Spider-Man: Far from Home is a Mysterious Summer Thrill Ride

Tom Holland (Spider-Man) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Quentin Beck) shake hands as they meet by way of Shield. Photo Credit: Washington Post

Like Homecoming, the first of Tom Holland's standalone films, his second Spider-Man checks all the boxes. The movie was not only extremely enjoyable with an intelligent, carefully woven plot that makes sense in the modern MCU World, it acted as a trip down memory lane for me. You see, Peter and his fellow "blipped students" (people lost in the Thanos snap of Infinity War) are rewarded with a class trip to Europe, starting in Venice. My high school actually had an Italy trip Senior year that was almost identical besides the near-death experiences, so it added a little realism to the fantasy of these "Elementals" popping up in random parts of the planet (usually wherever Spider-Man and his friends are). That, to me, has been the key to all of these great Marvel films, realism. Showing the aftermath of this blip through the eyes of the average high school students and teachers was the perfect touch, I felt like that was an underrated factor of this film. Similarly, a lot of the foes and even heroes throughout this MCU journey have been born out of the carnage of the previous films. When Loki brought an alien army to New York City in the original Avengers, the city didn't just rebuild itself over night. In fact, in Spider-Man Homecoming, Michael Keaton's portrayal of Vulture is ingeniously realistic. He is blue collar guy running a demolition and restoration crew that is helping repair the city after the invasion, then Tony Stark's minions come in and take their jobs away. Fueled by his anger for the wealthy and the growing technological world, Vulture decides his crew must adapt as they decide to build and sell energy-based alien tech as weapons, using materials salvaged from the wreck. Zemo, the mastermind behind Civil War, harbors hatred and seeks vengeance against the Avengers because of the fallout in Sokovia during Age of Ultron. The movies not only relate, they have a cause and effect that make sense and keep the overall timeline in order. One of the reasons I disliked aspects of Endgame was that they went back in time and screwed up a lot of the hard work and consistency in this regard. Anyway, Far from Home hits on realism again and completely makes sense as the first thing after Endgame. I won't explain how because doing so would reveal the biggest twists of the film, some more predictable than others if you know your Spider-Man history... but this movie's plot is extremely believable in the post-Avengers world.

You might be wondering, giant element-based monsters attacking major cities... believable plot... umm, what? Well there's much more to this film than that and you realize pretty quickly that Far from Home isn't really about these Elementals. The main thing that impressed me were the psychological tricks throughout. There are scenes that are legitimately trippy, with hallucinations and reversals at every turn. Parker isn't sure who to trust for most of the film, besides his loyal partner Ned (the nerdy gamer best friend who returns for another wild ride), and this meshes perfectly with his feeling of loss and abandonment after Tony Stark's death (his hero and mentor). In a grieving period where Peter seems more interested in being a kid and living his life (opposite of his character in the first Holland Spider-Man where he wants to become an Avenger as fast as possible) than being a superhero, the shadow of his alter-ego seems to follow him wherever he goes. Since he no longer has Ironman to turn to when he screws up, or for advice, or just as a father figure, Peter feels adrift and unsure of ability to fill Stark's armor. Nick Fury, reporters, Stark himself (from the grave), and destiny seem to have other plans however. The weight and pressure of becoming the hero that the world turns to first is crushing Peter Parker in the opening half of the film, and the whole story line is magnificently crafted around that centralized theme. Holland delivers again to help bring that idea to fruition in another all-star performance.

Speaking of the acting, I have mostly good things to say about it in Far from Home. I'll start with the bad though. It's not Zendaya's performance as the new modernized MJ, and trust me I understand that they wanted to make the character more 2019 relatable like they do with everything nowadays (blah blah blah), but her character is just unenjoyable to watch. The whole "I hate everything" personality the writers created for her doesn't vibe with the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man at all, and it doesn't make any sense to me why him and most of his classmates are suddenly enamored by the same girl who weirded everyone out and boasted about having no friends in the first movie. I get it, she's misunderstood and awkward and maybe that is supposed to represent kids in the current generation, but it doesn't make sense for Spider-Man. He's fun-loving and quirky, he cares about saving people above all else, he doesn't seem to have anything in common with this MJ other than being awkward himself. I enjoyed the love interest, Liz, from Homecoming much more, as the chemistry seemed to work better with her than MJ who brings up death every chance she gets (to which Peter generally responds, ooooohhkay?). Having said that, I thought Zendaya did fine in the role, but the role stinks and has pretty much ruined the whole character for me. Similarly, this new Flash Thompson is extremely unintimidating and makes it easy for Peter to best him at every turn. Bullies aren't supposed to be totally inept screw-ups. I'm not saying Flash should be more like-able, kind of the opposite, we as fans of Spidey should hate the guy... he's just kind of there in these movies, for comic relief more often than not. I found this Brad character in Far from Home to be much more of a Flash-type antagonist than Flash himself, so why is he even included, I ask? I got nothing against the actor, but this role was another one messed up by the creators and 21st Century Hollywood. I found Martin Starr and JB Smoove (two well-known comedic actors in the TV world; Silicon Valley/Freaks and Geeks for Starr, Curb Your Enthusiasm for Smoove) to be particularly entertaining in their roles as the "Mom and Dad" teacher chaperone tag-team. Starr is your classic woe is me rule-follower and Smoove is loose and hip, the two work well together (but make for terrible chaperones as their students face peril many times on the trip... JB's advice to Brad towards the end and Starr's divorce story near the start each had me laughing out loud). Lastly, Jon Favreau really steps up in his role as Happy Hogan, managing the void left by Robert Downey Jr. I'm a huge Favreau fan in all of his work, I was pleased that they decided to give him the larger part in this one as Peter's latest role model. Speaking of which, I almost left out headliner Jake Gyllenhaal who plays Quentin Beck in the film, another role model for our confused teen hero and also a wannabe Avenger in his own right. The peculiar hero enters the scene out of thin air, helping Spidey take on these curious Elemental forces. Gyllenhaal is never anything less than stellar in his performances, and this one is no different as his character might be the most dynamic in Far from Home.

The special effects meet the high standard of excellence that all Marvel movies tend to have, but like I said, some scenes stand out for their creativity and animations. The pacing was smooth and pleasant to follow, never dragging on or cutting too short. One thing led to another, just like plots are supposed to. The laughs were frequent and reminiscent, for those who attended high school. The plot and writing was top notch, aside from the MJ and Flash changes which go back to Homecoming. The villains were similar to Keaton's Vulture, born from the strife of Marvel's past and easy to understand once they reveal themselves. The ideas were really advanced, and without giving too much away (SMALL SPOILER) we should take note of the possible dangers of drone technology in this film, scary foresight by Watts and his team. Well-directed and well-shot. The musical score worked fine for me, nothing spectacular but it didn't distract me like I thought Endgame and Black Panther's scores did and blended well, keeping my attention locked in as it should be (if a score does this and provokes some emotion in the process, that's all you can really ask for). Overall, I definitely recommend Spider-Man: Far from Home. My expectations weren't low going in, but they also weren't extremely high like they were for Infinity War or Endgame, and maybe that was a good thing. It probably isn't going to blow your mind, but if you're looking for a fun Summer movie to take the edge off, this is it. The plot will keep the older viewers guessing with its many psychological elements at play, while also being kid-friendly and exciting for younger fans (of course). Most importantly, it advances Spider-Man and the MCU into its newest chapter, and does it well with two CAN'T MISS credit scenes. In the end, I give it an 8.3 out of 10. Marvel hits again, your move DC... and you might want to start taking notes.