With the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, the Marvel Cinematic Universe ends its third phase and looks into a very different future. What began with Iron Man in 2008, came to a conclusion of sorts with the release of Avengers: Endgame back in April. The film didn’t represent the finality of the MCU but it was a swan song of sorts for some of the characters we have come to know and love. Spider-Man: Far From Home has to tackle a post Endgame world and while it addresses the ramifications of The Snap (or The Blip as it’s called in this film) and the return from what seemed like a certain end, Far From Home proves itself by standing on its own and wrapping up one era while beginning a new one.
The fact that Far From Home stands so tall only proves to me that this brand should be what the MCU is now built around. Perhaps the sharing of the property with Sony might make some nervous but it seems like the powers that be are happy with the quality of Spider-Man at this point and, of course, the impressive box office results that they may not even think about messing up a good thing. Since the titular character began his journey in high school, there are a lot of opportunities to watch the character grow and develop over time. What has impressed me the most with this film, and Spider-Man: Homecoming before it, is that they are top notch coming of age films that just happen to be a comic box extravaganza. Far From Home balances a lot of tones from touching teen romance to a bit of throwback to teen films of the 80s and right back around to being a purely fun action film without once missing a beat.
Spider-Man: Far From Home sets up a bit of time to explain what happened as a result of “The Blip.” Those that dusted out, have returned and time has stood still for them while some of the people they left behind have aged five years. Thankfully for Peter Parker (Tom Holland) his crush MJ (Zendaya) has returned with no time seemingly passing by so he can begin his awkward journey of trying to pursue her. In the background, there is pressure on our young hero to step up in a world that has lost a few fallen heroes. Peter just wants to be a kid and be with his friends but his alter ego has bigger responsibilities and he doesn’t fully believe he’s up to the task.
Of course, there’s a new threat facing Earth and they include a series of four Elementals that could destroy the planet from the inside out. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) wants Spider-Man’s help since many of the Avengers are unavailable. Added to the bunch is the mysterious Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), a superhero from a parallel Earth. Peter is more interested in being a normal teenager and wants nothing more than to take his school trip to Europe and figure out how to tell MJ that he really likes her. Since one doesn’t “ghost” Nick Fury, he manipulates situations to have Peter’s school trip be in the places he needs Spider-Man to be in order to call on him when necessary.
Despite coming off the heaviness of Endgame, director Jon Watts keeps things decidedly light while sprinkling in enough teen angst, drama & turmoil to give the film its emotional weight. I found myself laughing out loud during moments of the film and then suddenly being caught up in Peter’s feelings on inadequacy about not being up to pressure of being Tony Stark’s protege. These new Spider-Man outings have done a good job of suggesting that “with great power, comes great responsibility” without beating you over the head with it. The compelling thing about having a young Spider-Man is that you want to see him just be able to be a normal teenager but he’s saddled with adult responsibilities that lead to a great inner conflict.
The handling of Mysterio is the true ace move of the film. I won’t go into spoiler territory but if you’re familiar with the character, you probably know where things are headed but it’s a credit to the screenplay by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers along with an inspired turn by Jake Gyllenhaal, that really makes the character work. Gyllenhaal is an actor that has seemed to shy away from films like this in his character so you kind of know that if he’s finally taking one on, it has to be more than meets the eye. All I’ll say is that Gyllenhaal handles all of the turns of the character well and he becomes one of the best things about the film.
This is now Tom Holland’s fifth outing as Spider-Man and with Far From Home, I’m declaring that he really is the only Spider-Man that matters at this point. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield certainly have their strengths but Holland conveys youthful exuberance, uncertainty, and raw emotional talent lets him hit certain beats that those actors missed. He’s so confident in the role now that it’s probably all second nature at this point but what shows on the screen is how much he loves playing the character. His offbeat chemistry with Zendaya is also a refreshing spin on the typical superhero romance. With MJ, they’ve tapped into something very real and quirky but it works, thanks to Zendaya’s commitment to showing off her eccentricities. I know people talk about the upside down kiss in 2002’s Spider-Man but the simplistic moment when Peter and MJ acknowledge their affection for each other in this film was a far better payoff for me. Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon, Tony Revolori, Martin Starr, J.B. Smoove & Angourie Rice are all on hand in varying supporting roles that add a little extra something to film with each of them getting their own moment to shine.
Far From Home also doesn’t slack on the action and actually features some of the better action sequences I’ve seen in recent comic book films. Most of it is courtesy of the Inception-style moments featuring Mysterio which are visually strong and could give Doctor Strange a run for his money. The film does have the typical big effects extravaganza in the end but all of the action is grounded and gritty while properly anchored in narrative and character.
There are two end credit scenes, one coming midway through and that one is the true gamechanger. I won’t reveal it here but I thought it was a very ballsy move and it really makes you wonder where all of this is going next (plus there is a really fun cameo that had our screening cheering).
Spider-Man: Far From Home is so many things and somehow manages to succeed at all of them. It’s the perfect summer romp with plenty of action, laughs and romance but it’s also yet another step forward for the MCU who seem to have this thing down to a science. I truly can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
