Spider-Man: Far From Home

Image credit: Amazon

I’m actually quite satisfied that the immediate Marvel release after Endgame has been a second Spider-Man movie because, right now, a return to good, wholesome superhero movie fun is what audiences need after all the emotional turbulence and time-travel. And, as ever, Marvel hasn’t disappointed.

Far From Home chronicles young Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) (a.k.a. Spider-Man) return to a ‘normal life after the events of ‘the Blip’. Peter spends his time (spoiler of you’ve been under a rock) mourning for Tony Stark and preparing for a school trip to Europe where he plans to tell MJ how he feels about her. But disaster strikes when strange elemental monsters start attacking the city and Nick Fury himself calls in the help of Spider-Man. Alongside Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) –a man from another world- Peter helps to fight the monsters, but he soon discovers that he really needs to step up if he’s going to save the world.

This movie ticks all the boxes for a fun and exciting family film. Though not as much of a typical ‘teen’ movie as its predecessor, Far From Home is more like that awkward stage between high school and the rest of your life where you spend a number of years learning who you are without the institution of school. There’s a new layer of adult world that is inserted into the story and the character journey, which is exciting to watch and particularly nice because everyone can kind of relate to it.

The story follows a trajectory that we’ve all seen before, but if it’s not broke don’t fix it! Similar humour that worked so well in the first movie is reinstated in this one, perfectly getting the laughs and establishing that lovely and warm feeling that comes with just a good, fun movie.

And then we have the characters and their journeys. Peter’s emotional journey speaks for itself and Holland plays the role perfectly, the only difference between him and the rest of the world being that he’s got superpowers. Jake Gyllenahaal as Mysterio is brilliant, a timeless villain made the more fascinating because you can’t hate him. Like Keaton’s Vulture in the first movie, the villains here are cleanly established and also (as is the way of Spider-Man) sort of relatable to, in that you can totally see where everyone is coming from, with their feelings and reactions being totally human. 

Image credit: Hollywood Reporter

It’s actually super nice to see that Marvel hasn’t just gone the way of DC and said ‘well in a world gone mad, crazy is the new normal character trope’ (I’m looking at you Harley Quinn), but instead their world and its inhabitants accept that aliens, and time-travel, and superheroes are a thing and still strive to retain their humanity and normalcy. Can you imagine how easy it would be to have a Marvel universe that went nuts and ended up like a Mad Max dystopia? It could have happened! But Marvel keeps its characters grounded in their human faith and structure and that’s why I love these movies.

Spider-Man: Far From Home is a classic superhero movie that gives its audience everything it could want. There’s comedy, action, romance, betrayal, emotional growth, wonderful character development, and a whole bunch of treats that will make fans of Sam Raimi’s films giggle and squirm with delight. It’s fantastic!

Director: Jon Watts, 2019

Cast: Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Tony Revolori, Angourie Rice, and Cobie Smulders