Spiderman: Far From Home Review
Look, I really love Spider-Man. Growing up with the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy has to have altered my brain chemistry because I honest to god to this day still check to see if I can shoot webs after I’ve been bitten by a spider because hey, you never know. While that could easily make me biased, I like to think I’m actually more critical of any film adaptation of the web crawler because I care so much about this one character’s values. It means a lot to the kid in me to get it right! Far From Home is Spider-Man’s second outing in Disney’s ridiculously huge MCU and ups the ante on its predecessor in every way a superior sequel should - the stakes are more meaningful, the setting is more extravagant, and the characters grow. All of these factors mix and mash to give us a film that‘s certainly better than 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, but not by as much as you’d think.
The movie follows Peter Parker, whose MCU tenure is again well portrayed by Tom Holland, as he juggles between his pursuit of Zendaya’s MJ and end-of-the-world level threats during a school trip abroad. That’s about your typical Spider-Man conflict and the film structures itself accordingly. Returning director Jon Watts dedicates the first half of the film to what’s essentially a high school rom-com. While the comedy doesn’t always stick, the awkward teen puppy love between Peter and MJ is downright adorable and gives greater depth to MJ who was limited to quick one-liners during Spiderman: Homecoming. The two have great chemistry and have the potential to add a strong romantic plot point to a cinematic universe that can’t seem to find one.
The second half of the film is where things kick into high gear though, going from rom-com to high octane superhero film. Jon Watts seems far more comfortable directing the action this time around, and the introduction of the character Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) brings intense fan service with ridiculously inventive and creative action pieces. Jake Gyllenhaal nails the unstable geekiness of this character, and the CGI that brings him to life is genuinely impressive. Combine this with the city hopping nature of the plot to keep the action visually fresh, and you have yourself an extremely fun experience that embraces a level of grandeur that is truer to its comic book roots than past imaginings of Spider-Man in film. That said, the film isn’t without its flaws. The acting from a few supporting actors feels very unconvincing at times, and with a decent chunk of humor being hit or miss, it kills your immersion in an otherwise engaging movie.
Far From Home is certainly among the better and less formulaic feeling MCU entries, but even so, it’s hard to completely shake the fact it’s simply another episodic cog in the great machine that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The story is constantly on the cusp of going deeper into the core of what makes Spider-Man who he is, but it feels stifled by all the previous world/franchise building it needs to support to be considered an “MCU” movie.
One of the reasons the character of Spider-Man has been so successful since the ’60s is because his emotional struggle is so thematically compelling. There’s a strong synergy between Peter Parker’s decisions and Spider-Man’s decisions, and each persona is meant to constantly grapple with the consequences of the other’s actions. Far From Home doesn’t handle the character’s emotional arc with the level of patience that it should, and it could’ve done a more meaningful job of leaning into why Spider-Man is so valuable - his humanity is relatable, he’s just a high schooler, and he shares the same daily struggles the audience faces. In a cinematic universe built on wizards, aliens, super intelligent playboys, and literal Norse gods to name a few, it pays to give extra attention to the one character who’s just a kid. Because as much as the other guys leave us in awe, it’s the ones we relate to who leave us feeling inspired and in appreciation of the smaller more intimate acts of heroism in our everyday lives. Don’t get me wrong, Far From Home is extremely fun and a good film, but it’s frustratingly close to being a great one. Luckily, even if Disney’s MCU never pushes its Spider-Man films to make that leap, we always have Sony’s brilliant Spider-Verse to fill the void.
Verdict: “It burns you to have come so close” - Loki, The Avengers (2012)