Spider-Man: Far From Home - Review: The Sequel Recaptures the Spirit of Homecoming with Some Exciting New Twists
Release date (US): July 2nd, 2019
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Martin Starr, JB Smoove, Numan Acar
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Martin Starr, JB Smoove, Numan Acar
**DISCLAIMER**: This is a subjective, opinionated article that does not have, nor should have any effect on your opinion. As such, my opinion is entitled to change over time and whatever is written here at this point in time may not and should not be held to me in the future. You are not meant to agree with me 100 percent of the time, because the nature of subjectivity is we see everything differently. If there is something you happen to disagree with, I absolutely respect your point of view if you will respect mine. Please keep this in mind.
The Review
After Avengers: Endgame, none of us were quite prepared for what was coming next. Once the dust had faded, no pun intended, we were left in a universe that was open to infinite possibilities, sans a few Avengers. However, when President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, announced that Spider-Man: Far From Home would be the epilogue to the Infinity Saga, a few fans raised their eyebrows. It seemed that Spider-Man: Far From Home would be more of a launching pad into the next generation of Marvel, leaning on new characters like Doctor Strange, T'Challa, Carol Danvers, and Spider-Man.
And while Spider-Man: Far From Home isn't necessarily a launching pad, I wouldn't call it an epilogue either. I found that the film is more of a bridge, that closes the gap between the past eleven years and whatever the future may hold.
Spider-Man: Far From Home, while not as strong and robust as its predecessor, Spider-Man: Homecoming, is another fantastic entry in the MCU that has serious implications for the future while dealing with the ramifications of the past.
The vast majority of the cast from the first film return in their roles. Tom Holland, who has now played the wall crawler in four other films, has made Peter Parker and Spider-Man his own. He has done what Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield both struggled to do, and that is to seamlessly combine the Spider-Man character with the Peter Parker persona and meld them into one, solid, three-dimensional human being. Holland embodies the mind and the spirit of a high school student, while simultaneously having to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. That's what makes him so brilliant in the role.
Jacob Batalon returns as Ned, and while his role is greatly reduced, and a little less comical this time around, he still plays his part well. The script didn't do him any favors in certain instances, while bringing the same level of humor in others, that combined for an interesting take on Ned Leeds. As an aside, this didn't quite bother me, so I wouldn't say it's a negative, but Jacob Batalon, out of all the high school kids, is starting to look the oldest, and there are certain shots in the film where he looks significantly older than he did in the last film.
Zendaya, who plays the newest iteration of MJ (though not the traditional Mary Jane Watson), also has a significantly increased role in the film. While I found her character to be rather odd and out of place in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Jon Watts embraces her character in the sequel. She feels more three-dimensional and realized, and her Zendaya's chemistry with Tom Holland is KILLER. Their scenes together are so endearingly awkward. Watts and the Marvel team capture the atmosphere of high school and adolescence so perfectly. So many movies fail to understand the nuances of growing up because many of the filmmakers are adults; as a result, they rely on high school stereotypes which rarely translate well into the silver screen. But with both Homecoming and Far From Home, Marvel has been able to expertly capture the pains of being young, in addition to the Spider-Man elements.
The other supporting characters, including Nick Fury and Maria Hill, play important roles in the film. While I wouldn't call this Samuel L. Jackson's best turn as the director of SHIELD, I would say that his performance serves the role that the movie gives to him. There are certain elements of his character that have to be reexamined upon a repeat viewing because the first time around, you're not quite sure whether or not Jackson is being nuanced in his performance or phoning it in. There are certain scenes where you're not able to tell. The other high school cast, including Tony Revolori as Flash Thompson and Martin Starr as Mr. Harrington, do their parts as well. It's not really a specific performance or character that make the film as charming as it is, but rather an amalgamation of all of these elements put together.
What this movie does incredibly well is capture the right tone. For years, filmmakers Sam Raimi and Marc Webb have been trying to achieve that perfect balance of Peter Parker and Spider-Man. And while Maguire and Garfield have been able to address both aspects well enough, there was never that perfect equilibrium. This movie is the quintessential Spider-Man movie. We see Peter Parker, who is just a high school kid, but he's really trying to balance being a kid, which in itself is hard enough, with the responsibilities of being Spider-Man in a continent that's not supposed to know he's there. It's incredible how Holland and Watts are able to strike that perfect balance.
