"Spider-Man: Far from Home" is a Solid, Breezy Palate Cleanser With a Terrific Tom Holland

By: Keaton Marcus

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75/100 “sweet”

Teen romance, buddy comedy, silliness, and of course...lot's of carefree superhero action, "Spider-Man: Far From Home" is the perfect palate cleanser after the "Endgame" era. Sure, occasionally, this super sequel falls into CG overkill, but it happens to the best of Marvel films, and while that's no excuse to sometimes chaotic action sequences, the number of flaws never match the overwhelming feeling of entertainment throughout the film. Brit Tom Holland brings buckets of good humor and winning chemistry with actor Jake Gyllenhaal which both bring another compelling screen pair to watch. The villains, plot, and special effects are all top-notch, and the issues only occasionally keep this live-action Spidey film from swinging solidly high. It may not be nearly as good as last year's animated feature "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" which received an Oscar, but it matches up to many of its predecessors and claims another successful production for the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the joyful achievement that is the film.

The film opens with a hilarious, comedic memoriam of the deaths in "Endgame", including Black Widow, Captain America, and of course Iron Man. The clip tells the story of how the dubbed "Blip" (the disappearance of half the universe) has changed Midtown High with a terrific sense of signature "Homecoming" type humor. Following, the plot zooms back on Peter, who's excited to go on the school's end-of-year trip to Venice, Italy (hello, set pieces!), and leave the web-slinging behind him (especially after Tony's death), and confess his feelings to MJ (a wonderful Zendaya) in the duration. Then, at the hotel, Nick Fury (another charismatic performance by Samuel L. Jackson) hijacks their trip and drags Peter once again to a superhero adventure. This time, its to contend relentless creatures dubbed the "Elementals", that form with Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. Doing so with Gyllenhaal starred Mysterio, another superhuman from a different planet Earth. Mysterio turns out to be another instant fatherly figure in his life... but for how long? While he's no Iron Man, its all Peter has in the film after the tragic death of his mentor.

While the entire cast, leading and supporting, does a superb job, Tom Holland shines once again as the famed web-slinger. What "Homecoming" misses that "Far From Home" has are romantic comedy type elements and many hilarious shenanigans to try and get close to Peter's new crush, MJ. Also, as mentioned, Holland has terrific chemistry with the surrounding cast, especially Gyllenhaal, while bringing laughs, and another energetic outing amidst the fantastic visuals. The actor is 23 and has always been the ideal image of Peter/Spider-Man, and he outpaces both Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield in wit, emotion, and giggles, creating the best Spidey yet--on the inside and out. While this new outing isn't better or worse than the previous film, generally because of the massive time spent in the Elemental-action sequences--it still brings many things to the table, more romance, and buddy comedy with Nick Fury, Ned, and newcomer Mr. Beck.

Declared before, the aiding piece of the cast is more than enough to take the leading role. First and foremost was a delightful newcomer performance by Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio, who brings wit, humor, and lots of compelling pathos with a side of winning chemistry, despite missing the mark as the new Iron Man. Samuel L. Jackson also gets his share of screen time as Nick Fury after the lack of it in "Avengers: Endgame", and a delightful character plot, to hijack a teen's school trip. Ned also gets an instant girlfriend on the duration of the flight, Betty, and the pair have great chemistry, posing as an old married couple of sorts. Despite the lacking of a cameo by Stan Lee, we still have a surprise cameo by J.K. Simmons in a shocking post-credit scene, again at the Daily Bugle--look on Keaton's the Surprising News Page to see more about the terrifying, and interesting post-credit sequence.

Director Jon Watts returns after the small-scale "Spider-Man: Homecoming", this time providing more big action, than small scale friendly neighborhood crime. The scenes with the Elementals are often exhilarating, but they also tend to be overcrowded, CG overkill that's rarely the right decision for easing fans into Phase 4 Marvel. Comparing it to another palate cleanser of sorts, "Ant-Man and the Wasp", there was never the need for big-budget, massive action in the film. What "Far From Home" needed to be was a friendly, but fun action flick--and it decided to go bold. Still their technical marvels, and that's not what keeps the film on board, Holland and the remainder of the cast keep audiences invested. Again, there's lots of good-natured humor, and actually some distinct emotion in the post-"Endgame" world. The performances, laughs and brilliant romantic shenanigans keep the world watching on what the MCU does next.

The final verdict is: The big action sequences and occasional CG overkill keep "Far From Home" from its best self, but this Spidey picture delivers wonderful teen romance, plenty of laughs, and another winning performance by British actor Tom Holland to save the day (enough) to make a breezy MCU palate cleanser...$PLURGE IT

By: Keaton Marcus

Box Office Info:

Opening Weekend: 92.5m

Domestic Total: 390.5m

Worldwide Total: 1.131 billion

Related Films:

Spider-Man: Homecoming, 80/100 “sweet”

Captain Marvel, 75/100 “sweet”

Avengers: Endgame, 85/100 “sweet”