After recovering from the effects of Avengers: Endgame it seems things have changed but I’m still not 100% certain if it’s for the better. This whole new multi-verse we’ve been introduced is obvious cash-cow milk and who could blame them? However, I’m still not sold on if Far From Home was the right introduction to this new MCU it should have been.
Whilst Spider-Man: Far from Home provides the same energy, witty one-liners and personality that made Homecoming a success, something seems missing. The film plays out like a National Lampoon’s Spiderman vacation. Am I just failing to adjust to a post-Iron Man world? Or is this just a film that isn’t all that good in comparison to previous movies before it? Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great movie but something just doesn’t quite sit right.
Grieving over Iron Man’s death Peter Parker is trying to live a normal life and is taken on a school trip exploring various cities around the world. It’s here that terror follows as new foes (known as the elementals) are taking over and a new superhero named Mysterio is here to save the day. But all is not as it seems.
Not much more can be disclosed about what transpires with Jake Gyllenhaal’s ‘Mysterio’ character without ruining the entire film but it’s an interesting angle. It’s just that this character isn’t really fleshed out which is a shame as Gyllenhaal is once again a limelight stealer in this flick. Sadly, he really doesn’t have much character depth to deal with and the character is sadly one of Marvel’s weakest additions.
Whilst there is emotional depth between sub-characters such as Happy and Aunt May. It’s Peter’s school-boy crush of Mary Jane that comes full circle in Far From Home. But even so, these storylines still take a backseat to more CGI mayhem. It all seems very copy and paste and whilst the magic isn’t wearing off just yet, it does feel very same old, same old.
Zendaya drops deadpan lines throughout and some reviews were praising her performance. Her face doesn’t really change the entire film so there really isn’t much effort involved there. But she still somehow manages to bring a smile to my face. She heavily reminded me of that one person you get in a workplace who does nothing all day and gets all the praise.
Tom Holland once again is at his charming best. Without him, my god, it would have been a poor movie!
Stay tuned until the end-credits (both of them) as things are about to go off big time next time around.
Review by Sean Evans
Our Rating
Summary
A bit slack here and there but it had a heavy weight to carry. Sadly Spiderman: Far From Home becomes a National Lampoons type flick with a Spiderman twist. Whilst it isn’t terrible, far from (excuse the pun) there may be ever so small signs starting to show of franchise fatigue.
