Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) Review

 

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Far From Home follows Peter Parker, who, while on a vacation with his class in Europe, is forced into a clash with a group of elemental monsters, with some help from a mysterious new hero, Mysterio, who’s secret could bring about the end of Peter’s life as he knows it. 

Following the events of Avengers: Endgame and the death of Tony Stark, Far From Home is about Peter coming to terms with Stark’s legacy and how he must deal with greater responsibility as he now finds himself on his own. Thankfully with this film, Peter finally escapes the shadow of Tony and well embarks on his way to becoming the hero he is meant to be, with his foes becoming larger and incredibly more dangerous. I like that with this outing, the film really exploits the void left by Tony for Peter and uses that weakness to introduce Mysterio, a seemingly perfect and ultra-powerful superhero who is far from it, with a vendetta against the late Stark and by proxy, Peter. The way they build up their relationship just to backstabbingly tear it to pieces in front of him, leaving him emotionally and physically damaged makes some excellent stakes, and once again, makes their final face off incredibly personal. 

Now, while I don’t mind changing it up a little, throwing Spidey in Europe for his second excursion feels a little empty, marking twice now that we’ve relatively avoided keeping Spider-Man in his native New York, a move that feels entirely too careless, as it’s becoming far too obvious that Peter is Spider-Man, what with him popping up in the same places all the time. That said though, it did make for some wonderful set pieces and honestly felt a little more natural to have Mysterio there, if that makes any sense. 

A small qualm I still have, moving into the sequel, is that Peter’s personal life never really feels too inspired and any large chunk that’s dedicated to him seems to drag, as it forces us into another out of nowhere relationship with MJ and continues to play fast and loose with his identity as the wall crawler. I really hope this gets rectified with No Way Home, as it’s due time for Peter to start not only growing, but experiencing the tragedy he does that hardens and matures him as a hero. 

Once again, we get a really fun cast, starring Remy Hill, Martin Starr, Tony Revolori, J.B. Smoove, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, Angourie Rice, Samuel L. Jackson, Jacob Batalon, Zendaya, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Tom Holland. While I’m still not totally sold on his Peter-y elements, Holland really evolves a lot as Spider-Man in this sequel, visually maturing and escaping the shadow of Tony Stark’s legacy. Gyllenhaal is also such a good villain, capturing all of the cunning and mystical elements such a character like Mysterio brings to the table. 

Far From Home, directed by Jon Watts, is much more improved sophomore outing for the MCU’s Spider-Man and while it lacks in the human elements, they’re something undeniable in it’s understanding and use of Peter and Mysterio that really pushes the character of Spider-Man forward in massive strides by film’s end. 

8.5/10