Grade: A-
I have always been a big Spider-Man fan. I have seen all of the movies and played a good amount of the video games. Most recently, Spider-Man PS4, of which I 100%ed because it was so good and engaging!!! Spidey’s clumsy, awkward, and funny antics have consistently entertained me over the years and I just can’t get enough. Out of all the superheroes, Spidey just speaks to me the most. Not because I am clumsy and awkward myself, but I feel he connects with most people and easily relates to most normal people in reality. Instead of killing his enemies, Spidey prefers to teach them a lesson in hopes that his enemies defect from their evil-doing ways.
Two years after 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” moviegoers are once again treated to another web-slinging adventure with Spider-man in “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” Hot off the heels of the mega box office smashing “Avengers: Endgame,” “Spider-Man: Far From Home” takes us on Peter Parker’s two-hour and nine minute high school European vacation to web-sling us into the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (I try to avoid spoilers as much as I can so, if you have not seen Endgame, fair warning, you might want to stop reading until you see Endgame.) During Peter’s vacation, Tony Stark’s absence weighs heavily on Peter and he must find Iron Man’s protege to become the next hero. While in Italy, Mysterio (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) shows up and warns Peter (played by Tom Holland) of the threat called “The Elementals.” Mysterio joins forces with Spider-Man to defeat the last Elemental remaining, The Fire Elemental. Unbeknownst to Peter/Spider-Man, Mysterio has an ulterior motive to become the world’s most famous hero. In order to pull off such a feat, Mysterio tricks the world with his many projector drones to literally put on a show for the world. The drones that Mysterio uses not only display a virtual image, but can also fire powerful guns that wreak havoc on their targets. Mysterio then has the ability to blur the lines of reality and make himself appear as a hero to the world as he “films” choreographed fighting scenes with the Elementals. In “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” Spidey’s main task is to figure out the truth about Mysterio and save the world from a false hero determined to make a name for himself.
“Spider-Man: Far From Home” is not so much of a superhero movie but more of a teenage romantic comedy. That being said, there is still PLENTY of action to go around and probably enough explosions throughout the movie to make Michael Bay giddy. Peter is still trying to get with his crush Mary Jane (played by Zendaya) and tell her how he really feels about her. Peter has a romantic plan in place but his plan quickly gets derailed because of the problems that arise in Europe. Peter and MJ’s relationship is adorable and it brings back the feelings of your earliest crush as a kid.
All of the performances within Spidey’s latest adventure are well done. Tom Holland, to me, is the perfect Spider-Man. Holland has great chemistry with Zendaya and they both deliver a very believable performance. Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio was great too. Gyllenhaal’s portrayal of a two-faced villain helped craft a story filled with surprises. Peter Parker’s classmates also gave performances that kept you laughing for the majority of the movie. Jacob Batalon nearly steals the show with his performance of Ned Leeds, Peter’s closest friend, and is the only one of his friends who knows that Peter is Spidey.
It goes without saying, but “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is very CGI heavy. Mysterio’s projector drones shoot up / blow up / destroy a good chunk of Europe, including the beautiful Venice, Italy. The explosions are realistic looking and each of the hundreds (or thousands) of drones are incredibly detailed down to the scuff marks and dents. The CGI is done so well, Venice really does look like a war zone after an epic fight with Mysterio, Peter, and the Water Elemental.
I experienced “Spider-Man: Far From Home” with the sterling Dolby Cinema theater and I highly recommend that you do the same. The hard hitting loud sound system during the projector drones’ explosions was exhilarating! The stunningly crystal clear 4K screen made the various colors around Europe vividly pop to help give you a visual tour of Europe. You really feel as if you are along for the European vacation with Spidey!
The only real complaint I had with “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is that for a majority of the movie, Peter does not dawn the cool Spider-Man suit. Peter does most of his job in his plain clothes or a sort of “makeshift” suit given to him that barely resembles Spider-Man. In the grand scheme of things, it is a very minor issue, but I was expecting Peter to dawn the iconic suit for a longer period of time.
“Spider-Man: Far From Home” is not a perfect movie, but it is incredibly fun. Go web-sling around town rounding up your closest friends and experience one of the most entertaining movies of the summer! Also, be sure to stay all the way through the credits to see one of the most shocking end-credit scenes to date!