Review: SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME is a fleeting summer blast

The following review discusses minor plot points for Spider-Man: Far From Home.

It’s a great time to be a Spider-Man fan. After a pair of largely forgettable films a few years back starting Andrew Garfield, 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming brought the character back to his roots as a geeky and awkward teen simply trying to navigate his way through high school, while also learning to hone his newfound abilities and contend with a villain that also happened to be the father of his would-be girlfriend. With fan-favourite appearances in recent MCU films like Avenges: Endgame, the visually dazzling animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse film, and the incredible recent Spider-Man video game, Spider-Man is arguably bigger in the mainstream consciousness than ever before, which is the perfect setup for Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Director Jon Watts returns to helm this sequel, which also marks the first MCU film to take place following the earth-shaking events of Endgame. Following the “blip,” where half the world’s population vanished for five years (to them at least – the “blip” barely registered to those left untouched), Far From Home comically addresses how that drastic event affects the students at Peter Parker’s high school. A shy nerd suddenly becomes a hunk in the blink of an eye, and the entire school is forced to come to terms with a very different student body (physically and emotionally). And what better time-honoured way is there to bond students than an international field trip?

At first, the thought of removing Peter Parker from the streets of NYC feels like a major misstep. To dredge up a well-worn cliché, New York City is basically another character in the Spider-Man universe — the sights, sounds, and very vocal citizens are what makes Spider-Man who he is, which makes the move to base this film in Europe a bit suspect. Thankfully, Far From Home loses none of the charm of Homecoming — if anything, forcing Peter and his classmates and teachers into closer proximity allows for some great chemistry and some truly comic sequences.

Far From Home works best when we have time to just sit with these characters. Tom Holland is easily the best personification of Peter Parker ever put to screen — he portrays the character with a contagious sense of wonder and excitement, but still remains a confused kid trying to navigate the treacherous waters of high school. His awkward exchanges with his love interest MJ (the endlessly watchable Zendaya) come straight out of the John Hughes handbook, and the filmmakers are smart enough to let his friend group all get their time in the spotlight as well, from his loyal pal Ned (Jacob Batalon), to the hilariously smarmy Flash (Tony Revolori). Even the teachers get to shine, with the incredible comic duo of Martin Starr and J.B. Smoove getting many of the best lines in the movie. There’s also the return of the amazing (and apparently ageless) Marisa Tomei as Peter’s Aunt May, and Jon Favreau as Happy, playing a sort of protégé figure to Peter (while keeping a watchful eye on his aunt as well).

Unfortunately, the plot has to kick in at some point, and the movie is immediately less interesting whenever the actual plot machinations or action scenes kick in. In this go around, Peter is contacted by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) of SHIELD, who are looking for Spider-Man’s help to combat a series of powerful forces that are set to wreck havoc to the globe. They’ve been alerted to the danger by Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), a dome-sporting hero from another version of Earth who has come to battle the dangerous elemental forces. Described by Italian news reports as “mysterious” (“Mysterio”), Beck teams up with Spider-Man during his high school trip to save the world, while Peter is still trying to find a way to woo MJ during their upcoming stop in Paris.

This is one MCU movie where long-time comic book fans have a distinct advantage going in. Without getting into spoilers, Mysterio has been a major character in the Spider-Man universe since the early 1960’s, so his appearance in the film will ring differently for those of us aware of his backstory. While the action beats of the film in the first half are fairly uninspired, there is actually a reason for that, in a fun reveal that turns the movie on its head in an unexpected way (though many comic fans will have seen this coming much earlier).

If there is any real problem with Far From Home, it’s simply one of stakes — we’ve become so used to universe-altering battles in films like Endgame, that a fun teen comedy about Peter Parker and his friends romping through European cities can’t help but feel inconsequential by comparison. After a 20+ film buildup, Endgame really felt like the final chapter of a major part of the MCU, and even though Far From Home deals with some of the outcome of the Thanos snap, it never has the sort of gravitas of the recent MCU entries (and was probably never meant to).

Those looking for a fun and action-filled summer movie without the massive scope and intensity of most recent superhero movies should have a blast with Far From Home. It’s an incredibly entertaining sequel filled with endearing performances, and even manages to work in a timely plot about the dangers of “fake news.” In fact, nearly everything about the movie works, yet it still manages to feel slightly disposable in some way — this might be the first MCU movie that doesn’t feel like it’s actually advancing any sort of overarching storyline, which by extension somehow makes it feel less “important” (see: any of the Ant-Man movies). Far From Home is simply a great time at the movies, and sometimes that can be enough.