Spider-Man: Far From Home - review

Release Date: July 2, 2019​​​​​​​​​

Really Fun

Two years ago, Spider-Man was rebooted for the third time; his first appearance was in a core MCU movie, allowing for his solo film to bring the character back to its roots. Since then, Spider-Man has had an Oscar-winning animated movie and a best-selling video game, propelling the brand to heights unseen in a decade. Expectations for the sequel were high—not only was it coming after the mega-blockbuster Avengers: Endgame, but it was bringing Mysterio to the big screen for the first time. As the last entry of Phase 3, Spider-Man: Far From Home has the tough job of transitioning the MCU into an era where fans can only speculate what is going to happen next. Even more challenging is the prospect of telling another compelling story grounded in everyday life—the hallmark of any Spider-Man tale.

I went on media blackout for this film since trusting Sony with spoilers is like thinking Facebook will keep your personal information safe. I bring this up only to iterate that some big moments are straight up ruined by being revealed in ad campaigns.

In so many ways, Far From Home is exactly like Homecoming; its structure and ideas are more similar than you might initially notice. Overarching ideas are woven into the very fabric of what makes the story tick, and it becomes unsettling when a Venn diagram comparing the two is almost a circle. 

These repeats of the first movie do have quite a few positives. The critical conflict of having Peter Parker's normal life clash with being a superhero takes center stage. Trying to juggle being a teenager with being the only Avenger abroad takes its toll as Parker has to decide what is more important. Far From Home retains an emotional core while being able to up the ante, making sure that there is enough action to keep viewers satisfied. It's able to focus on relationship issues and hardships while still injecting tons of humor in between, striking the perfect balance. It is the recipe that MCU movies have perfected yet forgotten for any large group movies. 
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However, the retread of material does come along with some baggage as it does not work for all situations.  Trying to have a twist with Mysterio doesn't work the same way the reveal of The Vulture, even though both are supposed to be equally shocking. Having the villain and hero connect also didn't work out well in this instance since there weren't enough scenes of them together. Trying to force their friendship was a mistake due to it being so underdeveloped. 

Overall, Far From Home doesn't have any barriers when it comes to recommending it for theater viewing. There are enough action set pieces audiences have come to expect and plenty of laughs that will keep you entertained. Obviously, if you don't want to see a movie about Spider-Man or superheroes, this won't change your mind. I can say, that Far From Home did pull at my heartstrings a little, but that's because I am very partial to a particular character. I guess I haven't seen many Indies this year because this ended up being one of the best films I've seen this year.

7/10
The neighborhood just got a whole lot bigger