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Rewatching Spider-Man: Brand New Day only solidified why this has become my absolute favorite live-action Spider-Man movie. From the very beginning, I loved the slower, grounded pace—giving us the time to sit with Peter and truly feel what life has been like for him. Seeing Tom on screen is just everything; he was made for this role! Also, that man has been working insanely hard in the gym 🥵🥵🥵 - he’s HOTTT

I loved the scene where the three of them are finally back together. Seeing Ned and Peter reconnecting was so heartwarming, and MJ drawing Peter and Ned was such an awesome callback to Homecoming—I love that she still draws. But what wrecked me all over again was Peter and MJ's dynamic. Their scenes together start as this quietly devastating burn before turning completely heart-wrenching. As a total PeterMJ stan, their chemistry is just electric—that kiss took my breath away, and you can feel his deep, bleeding love for her in every single second, even while the unrequited nature of it breaks your heart. Zendaya is simply brilliant as MJ, keeping her beautiful, hilarious, and wonderfully weird. When she discovered the letter Peter wrote to her, I was literally holding my breath—it was so gripping and heartbreaking, and you could feel every ounce of Peter’s disappointment and sadness bleeding through the screen. She tells him she can see why someone would love him but the someone isn’t her - like fuck me that was brutal 😭

I saw Brand New Day last night and I left the theater with BIG feelings.

The movie itself was gorgeously shot, and that new suit looked incredible on screen. The plot was engaging, and while some might complain about a slower start, the pacing worked really well for me. And Zendaya… she was breathtaking in this film. She embodied everything I love about her MJ so perfectly that I found myself desperate for even more of her than we got. Let’s face it I’ll always want more of her on screen (and off).

Tom Holland…

Long before my deep admiration for Tom and Zendaya, I’ve always liked Peter Parker. His bubbly, well-meaning, do-gooder persona always worked for me—it injected so much pure joy into the story. But this Peter Parker absolutely wrecked me. Tom made me fall completely in love with him. He brought out this wonderful, tender human being with an almost overwhelming capacity to love.

His unrequited love for MJ broke me. Truly. Their performances reached straight down into somewhere deep inside me and reawakened my own wounds of unrequited love. Their scenes together were sumptuous—the chemistry we’ve seen from them in the past was nothing compared to this. And if I’m being honest, I’m a little scarred by it. I think I was holding onto this desperate hope that she would remember him and everything would be alright. When she didn't, I was gobsmacked by how deeply, profoundly saddened I felt.

Sadie did a wonderful job, the plot clicked for me, and the dynamic between Punisher and Peter worked so well.

I completely understand now why Zendaya kept gushing during the press tour about how Tom put his whole soul into this movie. Guys… he really did. I am immensely proud of him, and I hope he gets all the acclaim (and mad money) he deserves for what he pulled off here.

Tom's performance in The Odyssey was successful.

Here's the thing — I went into this film with baggage about Telemachus as a character, not just as a performance. I've read Emily Wilson's translation, and on the page, he's kind of a mess. He's whiny and petulant, grasping at manhood in the most superficial way possible — as if heroism is a task you complete rather than something you become. He's also faithful, respectful to strangers, beautiful, emboldened by Athena, and capable of real brutality in his father's name. The poem never quite decides who he is, and his arc, frankly, never earned my investment.

Tom's Telemachus — as written by Nolan and performed by Tom — is a different animal entirely. He doesn't remember his father at all; he idolizes Odysseus, but it's not blind faith, it's something closer to hope. He's smarter and more thoughtful in the movie than he is in the poem, and I appreciate that. The way he treats his mother is less petulant and some of their relationship reflects more of a realistic power struggle — two people who love each other but don't agree on what to do. He's not petulantly demanding honor here; he's earnestly trying to solve a massive problem and find his place. And that scene when he finally realizes his father is actually home is so touching, so sweet, I could watch it on a loop.

So his performance as Telemachus works for me. It's not flashy — it may not even get him an Oscar nomination — but it works. Kudos to him and to Nolan for improving on a character from the original source material while still respecting that source material. Denis Villeneuve does the same thing in Dune with Zendaya's Chani.

I went into the movie expecting Athena to be Odysseus's conscience and guide, and that annoyed me. As a mythical figure, Athena is cruel to innocents and hungry for validation from powerful men — that's always repulsed me. She is the last person who should be anyone’s conscience. So a part of me braced for the movie to sand down that complicated-ness. Instead, Nolan's choice and Zendaya's performance moved me profoundly.

*Major spoiler ahead — don't read until you've seen the movie.*

Athena comes to Odysseus in human form, acting as guide and encourager for the first two acts. Then, late in the third act, as Odysseus recounts the sacking of Troy, we learn whose body she's been wearing: a young woman from Troy, massacred in front of him.

On first watch, I gasped and my heart broke. On second watch, I started weeping the moment the third act began. It's an enormously powerful way to indict both Odysseus AND Athena for the unspeakable acts of war that they both played a major role in.

This is just fucking brilliant. I'm in awe.

I think Telemachus’s character, as read from Emily Wilson’s translation, is a bit hard for me to swallow. While a part of me understands the bind he is in, another part feels like he’s naive and shallow. His obsession with being a hero (also understandable based on how revered his father is) is annoying. He reminds me of those kids who idealize the absent parent—understandable, but such a "fuck you" to the parent who actually took care of you.

But Tom made me care for and root for this character. I wanted to protect him, defend him, and champion him. His performance was vulnerable and endearing. I’m so proud of him.

I think I made a massive assumption about how Athena was going to be portrayed. I imagined a wise, graceful sage. She was that but I was also WRONG. Instead, Chris Nolan instructed Zendaya to reach into my chest and smash my heart to pieces. Even as I write this and remember it, the tears are coming back. I went to watch a movie, not have my nervous system completely ravaged. Her screen time is short BUT HER CHARACTERS FUCKING IMPACT IS 🫠💔😭

Thank you Chris Nolan for understanding and utilizing Zendaya’s talent in a beautifully fucked way