Spider-Man: Far From Home faces the unenviable task of being the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s follow up to the beyond epic Avengers: Endgame, and it takes that challenge on with open arms. As a Spider-Man film it ticks all the right boxes; Tom Holland is a delight as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man; an intriguing new character in Mysterio played by the charismatic Jake Gyllenhaal; an assortment of strong supporting characters, most notably Ned, MJ and Happy Hogan; top notch visuals that give us the best live-action Spidey yet. As a follow up to one of the biggest films of all time in Endgame, it falls just short but not through any fault of its own.
The basic but deep story sees Peter Parker trying to carry on in a world that is dealing with the death of Iron Man, his own father figure. Peter’s school class head off on a trip to Europe which Peter hopes will help give him some relief, but as expected things don’t go according to plan and sooner then he’d like, Spider-Man is needed to help save the world. The world needs a new Iron Man but Peter understandably has major doubts that it should be him.
Far From Home thrives in its unbridled visual effects. The best scene of the film comes when Spider-Man finds himself trapped in an illusion, fighting for a way out. It’s as if the prolific artwork of Spidey co-creator Steve Ditko has been ripped straight from the pages of the Amazing Spider-Man comicbooks and brought to life on screen for us all to be mesmerized by. It’s a scene that will be fondly remembered once the film finishes and take a strong place in any list ranking the best Marvel Studios moments.
Tom Holland cements himself as the best Peter Parker we have ever had with this being his 5th outing as Spider-Man. The awkward kid when speaking to a girl but the witty hero when underneath his mask. From his dorky yet cute moments with MJ (Zendaya) to his heart-breaking scenes with Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), Holland seemingly has infectious chemistry with everybody on screen. These relationships are built upon from Spider-Man: Homecoming but his instant connection with newcomer Jake Gyllenhaal is wild. A scene that sees the pair having a drink in the bar sets a high standard for what Holland can be capable of going forward as Spider-Man and has me hoping that Gyllenhaal will return in the future.
In a vacuum I think I would appreciate Far From Home more, but it suffers because of the success elsewhere in the MCU, mainly Spider-Man: Homecoming’s triumph with one of the best villains in the form of Michael Keaton’s immense Vulture. The Elementals are a far cry from the intimate danger that Vulture posed.
Do everything in your power to avoid seeing spoilers about the mid and post credit scenes. The payoff for both is arguably the best that Marvel Studios have ever put out and will have a distinct impact on the future of the MCU.
Spider-Man: Far From Home accomplishes everything it has to. It sets up a world without Iron Man that is suffering from the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, giving future films the chance to toy with this new world further. It develops Peter Parker to the point where you can see Spider-Man becoming the centre of the MCU as Iron Man was in the past. It isn’t a game-changer like the last few MCU films have been, at least until the credit scenes, but it is refreshing and quite simply a joy to watch.
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Tom Holland reveals his favourite Spider-Man villains
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