Spider-Man: Homecoming felt more like Peter breaking out of a cocoon, becoming an Avenger. But now that he's taking the mantle that Tony left behind, we really see him become his own character. There are plenty of homages to previous MCU movies and to Iron Man that do emphasize that the film is still a part of the greater universe as a whole. In fact, I would say that at times, it's woven in brilliantly into the DNA of the film. There are certain connections that really do make you gasp at how clever and ingenious they are. There are other moments where it feels like Watts is leaning too heavily on the MCU as a crutch. I felt that Homecoming struck a better balance; because while Tony Stark was in the actual movie, he wasn't there as often as we'd thought, BUT his presence was felt throughout the entire movie. In this film, Tony's presence is felt, but in addition to that, his name is mentioned every ten minutes, which felt a little heavy-handed.
The action in Far From Home is also incredible. This is, by FAR, the best action we've seen from any Spider-Man film. Major kudos have to be given to Jon Watts, who, before the Spider-Man films, had directed two feature films. And yet, he's able to come in and give us some of the most beautiful, elegant action scenes that feel so "Spider-Man". When he's swinging through the streets of Europe, it feels so right. Watts shows that he took everything from Homecoming and took it up another notch. It's incredible. There's a particular action scene towards the middle of the film where Spider-Man is swinging around in a continuous shot. That shot, I feel, will be iconic for a long, long time.
In addition to Holland and the returning cast, we have the additional of Quentin Beck, AKA Mysterio, played by the Academy Award-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal. Without spoiling anything (only aspects revealed in the trailers will be touched upon), Mysterio is a little different this time around. He's a hero; he's fighting alongside Spider-Man against the Elementals. Here's what I will say about Mysterio. Gyllenhaal's performance is MAGNETIC. It's incredible. He brings a level of charm and charisma, but can turn on the intensity in a split-second. That's why he's such a brilliant actor. With such a good actor, one of the questions I had going into the film was how well he would fit into the MCU. But from the first scene, he slides in and becomes part of this world.
I do think there is something to be desired from his character when the movie ends though. They do a good job developing his character; he has a very interesting backstory and motivation for wanting to kill the Elementals, but it's not explored nearly as well as I had hoped. There's one scene where he spouts out exposition, and you understand his motivations exactly, but after that, it's not really touched on. I thought Gyllenhaal gave a dynamite performance, but I just wish his character was explored a little more in this film.
We're also introduced to the Multi-verse (as seen in the trailers), which is where these Elementals are coming from. The CGI surrounding the Elementals is fantastic. Especially with Hydro-Man and Molten Man, you can tell how much time the animators spent on these characters, in order to make the motion fluid and realistic. The Elementals, though, are just the usual "bad guys". There's nothing really special about them, and that's okay. While I would've preferred a more complex set of villains for Spider-Man and Mysterio, I think that they served their purpose.
I think Spider-Man: Far From Home is a superior film in a lot of ways to Homecoming. But I find that overall, I cannot call it a better film because of one thing: pacing. Because while Spider-Man: Far From Home has some incredible actions, complex characters, and amazing storytelling, there's some real and serious pacing issues. The film lacks a fluidity and a drive; while the scenes themselves in the first act are funny, endearing, and nuanced, they feel completely different than the second and third acts. There's a moment in the third act where we're building towards one last climactic fight, when suddenly the fight screeches to a halt and doesn't pick up for another fifteen minutes. Little things like that bothered me considerably more than I had hoped. Homecoming stopped in just the right places to let us feel the weight of Peter's decisions, whereas Far From Home didn't quite know where to set itself and where to maintain a quicker pace. While it may seem like a small thing, it was felt throughout the entirety of the movie, which hindered the movie.
But another positive, by far and away, was Michael Giacchino's score. I'm so incredibly glad that Marvel has started to bring in composers who have a grip on the films and know exactly how to meld the music and the moment together. Mysterio's theme is oddly synthetic but organic at the same time. Giacchino knows where to plug in the music in just the right spots, and I think this film greatly benefited form it.
