Spider-Man: Far From Home (Review)
Spider-Man: Far From Home Proves Marvel Has Big Plans for the Future.
If Avengers: Endgame was the final chapter in the first era of MCU film, then Spider-Man: Far From Home is the epilogue. The film takes place in a world post Iron Man and maybe even post Avengers as Spider-Man tries to determine what his role is supposed to be. Fans know that his motto has always been “with great power comes great responsibility.” However, we’ve seen how this philosophy has taken a toll on the web slingers life over the years in both movies and comics. As the newest Spider-Man, this ideal is something we’ve yet to really see Tom Holland really tackle until now, and once more he proves to be the best Spider-Man yet.
The world might not be in total chaos since Avenger: Endgame, but it’s filled with questions and concerns about who will step up to be the next great hero. Of course, since Spider-Man is the kind of guy to put the weight of the world on his shoulders, he’s wondering what his place will be. On the one hand, he’s a brilliant and powerful hero, but on the other, he’s just a teenage kid. He’s not sure if he can be the hero that Iron Man was and because of that, he’s intimidated by the idea that he won’t be able to be the hero the world deserves. So, he decides to run away from his problems by taking a class trip across Europe with his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and the girl he’s crushing on hard, MJ (Zendaya). His vacation is cut short when Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) comes knocking to get his help fighting a world-ending threat with the help of a new hero, Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal).
I was a huge fan of Spider-Man: Homecoming and rank it among my favorite of the MCU movies to date. Spider-Man: Far From Home takes a lot of what we loved in the first film and takes it up a notch. We get to see more of what Spider-Man is capable of as he gets more action sequences than ever before featuring incredible combinations of acrobatics and camera work. The visual effects flawlessly blend together the real and the fantastic to the point where it’s hard to know what’s really Tom Holland and what’s just a computer-generated image at times. Of course, it helps that Holland threw himself into the role to a point where he became an impressive acrobat IRL too. Everything about Spider-Man: Far From Home is bigger and more impressive, but doesn’t lose track of the personal elements that make him such an inspiring character. The only way that I found Spider-Man: Far From Home to fall short of Homecoming was in its villain. Fans of the comic know exactly who I’m talking about, but for the sake of a spoiler-free review, I’ll simply say that ____________ doesn’t feel as though they have quite the same emotional weight that the Vulture did. Still, his particular abilities make for some truly epic fights.
The thing about Marvel is that it seems to cast actors that embody the characters they play on the big screen. It’s because of this that Tom Holland has proven himself to be the best Spider-Man we’ve gotten on the big screen (at least the best live action Spider-Man). He brings an earnest enthusiasm to the role with translates perfectly on the big screen, because Peter Parker is a character who has always been desperate to do the right thing. That proves to be more complicated than it might seem when the world gets in the way, and the world he finds himself in after Endgame is an incredibly complicated once. Luckily, Holland has a lot of personal elements to keep him grounded even as he fights giant monsters across Europe. For one there’s the chemistry he shares with Zendaya, whose take on MJ might not be the most comic accurate, but it’s one I absolutely adore. Their relationship is taken to the next level from Spider-Man: Far From Home, which serves to make Peter’s life even more complicated. Still, the scenes they share together go a long way in humanizing him and making this larger than life hero more easily accessible.
Spider-Man: Far From Home is a movie about growing up, which is one of the reasons why we all love Spider-Man. He’s a character that is constantly growing and changing. Sure, he screws up, but he always owns his mistakes and does his best to make things right. Director Jon Watts gets this and focuses on the relationships and coming of age aspects at the core of the film. Because of this, Spider-Man: Far From Home is a lot lighter than the past few Marvel movies we’ve gotten, which is a bit of a relief since I don’t think I could have handled balling my eyes out in a movie again so soon after Endgame. That isn’t to say that there aren’t a lot of emotional elements in the film, but its focus is more on the humor of the character and the hope he gives everyone around him.
While I don’t think Spider-Man: Far From Home was quite as good as Homecoming, it’s still a great movie. It’s the perfect ending to phase three of the Marvel films and sets up great things for future movies. Holland proves himself to be not only the best Spider-Man but the best Peter Parker to hit the big screen and his chemistry with his co-stars makes the movie all the more enjoyable (especially with Samuel L. Jackson). The effects are amazing and make for some jaw-dropping action sequences. With Spider-Man being one of the most loved superheroes of all time, it’s hard to imagine anyone not being a fan of his. However, if you’re one of those rare people who doesn’t like Spider-Man, I think you’ll still love Spider-Man: Far From Home.
