Review: Spider-Man Far From Home
It was never going to be easy being the first MCU film released after Avengers: Endgame. How can you follow up an arguable masterpiece that was the culmination of an epic journey that spanned 11 years and 22 films? One can't, but even as a stand-alone film, Spider-Man: Far From Home is an exceedingly minor entry that is nothing more than glorified filler that could have just as easily been a post-credits scene. Which is not to say that it lacks charm or competent craftsmanship, but the whole affair feels like pedestrian trifle.
What's a 16-year-old to do after he's saved the world? For Peter Parker, winningly portrayed by Tom Holland, he just wants to shuffle off the responsibilities of being a superhero and concentrate on being a teenager. His primary mission is to get closer MJ (Zendaya), with whom he has become even more besotted, but circumstances keep thwarting his efforts. Nevertheless, with his class going on a European trip, opportunities abound for him to get out of the friend zone and establish a romantic relationship with his object of affection.
This being a superhero film, it's not too long before a giant watery beast emerges to wreak havoc in Venice. Peter does his best to stave off the monster, but the day is saved by one Quentin Beck aka Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), who sports a fishbowl helmet and a cape and is equipped with the power to shoot what resembles green lightning. Mysterio explains that he's from another dimension and that he's been tracking down these shape-shifting creatures called Elementals. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson, delivering the bare minimum) turns up to enlist Peter to aid Mysterio in the fight, even gifting him Tony's glasses, which have the ability to access all of Stark Industries' databases and launch weapons on command, but Peter is not having any of it. He's still grieving over the loss of Stark, his mentor and father figure, though Mysterio, touchingly, has the potential to be Stark's successor in Peter's heart.
Certainly the relationship between Peter and Mysterio is one from which much could be mined along with Peter's struggle to fully take on the superhero mantle. Yet, unlike previous Marvel films which managed to elicit humour and emotional depth whilst seamlessly juggle multiple themes and genres, Far From Home struggles to have its multiple elements coalesce into a satisfying whole. Instead, it's a confoundingly conventional work that is going through the motions until the MCU properly enters into its next phase.
Spider-Man: Far From Home
Directed by: Jon Watts
Written by: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers; based on the comic book Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Starring: Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, J.B. Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Angourie Rice, Marisa Tomei, Tony Revolori
