Sony Pictures
Spider-Man is back! It has been about six months since we have seen the web-slinger on the big screen, but I have missed him. The friendly neighborhood Spider-Man returns in the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Spider-Man: Far from Home. The 23rd MCU film follows the events of Avengers: Endgame where Spider-Man must step up to take on new threats, while also trying to enjoy his school vacation in Europe.
I’ve really enjoyed what Marvel and Sony has been doing with Spider-Man recently. When they introduced Peter Parker into Captain America: Civil War I could tell they had something special with Tom Holland portraying one of Marvel’s most iconic superheroes. The Marvel Cinematic Universe knocked it out of the park with Spider-Man: Homecoming, which featured one of their best villains with Michael Keaton as The Vulture. Then in December of 2018, they released Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and I loved the creativity of that film. I am happy to say that Marvel has once again created another great Spider-Man film.
I was completely blown away by the route the story took. From the trailers we see a lot of Mysterio, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, and Peter Parker teaming up to take down Molten Man and Hydro Man, two monsters that can use Earth’s resources to make themselves stronger. The story is much more than that. I was impressed with the risk this film took. It wasn’t afraid to switch the movie up and throw a new concept at the audience. Many Marvel films play it safe with their storylines and they end up feeling unoriginal at times, but Spider-Man: Far from Home made sure that it didn’t follow the typical storyline of all the most recent superhero movies.
My favorite aspect of this movie was Mysterio. Mysterio has been a villain I have wanted to see on the big screen for the longest time. It seemed judging off the trailer that the writers were going to take a different route for Quentin Beck, who doesn’t have any powers, but is a gifted effects artist. I absolutely loved how they wrote his character and stayed true to him throughout the film. The tone they created for Beck felt comical, but not in a bad way. It wasn’t cheesy at all, but it felt like it came straight from the comics, which I loved.
Marvel Studios continues to show they care about the character of Peter Parker. Homecoming offered a version of Parker that I was dying to see. Parker had a perfect blend of smarts and wit, which is one of the reasons I love the character so much. Far from Home adds a lot more depth to the character by adding struggles that really challenge him. Spoiler for anyone who has not seen Endgame yet: Tony Stark sacrificed his life to save the world and that left a hole in Peter Parker’s life. Many people believed that Spider-Man would become the new Iron Man, but Parker isn’t sure he is up to that role. While dealing with the death of his mentor and trying to balance his new role, the film fleshes out Parker’s storyline very well and provides plenty of emotional moments.
This is one of the best filmed Marvel movies. Jon Watts directed the first MCU Spider-Man and he mixed humor, heart, and action very well. I was impressed with the action scenes in that movie, but Far from Home was much more intense because of the way he films the action scenes. There were plenty of action scenes filmed from a different point of view, which is something I haven’t seen before in an MCU film. My favorite scene of the movie (you can see it in a trailer) is where Peter Parker, in his new stealth suit, is running up a wall and backflips off it and it is filmed in one shot. It was epic!
Zendaya is also great in the film and at the end of Homecoming, it was revealed that she was playing MJ, which I was on board with. Zendaya was funny in her role and I was curious to see how they would explore the relationship between Parker and MJ a little more in Far from Home. It was a realistic approach for two teenagers who are exploring a new city and have feelings for each other. It was cute to see the two interact.
I loved Spider-Man: Far from Home. I loved the approach to the film and how they handled Mysterio. It was equally as funny as it was thrilling. A lot of care went into the progression into developing Peter Parker into the superhero he wants to be. They took the time with him and it paid off. Spider-Man: Far from Home was an awesome MCU film, one of their better ones, and I had a blast with it. You also need to stay for the end credit scenes; they are some of the best I have ever seen in an MCU film.
Spider-Man: Far from Home has a run time of 2 hours 9 minutes and is rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, some language and brief suggestive comments.
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