Spider-Man: Far From Home

Score:  B+

Directed by Jon Watts
Starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal
Running time: 129 minutes
Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  Spider-Man: Far From Home is the latest film in the MCU superhero world, as young heroes like Tom Holland's Peter Parker look to fill the boots of RDJ and the old guard.  It works as both general, crowd-pleasing summer blockbuster and as an exciting vanguard of the franchise.  It overstretches in most areas just a bit, but that's based on the MCU's high standards; go see this whether you're an MCU devotee or simply want some summer fun in the theater.


Months after the Avengers restored order to the universe - and half its souls - society continues to adjust.  For Peter Parker (Holland), that includes strange effects on his high school, where he and many of his classmates pick up where they left off even as others - now five years older - have moved on.  He is relieved for the chance at a break via a field trip to Europe, and decides to leave his tights and web-slingers at home.  Meanwhile, however, new threats have already surfaced.  Nick Fury (Jackson) and Maria Hill find that what appeared to have been massive storms were actually attacks by elemental creatures.  These creatures came from another world in the multiverse, a byproduct of the crisis averted by the Avengers.  Fortunately, a new good guy, Mysterio (Gyllenhaal), came along with them.  Parker just wants to enjoy some quiet time, but finds himself pulled into the latest danger; soon he must decide what part to play in this dangerous new, post-Iron Man world.

Far From Home returns most of the cast from the MCU's first Spider-Man film, Homecoming, and adds one more famous name to it.  Tom Holland reprises his role as Peter Parker aka Spider-Man, and while it's his second "solo" movie, he has now appeared in five total MCU titles.  That means the audience is now comfortable seeing him - the third actor, and by far the youngest - in the famous role, yet there remained plenty of room to explore his new take on it.  The film focuses most on Parker's continued ambivalence over his role as Spider-Man, and Holland conveys this convincingly.  In his many scenes with his classmates, he fits in easily, as awkward and nervous around them as he is in battle.  He remains one of the MCU's most charismatic new stars, and has developed good chemistry with his cast mates, particularly Zendaya.  She, playing MJ, gets a significantly larger role this time, actively involved in both the action and personal moments.  While still mostly the same quiet girl with an air of indifference, MJ also breaks out of that mold here, particularly as her feelings for Parker grow.  Yet she maintains integrity of the character, something many young actors fail to do in such a transition.  Jake Gyllenhaal is a great new addition, a warm, father-like figure to Parker early on before revealing a delightfully weirder side as it goes on.  MCU mainstays Nick Fury (Jackson) and Happy (Favreau) are welcome presences; the latter gets perhaps his most interesting MCU part yet, while the former just feels a bit off.  Finally, the other students - and two teacher chaperones - get significant screentime; while amusing, they ham it up a bit too much occasionally.

Spider-Man: Far From Home definitively shows that the MCU still has plenty of creative gas left in the tank following Avengers: Endgame's epic conclusion to the first eleven years' worth of films.  It plays a similar role to the Ant-Man films - relatively light "chaser" diversions on the heels of massive Avengers adventures.  Still, while there is plenty in here for the MCU fan excited for the franchise's new direction, it is also a general crowd-pleaser, largely thanks to its coming-of-age dramedy elements.  Parker's pursuits of MJ are front and center, but even sidekick Ned gets his own romantic subplot; to go with this drama are the hijinks of a group of teenagers fooling around as tourists and their exasperated teachers giving chase.  Unfortunately, I found it to be a bit overdone, losing the subtle touch of Homecoming's school scenes.  Certainly plenty entertaining, still, but both the script and the performances almost seem to be grasping to match the intensity of the action.  This aspect, too, is amplified in comparison to the previous film.  Spider-Man and Mysterio's raging battles with elemental beasts (animated forces of water, fire and so on) are just the appetizer.  The action is best when Spider-Man is trying to save lives - stopping a building from falling down, for example - and a scene involving ever more elaborate illusions is a true highlight.  But it also drifts towards too big and too much at times, the screen becoming so busy with CGI that it begins to blur together.  Some of that busyness is a direct consequence of the plot, which is well conceived.  It's not hard to see from early on that it's going to have a major twist, but it's nevertheless a clever one.  Really, it's all good, from the plot to the action to the Parker scenes, with the MCU's typically high level of quality.  Pulling back on it all a little could have made it truly special, but it's still another strong superhero movie.

Now, as the MCU geek I am, I'll delve a little into details related to the franchise overall - so feel free to skip this, either if you're not interested or want to avoid SPOILERS!!!  As the first film post-Iron Man, Cap, and (???) Thor, Far From Home gives us some interesting possibilities while still leaving much up in the air.  The villain's mission, to manufacture artificial crises just so that he can play the "hero", makes perfect sense in a world with a major superhero vacuum.  There are still plenty out there, of course, but leaderless and recuperating (physically and otherwise).  Throughout the film, I felt there was something off about Nick Fury, so it relieved me but also horrified me when the post-credits scene showed that he and Hill were Skrulls in disguise the whole time.  I had really hoped that Captain Marvel would be the last we saw of those aliens, but apparently not.  Maybe it's just a one-off thing - but what the hell was that ship the real Fury was on?!  Finally, maybe most importantly, I'm glad that the film remembered Peter Parker is still just a teenager.  He's figuring himself out, and - despite his impressive abilities and tech - is vulnerable to clever, manipulative foes.  Obviously this is worth keeping in mind due to the other credits scene (JK Simmons is back!!!), but also something the MCU needs to replicate throughout its new chapter: the heroes just keep getting more and more powerful, from Black Panther to Captain Marvel, and they need their own challenges (perhaps even "kryptonite"), too.  But so far, so good.  Excited to see what's next for the MCU!

***

Spider-Man: Far From Home fortunately breaks a streak of disappointing sequels/spin-offs this summer, both maintaining the MCU's remarkable critical-approval streak as well as surely blowing up the box office.  We've been in uncharted waters with the MCU for years now - how it can sustain both critical and popular success while producing multiple new films each year, each of which is strongly tied to all the others - but now we'll see if it can survive the loss of its three leading/ "founding" actors.  Hollywood and theaters increasingly depend on not just the superhero genre but specifically the unprecedented success of the MCU; Endgame and Captain Marvel are #1 and #2 this year, combining for more than 20% of the entire box office.  Here's the thing: Marvel hasn't been making extraordinarily entertaining, high quality clones for these 11 years.  It's improved, taken chances, and pushed cinema to new places with its continuing narrative form.  That is a formula not exclusive to Marvel, and if Hollywood wants to survive and thrive in this new media world, it should take notes.





* By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60832103