Spider-Man: Far From Home

In 2017, Spider-Man: Homecoming showed us what a Spider-Man movie would look like within the confines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Previously, all Spider-Man films had existed in their own self-contained series, devoid of any Avengers, Defenders, Guardians, or S.H.I.E.L.D. When Marvel Studios struck a deal with Sony Pictures (who owns the filmmaking rights to Spider-Man and all closely related characters), the two media giants collaborated to bring the beloved webhead into everyone's favorite superhero movie franchise. What we got was a lovely, quaint, personal, and superbly entertaining MCU story told from the ground level: the Marvel world of heroes, as seen by a high school kid living a dual life after he has his own superpowers thrust upon him. It was charming, funny, and made the the massive MCU seem smaller, in the best way. Despite major influences from the other entries and characters, its story was quite insulated, with minimal effect or implication for the MCU as a whole, and that made for a refreshing and fitting change of pace.

With this summer's Spider-Man: Far From Home, Marvel and returning director Jon Watts find themselves with essentially the opposite responsibility: to move the MCU forward in the wake of the massive cultural and box-office phenomenon that was Avengers: Endgame, which rocked the world to the tune of $1.22 billion in its international opening weekend a mere ten weeks ago. Endgame left us with some time-jumping, saga-ending, mantle-passing, favorite-character-killing consequences, and Far From Home gets to bear the weight of billions of fans' eager questions, hopes, and concerns about where the franchise will go from here. That's a tall order for our little Webhead. Fortunately, Watts and his cast and crew⁠—presumably with the guidance of Marvel Studios president (and our superhero movie overlord) Kevin Feige⁠—do a pretty impressive job carrying the consequences of Endgame and telling a charming Spider-Man story, along with its own set of fun and intriguing surprises, all while barely breaking stride.

We catch up with Peter Parker (Tom Holland, as goofy and dorky as ever) a matter of months after the resolution of Endgame, with the entire world being restored to relative order after the Avengers reversed the Mad Titan Thanos' snap that wiped out half the population of the entire universe. That being said, five years had already passed between Thanos' destructive snap and the Avengers' restorative one, and as such, some of the world has aged, changed, and/or moved on, while others have been returned just as they were five years prior. Far From Home plays this dynamic fairly tongue-in-cheek, which may be unsatisfactory for some fans hoping for deeper or more somber anthropological investigation into the consequences of what civilians in Far From Home casually refer to as "The Blip," but the nonchalant, laugh-it-off nature is fitting for the tone of the Spider-Man films and the hair-brained high schoolers that inhabit them. Jokes are made about some students aging but refusing to move on from their younger, blipped classmates, and badly edited tributes to the fallen heroes from Endgame make up the content of the high school's student news program. And let's be honest, we will probably be hearing about the Snap (or the "Blip," or the "Decimation," or whatever) in other MCU movies for a couple more years; we can stand to have some fun with it.

Peter and his classmates from Homecoming (all of whom were snapped along with him) depart on a school trip to Europe, with plans to hit Venice, Paris, and other locations. Peter has his own plan, of course, to woo his cynical and counter-cultural crush Michelle (Zendaya), now known as MJ, during the trip. Everything Peter envisioned about the trip quickly derails when his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) ditches wingman duty to "fall in love" with a fellow classmate and his bumbling teacher Mr. Harrington (Martin Starr) inadvertently creates obstacles between Peter and his love interest. Teenage laughs abound, at times on-par with the perfectly pitched Homecoming, and at other times falling a bit short as Far From Home tries to maintain perhaps a few too many (and not funny enough) recurring gags, like Ned's newfound "relationship."

Things get even hairier when Peter arrives in Venice and former S.H.I.E.L.D. director and MCU constant Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) "hijacks" Peter's vacation to enlist him for a heavy-duty, globe-trotting superhero mission. Fury introduces Peter to Quentin Beck, a superhero from another dimension who was incidentally brought into their world by a dimensional rift caused by the Snap. Beck informs Peter that his own world was destroyed by giant monsters called Elementals (each being composed of fire, air, water, or earth), and they have been transported along with him to Peter's world. Peter is reluctant to help, as he was desperately hoping the European trip would be his much-needed vacation from superhero-ing.

It's not quite as selfish and juvenile as it sounds; writers Chris McKenna and Eric Summers do an impressive job articulating Peter's insecurities about living up to the legacy of his late mentor Tony Stark, and based on his often red, puffy eyes and exhausted expressions, it's clearly been weighing on the kid. (But hey, what is Peter Parker if not stressed out?) This ends up being the operative theme at the center of Far From Home. How is a 16-year-old kid supposed to not only find himself, but protect his world, when his superhero guide is no longer there, and can he fill the shoes (or high-tech glasses) that guide left for him?

One might find Far From Home's light tone and breezy pace jarring after Endgame forced to sit and watch the Avengers mope and cry about death and purpose for the first of its whopping three hours, but it will behoove viewers to separate the two experiences and take this film on its own terms. Far From Home has its share of more somber moments, as Peter reflects on the legacy left to him and tries to find his new purpose in a new world, but largely, this is a fun and charming Marvel adventure. It has more in common with the Ant-Man films and Thor: Ragnarok than it does with Infinity War or Endgame, so keep that in mind. I even found myself unsure of Far From Home's levity and ease until I realized it was trying to set up for a more interesting and surprising second half.

Far From Home brings the Spidey action in droves, which is something some fans found Homecoming to be lacking; personally, I didn't think Homecoming suffered for any lack of classic Spider-Man staples like swinging from skyscrapers or beating up armies of thugs, but if you missed that, there's plenty of high-flying acrobatics and creatively choreographed Spider-Man fight sequences here. Unfortunately, Watts' subtle indie leanings from Homecoming further dissipate into the franchise blockbuster aesthetic in this sequel; I miss the poppy color-coordination, clever lighting, and interesting camera moves in the quieter moments of that film. That said, while the down-to-earth scenes are shot and staged with less creative flair than the first film, the action sequences are presented with much more zip, clarity, and a lot of exciting, roller-coastery camera work. At times, things can feel a little bit weightless and devoid of impact, but for the most part, it's exhilirating to see Spider-Man do his thing and be right in the action with him.

The fact that Far From Home achieves all it does without completely falling apart is almost as impressive as Endgame doing the same, especially given the major down-scaling in scope and stakes from Endgame to this Spider-Man. The world-ending Elemental threat is a tad dry and tedious, but it gives way to a much more personal and meaningful conflict for Peter, and ends up rightfully on the backburner by the halfway point anyhow. Jake Gyllenhaal is a lot of fun as Beck, who becomes known to the world as "Mysterio" after he stops an Elemental from destroying Venice. Gyllenhaal gets to flex some of his campy, goofy lunacy as Beck's idiosyncrasies are exposed throughout the film; it's honestly a bit reminiscent of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man villains. Beck serves as a new rock that Peter can put his trust in, and the two share a few tender moments, bolstered by great actor chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Holland.

Due to the many moving parts and extensive cleanup that Far From Home is tasked with, its script and themes don't feel as tightly woven as Homecoming, which is why I think it is a slightly inferior follow-up. That said, it isn't a major downgrade, and it brings enough new to the table to excite and entertain, and hits you with some zingers toward the end, to make it a worthy sequel and fit it solidly in the upper-half of the MCU. Holland has recently said he's happy to play Spider-Man pretty much forever, so I'm of the opinion that if they keep him around (no more reboots, please), Marvel Studios and Watts will only continue to refine and improve upon the best cinematic iteration of the character. The Wall-Crawler is in good hands.