Spider-Man: Far From Home – Review

Spider Man Far From Home peter and Quentin

Spider-Man Far From Home review; Marvel, MCU, comicsSpider-Man: Far From Home

Directed by: Jon Watts

Runtime: 129 minutes

Our latest Marvel fix wasn’t that long ago, with Avengers: Endgamefever just beginning to die down. After smashing many box-office milestones, and coming so very close to being the highest-grossing film of all time (with a re-release on the horizon in a bid to take that crown), it is an incredibly difficult film to follow up. On top of this, Spider-Man: Far From Home is also following up a phenomenal video game, and a little animated movie that won hearts of critics and audiences alike, snagging an Academy Award in the process. It is clear that is is a great time to be a Spidey fan, but are we too spoiled for choice?

Cleverly, Far From Home doesn’t even attempt to step out of the shadow of the behemoth that was Avengers: Endgame, instead opting to embrace its darker surroundings. As the end of Phase 3 of the MCU, this feels like an epilogue, with our titular character coming to terms with the emotional fallout of the previous events. Plot-wise, all I can say is that Spidey goes on holiday, meets new hero-on-the-block Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), and has to grapple with the ever-expanding scope of his superhero-dom. As with any Marvel movie (even if it’s a Sony/Marvel outing), it is best to keep plot details to a minimum in reviews; however, what I can say is that the pacing of the film is strong, I was entertained throughout, and despite already knowing one of the main reveals (anybody with any knowledge of the comics knows exactly what will be going down), I still found myself satisfied by how things unfurled.

Tom Holland is continually proving to be a worthy leading man, with his performance being the emotional driving force behind the entire film. Really, I could watch his Spidey run regular errands though-out New York for the entire two-hour runtime and come out smiling. Gyllenhaal also seems to be having the time of his life throughout the flick, and he lived up to my expectations. The rest of the supporting cast do just fine. While I do wish they had a little more fidelity when it came to the character of MJ, Zendaya is charming enough for me to let a lot slide. While I do not see the point of MJ-who-is-not-quite-Mary-Jane-but-still-an-MJ (seriously, just make her a different character), the little romance scenes between Spidey and his love interest are sweet enough, with a little John Hughes-vibe in some moments.

Is this the best Spidey-outing in the last twelve months? Well… not really. However, as an epilogue for the MCU, and a worthy sequel to Homecoming, it does excel. With so many eyes watching the cinematic powerhouse for its next steps, this was a nice, sturdy bridge to lead audiences into Marvel’s future. Are we going to begin feeling the strains of superhero fatigue soon? It’s impossible to say. We have been waiting for a while to face the end of this cinematic movement, but it is clear that the capes aren’t flying out of popularity anytime soon. Spider-Man: Far From Home is an incredibly solid film… and solid is exactly what we need as a palette-cleanser for all the hype and insanity we are coming down from after Endgame‘s complete obliteration of cinemas worldwide.

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