In Conclusion: Spider-Man: Far From Home had some big shoes to fill, both for Jon Watts coming off the heels of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Avengers: Endgame, as well as for Peter Parker, with the passing of his mentor Tony Stark. And while the film doesn't live up to every expectation, Jon Watts and Tom Holland clearly show they have a firm grip on this character and this series. Bring in an explosive co-lead in Jake Gyllenhaal, and you have one of the most entertaining, charming, endearing, and action-packed MCU films to date. It leaves Peter Parker in a very interesting place that makes me extremely curious to see where Marvel decides to go next with the character. Twenty-three films later, and Marvel has still got the magic touch.
And while Spider-Man: Far From Home isn't necessarily a launching pad, I wouldn't call it an epilogue either. I found that the film is more of a bridge, that closes the gap between the past eleven years and whatever the future may hold.
Spider-Man: Far From Home, while not as strong and robust as its predecessor, Spider-Man: Homecoming, is another fantastic entry in the MCU that has serious implications for the future while dealing with the ramifications of the past.
The vast majority of the cast from the first film return in their roles. Tom Holland, who has now played the wall crawler in four other films, has made Peter Parker and Spider-Man his own. He has done what Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield both struggled to do, and that is to seamlessly combine the Spider-Man character with the Peter Parker persona and meld them into one, solid, three-dimensional human being. Holland embodies the mind and the spirit of a high school student, while simultaneously having to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. That's what makes him so brilliant in the role.
Jacob Batalon returns as Ned, and while his role is greatly reduced, and a little less comical this time around, he still plays his part well. The script didn't do him any favors in certain instances, while bringing the same level of humor in others, that combined for an interesting take on Ned Leeds. As an aside, this didn't quite bother me, so I wouldn't say it's a negative, but Jacob Batalon, out of all the high school kids, is starting to look the oldest, and there are certain shots in the film where he looks significantly older than he did in the last film.
Zendaya, who plays the newest iteration of MJ (though not the traditional Mary Jane Watson), also has a significantly increased role in the film. While I found her character to be rather odd and out of place in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Jon Watts embraces her character in the sequel. She feels more three-dimensional and realized, and her Zendaya's chemistry with Tom Holland is KILLER. Their scenes together are so endearingly awkward. Watts and the Marvel team capture the atmosphere of high school and adolescence so perfectly. So many movies fail to understand the nuances of growing up because many of the filmmakers are adults; as a result, they rely on high school stereotypes which rarely translate well into the silver screen. But with both Homecoming and Far From Home, Marvel has been able to expertly capture the pains of being young, in addition to the Spider-Man elements.
The other supporting characters, including Nick Fury and Maria Hill, play important roles in the film. While I wouldn't call this Samuel L. Jackson's best turn as the director of SHIELD, I would say that his performance serves the role that the movie gives to him. There are certain elements of his character that have to be reexamined upon a repeat viewing because the first time around, you're not quite sure whether or not Jackson is being nuanced in his performance or phoning it in. There are certain scenes where you're not able to tell. The other high school cast, including Tony Revolori as Flash Thompson and Martin Starr as Mr. Harrington, do their parts as well. It's not really a specific performance or character that make the film as charming as it is, but rather an amalgamation of all of these elements put together.
What this movie does incredibly well is capture the right tone. For years, filmmakers Sam Raimi and Marc Webb have been trying to achieve that perfect balance of Peter Parker and Spider-Man. And while Maguire and Garfield have been able to address both aspects well enough, there was never that perfect equilibrium. This movie is the quintessential Spider-Man movie. We see Peter Parker, who is just a high school kid, but he's really trying to balance being a kid, which in itself is hard enough, with the responsibilities of being Spider-Man in a continent that's not supposed to know he's there. It's incredible how Holland and Watts are able to strike that perfect balance.
Spider-Man: Homecoming felt more like Peter breaking out of a cocoon, becoming an Avenger. But now that he's taking the mantle that Tony left behind, we really see him become his own character. There are plenty of homages to previous MCU movies and to Iron Man that do emphasize that the film is still a part of the greater universe as a whole. In fact, I would say that at times, it's woven in brilliantly into the DNA of the film. There are certain connections that really do make you gasp at how clever and ingenious they are. There are other moments where it feels like Watts is leaning too heavily on the MCU as a crutch. I felt that Homecoming struck a better balance; because while Tony Stark was in the actual movie, he wasn't there as often as we'd thought, BUT his presence was felt throughout the entire movie. In this film, Tony's presence is felt, but in addition to that, his name is mentioned every ten minutes, which felt a little heavy-handed.
