Spider-Man - Far From Home Movie Review : Bold, Beautiful, and Brilliant !

Story/Premise 

Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man must step up to take on new threats in a world that have changed forever.

Review 

The short and sweet of it is, Far From Home is top tier Spider-Man, superior to all of the web-head's previous outings. The margins are close in some regards, as Homecoming got so much exactly right, but Far From Home brings extras to the table that we've simply not seen before in a Spidey picture. Spider-Man storytelling is at its best when it remembers his greatest arch enemy is actually his everyday life, and representing that in live-action requires not only smart storytelling but also a nuanced awareness by the lead actor. Holland gets it, he knows that even while Spidey is punching and slinging his way through a major battle that could determine the fate of a city, he's still worried and guilt-ridden about missing a date or failing in some ordinary duty to Aunt May, his employers, or his schoolwork. It's the heart and soul of the character, really, and nobody has come close to depicting this aspect of the character as magically as Holland.

Tom Holland is easily the best actor to play Peter Parker. Although he's in his early-twenties now (having played Spider-Man in four previous MCU releases — Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame), Holland still pulls off the high school persona with ease. His Peter Parker makes a lot of mistakes — A LOT — and has to deal with sharp learning curves in both his masked adventures as well as his ordinary teenage life, and Holland brings an earnestness not just to the "learning" moments but also to the character's certainty as he screws things up.

Zendaya gets lots of wonderful character moments and interactions, never really becoming a "damsel in distress" as so many other superhero love interests — including Spidey's, one of the most consistently disappointing aspects of previous films in the web slinger's franchise — and instead of getting to participate headlong in the proceedings. Even when in danger, she is ready to bust some heads (and does) to defend herself and helps divert certain enemies away from the main battle to divide the threats in a more manageable way. She also gets some of the best dialogue and reveals of the story, and authentic reactions to the incredible and absurd events happening around her.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Mysterio, is a combination of grandstanding and heroism, an ally who steps in to offer Peter some mentoring not only on the field of super-battle but also in his regular life. Gyllenhaal has an easy charm that lets him slip into the role Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man played in Peter's life, and it reminds me I once had Gyllenhaal on my own list of best choices to take over as Tony Stark if/when Downey departed the role and it was time to do a soft-reboot with a different younger actor.

The humour quotient is dialled up significantly among the high schoolers, and we get nice deep dive into their personalities and friendships with one another. This is an important element about why Far From Home is so special — the ensemble work is spectacular, on par with Guardians of the Galaxy and Iron Man franchises' ensembles.

The emotional stakes are more resonant and more authentically representative of young love, youthful self-doubt, and adolescent enthusiasm frequently outmatched by adolescent naivety and inexperience.

The action is monster-scale and eye-popping, yet it keeps the characters firmly centred and deftly reminds us of everyone's place within moments of danger and destruction — it is crucial that we maintain awareness of how the action set-pieces impact the world around the superheroes and super-villains, and where the consequences fall (often literally) upon the main characters and even background persons. Few superhero or adventure movies maintain this level of precise attention to detail for action beats, so that every action has an equal and opposite reaction inevitably directly affecting the characters. It's worth seeing the film multiple times just to let yourself keep track of how much the CGI-fest set-pieces build upon setup of character moments and events.

Verdict

The fact Far From Home got an added marketing push via the Avengers: Endgame rerelease and Marvel's drumbeat of "this is the true final chapter in the MCU Infinity Saga," plus the recent underperformance of several high profile summer releases, shows a Healthy future for Spidey's sequel. Spider-Man: Far From Home is everything a Spidey sequel needed to be and more. Bold, beautiful, and brilliant, it is a worthy final chapter to the Infinity Saga.