Film Review - Spider Man: Far from Home
Warning: As this film is a sequel, this review contains spoilers of Avengers: Endgame - if you STILL haven’t seen it yet have managed somehow avoid spoilers this long, come back later or read at own risk.
Spider-Man: Far from Home is the last film in the third phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is fresh off of the universe-altering events from Avengers: Endgame. The film dives deep into the life of our friendly neighbourhood webslinger from Queens post his mentor Tony Stark f.k.a Iron-Man’s untimely death. A new superhero film means new villains for our heroes and Far From Home does have a fascinating new villain.
But how does the second instalment in Marvel’s Spider-Man series perform against other Marvel and Spider-Man films?
This instalment is as good, if not better, than 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. With its humour, action sequences and most importantly, visuals, the film, provides the perfect ‘follow-up’ to Avengers: Endgame.
In its opening minutes, the film establishes how the death of Tony Stark created a void in the world and longs for Spider-Man to take up that mantle. Our teenaged hero, on the other hand, needs a break from protecting the neighbourhood and the universe and just wants to spend quality time with his friends (particularly MJ) and hopes to get away from all of it by taking a trip to Europe.
Unfortunately, trouble still manages to follow Parker to Europe and long-story short, he ends up reluctantly meeting and joining forces with the duo of Nick Fury and Maria Hill along with the mysterious Quentin “Mysterio” Beck to once again, save the world.
There are a lot of moving pieces in the film; every character is given a stage to shine.
The film features shades of Iron Man 3 which saw Tony Stark being haunted by his trip to the Chitauri Wormhole in the first Avengers. Unlike his mentor, Parker doesn’t get panic attacks, he just breaks down because he truly believes that he is not ready for such great responsibility. This humanises Spider-Man to the audience and Holland does a great job of portraying the emotionally ‘torn’ side of Spider-Man.
There are a lot of moving pieces in the film; every character is given a stage to shine. The film illustrates how ‘normal’ people were affected when the universe was wiped out five years prior by the infamous ‘snap’ and that supplements the humour in the film.
The banter between the teachers in-charge of the students on their Eurotrip, Martin Starr’s Mr. Harrington and JB Smoove’s Mr. Dell, is well-written and both actors deserve credit for their performances. Even with so much going on, the film doesn’t deviate from Peter’s quest of ‘spending time with MJ’ and that specific storyline is what makes this a more believable teenage movie compared to Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s take on the hero.
If you’ve played the video game ‘Spider-Man 2’, you would remember how bizarre fighting Mysterio was then. Far From Home replicates that same level of weirdness…
The biggest highlight of the film is Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance. The actor, who was once in the running for the role of Spider-Man back when Sam Raimi was running the show, does an impeccable job as Mysterio and truly owns the character. If you’ve played the game ‘Spider-Man 2’ which was based on the Sam Raimi directed movie, you would remember how bizarre fighting Mysterio was then. Far From Home replicates that same level of weirdness, but with amazing visuals - not surprising considering the incredible efforts Marvel’s VFX team have always brought to past films like Doctor Strange.
All-in-all, Far from Home offers an entertaining viewing experience, best enjoyed with a big tub of popcorn. It’s a light-hearted blockbuster that answers all the burning questions that fans may have been left with after the spectacle that was Avengers: Endgame and concludes a historic 11-year-old journey of the MCU.
Unlike its film predecessor, Spiderman: Far From Home includes both mid and post-credits scenes which imply some very serious ramifications for the MCU. There’s also an astonishing cameo appearance, so you definitely want to stick around till the very end of this one!
Verdict – 8/10
Director – Jon Watts
Cast – Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Samuel L Jackson, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Cobie Smulders, Marisa Tomei, JB Smoove, Martin Starr, Tony Revolori
Spiderman: Far From Home will be showing in Australian cinemas everywhere Monday July 1st