most meme-worthy movie ever, got awful reviews and was a big bomb at the box office (even after it got re-released in theaters again due to the memes), and now there’s Madame Web which is set to do just as bad if not worse than Morbius, both critically and commercially. Now, that makes for three different iterations of Spider-Man related properties that Sony either screw up big time or drove it into the ground.

Strike three and you are out!

It’s also worth mentioning about the brief fallout between Sony and Marvel that happened right after Far From Home came out, which almost made No Way Home not happen in it’s current form. It was believed it was largely to do with Sony and Disney having differences on the amount of profit for upcoming Spider-Man films set within the MCU. It’s also believed that Sony was about to take back the character of Spider-Man himself until Tom Holland called up Bob Iger while drunk, pleading for him and Marvel to work out a deal with Sony to keep Spider-Man in the MCU. It’s unknown whether it’s Sony or Marvel that’s the true bad guy here, the fact that Sony almost lost ANOTHER version of Spider-Man would not have been a good sign on their part.

When you really get back onto to the major problems with Spider-Man medium since 2007, all of that can be traced back to Sony. From forcing Sam Raimi to include characters he didn’t want to in Spider-Man 3, to micromanaging the hell out of The Amazing Spider-Man movies with no real road map or goal in mind, to constantly making these pointless villain origin stories in the hopes it would connect to some version of Spider-Man later on down the road, Sony has had a real problem with the web head for quite a period of time. Sure, we have had Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and the Marvel’s Spider-Man video game series but all of those were clearly done in SPITE of Sony and not because of them.

And even if you want to include those mediums I just mentioned, I could also talk about how Sony basically rushed Insomniac to get Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 out by 2023 when they wanted to push it back to this year to add more polish and features to the game, which likely cost the GOTY awards for that game. Or about how Phil Lord and Chris Miller had to constantly rewrite the script for Across the Spider-Verse due to Sony’s constant interference on the production. Or how they are now butting heads with Marvel Studios for Spider-Man 4 because they would rather chase the success train of No Way Home by doing another multiverse movie instead of taking things down to the street-fighting levels that most fans want and build to another one later on down the road. If anything, the fact that any of those things turned out to be any good at all is simply a miracle.

And with the release of Madame Web that is set to crash and bomb at the box office, I think it’s time more than ever for Sony to give up all of their rights to Spider-Man and return them to Marvel. Aside from Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 game, and MCU’s Spider-Man 4, there is nothing they have coming up that looks even remotely promising under their control, just with the partnership with other studios. Kraven the Hunter looks like another generic by-the-numbers villain origin film, Venom 3 will likely inherit the same problems of it’s predecessors and rely strictly on Tom Hardy’s star power to save the day, and who knows if those reported Miles Morales film, Spider-Women Spider-Verse film, and that Silk series will ever see the light of day. These all could be promising projects but I trust Sony to handle them well about as far as I can throw them.

Say what you will about the current state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but you can’t seriously tell me that they would do any worse with the full Spider-Man property than what Sony is doing right now with their villain-led cinematic universe. There’s no sign of passion or love from any off these movies coming from the cast and crew, only obligation and corporation. Just look at the press tour of Madame Web and how it’s cast and crew is openly throwing shade at the movie which they are a part off. I think even they know they made a mistake signing up because of Sony likely promising them something they never really meant.

Have there been great content under Sony’s license of Spider-Man? Absolutely! But with the current situation going on between them, Marvel, and the state of superhero movies in general, they can no longer be trusted with handling Spider-Man. They have have countless time to prove they can do Spider-Man related stories without Marvel or anyone else but they have failed spectacularly. The fact that they didn’t greenlight an Amazing Spider-Man 3 with Andrew Garfield and/or a Spider-Man 4 with Tobey Maguire after No Way Home but instead greenlighted Madame Webb and Kraven the Hunter is really all you need to know about the way they run things over there. Even they don’t know what they want for Spider-Man anymore.

Because of all that I’ve just mentioned and more, I think I speak for a large majority of Spider-Man fans out there by saying that it’s time for Spider-Man to come fully home to Marvel at long last.