Spider-Man: Far from Home – Mr T’s take
A teenage romcom masquerading as a superhero movie. This Spider-Man: Far from Home review is brought to you by AboutFlick’s Mr T.
Director: Jon Watts
Review: If you are going to watch Spider-Man: Far from Home, then I guess it’s a pretty safe bet to assume that you have seen Avengers: Endgame. MCU’s Phase three concludes with Spider-Man: Far from Home which deals with Peter Parker grappling with the events of Endgame. He struggles with the fact that he is the one of the few remaining superheroes left to defend the world while vying for the affections of MJ portrayed by Zendaya. He goes on a high school class trip to Europe just to feel like a teenager again, but just like in the comics, trouble always seeks out our favourite wall-crawler.
In my opinion, Tom Holland was born to play Spiderman just like Robert Downey Jr was born to play Iron Man, and in some ways, I think Holland’s version is even superior to Tobey Maguire’s take on the character. Peter’s crush is played by Zendaya who is captivating as a sardonic young girl named MJ. The supporting roles from Homecoming are reprised by Jacob Batalon, Angourie Rice, and Tony Revolori here as well and add much needed humor to the story. Marissa Tomei finding ways to embarrass Peter will remind the audience of their own mother. And Samuel Jackson trying to get remind Peter that ‘with great power, comes great responsibility’ is sure to conjure up memories of that one teacher who always thought you could do better in high school. But this isn’t Velvet Buzzsaw or Nightcrawler and Jake Gyllenhaal doesn’t have a lot of material to work with, but yet any chance I get to watch an actor of his calbre is a treat for me, so I’m not complaining.
The problem with Spider-Man: Far from Home isn’t its acting or pacing, but the fact that it is two movies rolled into one. It is a delightful teenage romcom constrained by the familiar storytelling of a superhero movie. In some parts, it is brilliant. Particularly the interactions between Peter and his best mate Ned are quite funny. But in the third act of the movie, it completely falls flat. There is a twist, which is quite obvious for comic book readers and the CGI battle sequences feel overused, generic and artificial.
Finally, what I can say is, superhero fatigue is real, guys. And even the mighty MCU isn’t immune to it. I guess we’ll have to see how they find ways to raise the stakes and yet keep the storytelling fresh. And if the mid-credits scene is any indication, then I think we are not going to be too disappointed going into phase 4.
Rating: My rating for Spider-Man: Far from Home is 3/5.
Who is this film for: For MCU fans, Spider-Man: Far from Home is mandatory viewing. Also check out Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spiderman: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).