If you're still overwhelmed and crying from "Avengers: Endgame" don't worry because Marvel is always here to swing-in and brighten our day with everyone's favorite friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. On Tuesday "Spider-Man: Far From Home" dropped for the long holiday weekend and I'm here to tell you it keeps up the excellence!
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| wired.com |
Don't worry, I won't add any spoilers to this article so you're safe!
Let's get this out of the way now, after being in 3 non-Spider movies (Avengers 3 + 4 and Captain America: Civil War) and his first solo adventure, Homecoming, Tom Holland has firmly cemented himself as the best live-action Spider-Man. Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, and director Jon Watts with help of excellent writing, have shaped such a perfect Spider-Man franchise; blending the coming-of-age elements of Peter in high school trying to live a normal life but the responsibilities of being a superhero in such a vast MCU world. Watts not only continues to excel at telling a modern John Hughes-esque tale but brings extra flavor to the action sequences, stepping up his game from Homecoming.
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| Hypebeast.com |
This time around Peter and his classmates go on a summer science trip abroad in Europe and of course, trouble ensues. Not only does Peter have a goal on his trip but he's faced with the question of "will he be the next Iron Man?" and can he even live up to Tony Stark's legacy. Pressure that is put on him by the media, Nick Fury, and most of all - himself.
Believe it or not, this is the first Spider-Man flick to not have Spider-man primarily in New York and it is very refreshing. Although I was hoping after the Homecoming cliffhanger that we'd see more of Peter and (hot) Aunt May's relationship; and while we get good scenes between them, I continue to hope for more Marisa Tomei in the 3rd installment since her and Holland are so good together (plus aspiring Uncle Happy Hogan). As for Peter's classmates, they continue to be hilarious and a fun supporting cast to root for. Best friend and 'guy in the chair,' Ned (Jacob Batalon) doesn't get as much to do this time around but his running joke killed me. Teachers and Chaperones played by Martin Starr and JB Smoove were unexpected scene-stealers, although eventually become a little too one-note.
Most importantly, every Peter Parker needs a dynamic love interest and Zendaya's MJ steps up to the plate in "Far From Home." She sheds the unlikable persona portrayed in Homecoming and really takes advantage of a more fleshed out and refreshing MJ than from the comics. While her backstory still needs to be visited in the Spidey 3, if you know the background of MJ in the comics, you can logically guess why she acts as reserved and social justice-esque (for lack of a better word) as she does. Her chemistry with Peter is a major success in this movie and Peter's sub-plot "plan" throughout is literally me when I like a girl.
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| washingtonpost.com |
As for Jake Gyllenhaal's Quinten Beck, aka Mysterio, all I'll say to keep it spoiler-free is he is not only one of Marvel's better villains but as expected, excellent. Gyllenhaal is one of Hollywood's Top 5 Actors after all so getting him for this movie is astounding. The way they created some of his...actions, were really cool, well done, and dare I say unique to the genre. And by God, we get the fishbowl helmet!!! Anything past this is a spoiler.
I kept this last on purpose; as it relates to "Endgame," this film explains the basic mentality and state of the MCU post-snap and 5 year jump. It does not go super in-depth but it gives you a solid idea of where the Earth is at. Much like "Ant-Man and the Wasp" was the pallet cleanser after "Infinity War," that is what "Far from Home" is to "Endgame" and for the MCU as a whole, this closes out phase three and the Infinity Saga as a whole. Side-note, there's probably no creative cross-over, this had a lot of shades of the outstanding PS4 game from 2018. While on first-viewing, I don't like this quite as much as "Homecoming" (a perennial top 5 MCU movie) or the already legendary "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse", I still love "Far From Home" and couldn't recommend it highly enough!
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| just because it's so cool |
PS - stay for both post-credit scenes! The 1st will change the whole outlook of the movie and leave a stressful cliff hanger. And the 2nd acts as a gateway into the future of the MCU. Both of these are BIG.
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