Sony and Marvel Studios have rounded out Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in grand style with “Spider-man: Far From Home”. The film picks up shortly after the events of “Avengers: Endgame”, and finds Peter Parker (Tom Holland), attempting to deal with the aftermath of the final battle with Thanos and picking up his life as best as he is able.
As such; Peter is looking forward to a European trip as not only is his friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) coming along; but Peter also wants to use this trip to get closer to MJ (Zendaya) and express his feelings for her.
While the early part of the trip starts off as you would expect for a bunch of teens experiencing Venice for the first time; Peter soon finds himself struggling to save the day and keep his alter ego a secret when a dangerous Elemental creature attacks the city.
With the help of a powered individual named Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal); Peter is able to stop the attack but with the arrival of Maria Hill (Colbie Smulders), and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Peter learns that there are bigger attacks on the way and that his skills are being pressed into service for the greater good.
This causes a great deal of conflict for Peter as after his recent experiences with the Avengers; he simply wants to enjoy a vacation as a 16 year old and feels that he needs time to have a life and recover from his recent ordeals.
As if this was not enough to deal with; Peter has also been entrusted with an unexpected gift which gives him access to new technology but also comes with a heavy sense of responsibility that forces him to question if he is truly up to the expectations that have been put upon him by Fury and society as a whole.
While Peter and Fury attempt to balance the delicate situation to their mutual advantage; a shocking turn of events happens, forcing Peter to step up and risk everything to save his friends and the public from a much larger threat than he imagined.
The film is a dynamic thrill ride that in a summer that has largely been filled with disappointments following “Avengers: Endgame”; delivers the goods.
The cast is great and the film mixes the action and humor of the character well as we get everything that fans have come to expect from the series.
The visuals are amazing and the audience was cheering for the twistingly nimble and gravity defying moves of the title character as well as laughing at the surprising amount of humor that is in the film which supports the action sequences well.
Holland truly owns the role as he encompasses the duality and conflict of the character so well. For all the quips and bravado Spider-man has; he is still an awkward and confused teen who deals with everyday issues despite having tremendous abilities and lives in a world filled with dangers most could never fathom.
The supporting cast is amazingly strong and it was so nice to see Jon Favreau back as Happy as he works so well within the Marvel Universe. There are two bonus scenes in the credits and rather than act as a bit of fun filler, they are filled with many surprise moments and cameos which not only delight; but setup some very interesting consequences and opportunities down the road when Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe resumes.
5 stars out of 5
Second review by
Joseph K. Saulnier
Hoo boy. If you haven’t seen Avengers: Endgame, stop reading. Just stop. Why are you even here? Go see the re-release (in theaters on June 28, 2019), and then come back here.
Okay. Now to it. Holee Molee! Endgame was an adventure, so Spider-Man has a lot to live up to after that. Following the events of Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home finds Peter in a world after The Snap, which is referenced as The Blip by the rest of the world in the MCU. The loss of Tony Stark is taking its toll on everyone, not just Peter. The world needs a new Iron Man. Could it be Spider-Man?
Peter (Tom Holland) just wants to have a vacation. No more worrying about Spider-Man, whether on a local or universal level, and just relax and be a kid again. Aunt May, who now knows Peter’s secret, is all on board encouraging him to be the hero we know and love, including sneaking his Spider-Suit into his bag when he intentionally left it behind on his trip to Europe.
Peter and his friends and classmates, including Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya), are on a class trip to Europe when disaster strikes by way of an Elemental. A giant monster, one of four, which is comprised of water. When a mysterious man with a bubble helmet shows up and defeats the monster, it sets Peter on a crazy adventure to protect his classmates, and the rest of Europe, from these creatures. We find out that the mysterious man is Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), who is from a parallel universe; one where his Earth was already destroyed by creatures of the very same nature. Can Peter and Quentin, who is dubbed Mysterio by the masses, defeat these elementals? Can he live up to the legend of Iron Man and take over the mantle of the world’s defender? Go watch and find out.
I am not going to give you any more plot details. I will say that this is the Spider-Man movie that truly brings Peter/Spider-Man into the forefront and really solidifies his role and future plans in the MCU. An absolutely fantastic movie with artfully done fan service, and the villain we needed to really show what Spider-Man is capable of. After all, the villain maketh the hero. It was really nice to see that Happy Hogan’s (Jon Favreau) and Peter’s relationship has changed, in such a good way, following the unfortunate demise of their best friend and mentor respectively.
According to Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, Far From Home is really the third part of the story told in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. I didn’t quite understand what he meant by this going into the film, but after seeing it I completely get it. As I am sure you will, too. It is a perfect wrap up for Phase 3, and does some serious groundwork setting up Phase 4. For those worried about where the MCU is going to go after this epic Infinity Saga that we just experienced across 22 movies: fear not. We are headed in a great direction, and it looks like Peter Parker is going to be a big part of it, especially after just Tom Holland just signed a 7-movie deal.
5 out of 5.
