[THEATER SPECIAL] Movie Review: “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (2019) · 10:57pm Jul 25th, 2019
Hello, folks! Me again, back with another recently-released-movie review!
Today's offering is none other than the finale of Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe...Spider-Man: Far From Home.
[POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD; READ ON AT YOUR OWN PERIL OR IF YOU DON'T CARE]
The film's official synopsis is as follows:
Our friendly neighborhood Super Hero decides to join his best friends Ned, MJ, and the rest of the gang on a European vacation. However, Peter's plan to leave super heroics behind for a few weeks are quickly scrapped when he begrudgingly agrees to help Nick Fury uncover the mystery of several elemental creature attacks, creating havoc across the continent.
I just saw this movie at my local theater today, and I absolutely loved it!
Spider-Man is my favorite Marvel super hero, and I think Tom Holland has done yet another awesome job as Peter Parker. Pete's central conflict in this movie revolves around him trying to figure his life out after the cosmic events of Avengers: Infinity War and its follow-up Avengers: Endgame which saw the death of his mentor, Tony Stark AKA Iron Man. Despite public pressure to take Stark's place in the super hero world, Peter wants nothing more than to enjoy himself with his friends on a high-school trip across Europe. Of course, things go awry for him when he's unwillingly recruited by Nick Fury for a special assignment: aiding an interdimensional warrior named Quentin Beck (given the moniker "Mysterio" following an Italian news broadcast) in stopping a group of destructive monsters called the Elementals from wreaking havoc on our world.
One of the core complaints about the MCU incarnation of Spider-Man is that he feels more like a sidekick hero compared to the more mainstream characters like the Avengers. But personally, I think this film had Parker mature quite nicely. He may not have the same level of confidence as people like Tony Stark or Steve Rodgers, but I think Peter's gonna do alright.
The supporting cast was great as well. Jacob Batalon was great in his role as Ned Leeds, Peter's best friend, and his background romance with another classmate (which ends up breaking-up offscreen by the end of the film) provided a lot of funny moments. I found myself surprised by how much I liked Zendaya's MJ in this movie. There was a big ruckus back when Spider-Man: Homecoming came out about how this version of MJ in no way resembled her comics counterpart, but I actually quite liked her. She's got this kind of faux-pessimistic, almost morbid-sense of humor, but underneath is a legitimately nice and caring person.
But the stand-out for me was Jake Gyllenhaal as Quentin Beck AKA Mysterio. I already gave you a spoiler warning, so here it goes. He's actually the film's main antagonist. Mr. Beck used to work for Stark Industries as a holographic designer, but was fired for being too "unstable". Now, Quentin and a team of ex-Stark employees seek to use their character, Mysterio, to fill the void that Iron Man left behind. The Elementals are actually holograms projected by drones, giving "Mysterio" somebody to fight against to paint himself as a hero.
If you know anything about the comics, you'd probably see this twist coming from a mile away. Mysterio's whole shtick revolves around illusions, making Spider-Man question his surroundings and reality. And once his ruse was discovered, he really lived up to his comic counterpart's reputation as a master illusionist, and he really gives Spidey a tough time in the film's climax, with some of the most incredibly trippy illusions that I've seen on film.
But even though Beck is killed by a misfired shot from a drone in the film's climax, it looks like he will continue to menace Spider-Man even from beyond the grave. In the movie's post credit's scene, an edited recording of their final fight is leaked to the Daily Bugle, a newspaper company run by the Spidey-hating J. Jonah Jameson (played by the great J.K. Simmons, after last playing the character in the famous Sam Raimi Spider-Man Trilogy), showing Spider-Man "killing" Quentin. Not only that, but Peter's secret identity is leaked to the public for all the world to see, setting up the Web Slinger for challenges unseen in any adaptation.
Overall, this was a really great movie, and I highly recommend it. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is still my favorite movie of 2019 so far, but this is an easy runner-up. I'd give it a solid five out of five.
This is Jade Dawn, signing off...for now.
Well here's my opinion of the first post-credits scene: Worst. Film ending. Ever! (Apologies if that sounded too harsh)
5094185
Like, worst in how it was done, or worst because it's a worst-case-scenario?
5094190
As in it's a worse case scenario since it just ruins Peter's life in many aspects.
I haven’t seen this movie yet, really. But, this review you gave here is something that highly encouraged me in doing so.
I definitely hope to see it soon.
5094185
I take it that you hated this film, huh?
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Haven't actually seen it yet, just disliked the ending post-credit scene when I read about it.
5094288
Oh.
I thought the film was good but not great. Won't be getting a spot in my top 10 MCU films. Which is disappointing since Homecoming is currently my 6th favorite MCU film.
Did anyone else think Peter's arc in this film undermined his arc in Homecoming? First he was mature for not rushing into being an Avenger, but now this film paints that same decision as the immature one. I understand everyone would be looking for the next Iron Man but your first go to shouldn't be a high schooler regardless of his relationship with Tony. I feel like this would have been a better fit if this took place during a post-graduation trip rather than Peter still having a year left in high school. Also, Fury wouldn't give a damn about any Accords and would have brought in any others who are in fact available. I mean, were Sam or Wanda really that busy?
As for the mid-credit scene, I can understand how some people have an issue with it. On one hand, it's a fantastic lead-in for Spider-Man 3. On the other, it feels a little cheap bookending Phase 3 with a cliffhanger. Especially one that probably won't be resolved for another 5 years. That's probably why it looked like they just cut out the last 2 minutes of the film and put in the middle of the credits.
5094730
I don't really think it undermines the Homecoming arc. Remember, he was pulled into the Infinity Gauntlet thing on extremely short notice, and then was wiped from existence for five years, and then saw his mentor figure die. Honestly, I think a good deal of Peter's reluctance in this film really stems from just the sheer emotional and psychological weight of everything that happened to him between Infinity War and Endgame. He's still a teenager after all.
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That fact he is still a teenager is why this sort of story for Peter didn't quite work for me, and while the impact of Tony's death is very much felt throughout the film Peter's desire to just be on a regular vacation with his friends I felt was perfectly in line with where Peter was as a character at the end of Homecoming rather than from any sort of anxieties born from the events of Infinity War.