Spider-Man: Far From Home

Writer's Note: This review will feature some spoilers for Avengers: Endgame if you have not seen it.

The big question post-Avengers: Endgame is what is the Marvel Cinematic Universe going to do next?  Spider-Man: Far From Home does not really have many answers, although it does hint at some very intriguing possibilities for those in the audience who sit through the end credits. (And at this point, why wouldn't you sit through the credits of a Marvel Movie?) Instead of big answers, what we get is an extremely fun teenage superhero film that feels like a Spider-Man movie in the truest sense.

This is no big surprise, as ever since Marvel obtained the rights to use the character in their films, they have gone above and beyond to give us a Peter Parker who actually seems like the boy next door, with plenty of sarcastic and pop culture wit.  Not only does the current star, Tom Holland, actually look like he belongs in high school (a first for the series), but adding Spider-Man to the extended Marvel Universe has allowed him to play off some fantastic characters that he couldn't in earlier films due to complicated legal issues.  The almost father-son bond that he built with Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) over the past few films has only strengthened his character, and the films up to now have played upon it beautifully.  Now, with this film, we have to wonder where is this Universe going to go without Stark?

As the film opens, Peter (Holland) and his fellow classmates are dealing with the aftermath of Thanos' snap that almost ended all life, and the effects of returning five years later.  As usual, he is trying to juggle his life as an ordinary high school kid, and protecting his city as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.  However, losing Tony has created a deep void within him, and he sort of wonders about his place as a superhero in this ever-expanding world.  He still wants to do good and appear at charity functions headed by his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), but he's not really interested in having the weight of saving the world on his shoulders at the moment.  Even when Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) starts calling Parker for help with a new threat that may hold most of the planet in balance, Peter is not interested.

Instead, his focus is on an upcoming class trip to Europe, where he hopes to get close to and finally tell his feelings to M.J. (Zendaya).  However, Nick Fury has never exactly been one to take no for an answer, and so he starts rearranging Peter's vacation so that he will have no choice but to help in the battle against a villain who can apparently control all the elements of the world, and use them to create towering monsters made of water and fire.  There is also a new hero on the block, a man dubbed Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) who claims to hail from an alternate Earth, and has come to save ours to prevent what happened to his world from happening to Peter's.  As Peter is dragged unwillingly into battle, he must question just what kind of hero he's going to be, and whether he truly has the potential that Tony saw in him.

Spider-Man: Far From Home does not really rattle the successful formula that has worked so well in the comics and previous films, which juggle massive world-shattering battles, with quiet coming-of-age moments, and a healthy dose of humor.  The action scenes are par for the course with these kind of movies, featuring ferocious otherworld creatures causing destruction on a massive scale.  The fun little twist that this movie adds is that this is all happening in the middle of a school trip, and a lot of the humor comes from the everyday students and teachers being thrown into these cataclysmic events.  Also, Peter must struggle to keep his identity a secret, since he is constantly surrounded by his friends and peers almost every time a new threat pops up.  The movie comes up with a lot of fun ways for Peter to try to distract or lead them away from the danger, and how many of his efforts go wrong.

The human element here is just as strong as the action, as a good part of the film deals with Peter coping with the void that has been created by Tony's death.  There is an obvious connection that he seems to create with Mysterio, who understands his desire to lead a normal life, and the struggle he feels between doing what is right for others, and doing right for himself.  All the other Avengers are M.I.A. at the moment, so Spider-Man seems to be all the world has right now.  But at the same time, he's still technically a kid, and there are times when he will screw up or certain situations are too much to handle.  This movie is just as much about Peter finding his place as a hero and what he will stand for, as it is about saving the world.

But at the same time, this is not a movie that gets bogged down by the hero's personal issues, like the underwhelming and mopey Dark Phoenix.  All the supporting characters get to stand out, such as Peter's class who accompany him on the trip, like his nerdy best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and school bully Flash (Tony Revolori), who hates Peter but ironically idolizes Spider-Man.  There's even a place in the plot for Marvel mainstay Happy (Jon Favreau), who not only provides some much-needed support for our hero, but gets his own funny subplot concerning his attraction to Peter's Aunt May.  Also, when the true identity of the villain is revealed, we not only get a great bad guy, but probably the strongest to appear in a Spider-Man film since Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus all the way back in 2004's Spider-Man 2.

So, while Spider-Man: Far From Home may not be all that massive in the grand scheme of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is a standout title that headlines this particular hero.  It's the kind of fast-paced and humorous thrill ride that the Summer Movie Season is made for, and that we seldom get these days.  Watch it, sit through the end credits, and dream of the possibilities that these expanded films will provide in the future.

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