The action in Far From Home is also incredible. This is, by FAR, the best action we've seen from any Spider-Man film. Major kudos have to be given to Jon Watts, who, before the Spider-Man films, had directed two feature films. And yet, he's able to come in and give us some of the most beautiful, elegant action scenes that feel so "Spider-Man". When he's swinging through the streets of Europe, it feels so right. Watts shows that he took everything from Homecoming and took it up another notch. It's incredible. There's a particular action scene towards the middle of the film where Spider-Man is swinging around in a continuous shot. That shot, I feel, will be iconic for a long, long time.
In addition to Holland and the returning cast, we have the additional of Quentin Beck, AKA Mysterio, played by the Academy Award-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal. Without spoiling anything (only aspects revealed in the trailers will be touched upon), Mysterio is a little different this time around. He's a hero; he's fighting alongside Spider-Man against the Elementals. Here's what I will say about Mysterio. Gyllenhaal's performance is MAGNETIC. It's incredible. He brings a level of charm and charisma, but can turn on the intensity in a split-second. That's why he's such a brilliant actor. With such a good actor, one of the questions I had going into the film was how well he would fit into the MCU. But from the first scene, he slides in and becomes part of this world.
I do think there is something to be desired from his character when the movie ends though. They do a good job developing his character; he has a very interesting backstory and motivation for wanting to kill the Elementals, but it's not explored nearly as well as I had hoped. There's one scene where he spouts out exposition, and you understand his motivations exactly, but after that, it's not really touched on. I thought Gyllenhaal gave a dynamite performance, but I just wish his character was explored a little more in this film.
We're also introduced to the Multi-verse (as seen in the trailers), which is where these Elementals are coming from. The CGI surrounding the Elementals is fantastic. Especially with Hydro-Man and Molten Man, you can tell how much time the animators spent on these characters, in order to make the motion fluid and realistic. The Elementals, though, are just the usual "bad guys". There's nothing really special about them, and that's okay. While I would've preferred a more complex set of villains for Spider-Man and Mysterio, I think that they served their purpose.
I think Spider-Man: Far From Home is a superior film in a lot of ways to Homecoming. But I find that overall, I cannot call it a better film because of one thing: pacing. Because while Spider-Man: Far From Home has some incredible actions, complex characters, and amazing storytelling, there's some real and serious pacing issues. The film lacks a fluidity and a drive; while the scenes themselves in the first act are funny, endearing, and nuanced, they feel completely different than the second and third acts. There's a moment in the third act where we're building towards one last climactic fight, when suddenly the fight screeches to a halt and doesn't pick up for another fifteen minutes. Little things like that bothered me considerably more than I had hoped. Homecoming stopped in just the right places to let us feel the weight of Peter's decisions, whereas Far From Home didn't quite know where to set itself and where to maintain a quicker pace. While it may seem like a small thing, it was felt throughout the entirety of the movie, which hindered the movie.
But another positive, by far and away, was Michael Giacchino's score. I'm so incredibly glad that Marvel has started to bring in composers who have a grip on the films and know exactly how to meld the music and the moment together. Mysterio's theme is oddly synthetic but organic at the same time. Giacchino knows where to plug in the music in just the right spots, and I think this film greatly benefited form it.
In Conclusion: Spider-Man: Far From Home had some big shoes to fill, both for Jon Watts coming off the heels of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Avengers: Endgame, as well as for Peter Parker, with the passing of his mentor Tony Stark. And while the film doesn't live up to every expectation, Jon Watts and Tom Holland clearly show they have a firm grip on this character and this series. Bring in an explosive co-lead in Jake Gyllenhaal, and you have one of the most entertaining, charming, endearing, and action-packed MCU films to date. It leaves Peter Parker in a very interesting place that makes me extremely curious to see where Marvel decides to go next with the character. Twenty-three films later, and Marvel has still got the magic touch.
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