‘Spider-Man Far From Home’ A Fun Follow-Up to ‘Endgame’

With a film that is such a huge moment for Marvel as Endgame, you would think Marvel would take a long break from releasing films just to ease their audience. With Spider-Man Far From Home out a mere two months after Endgame, that’s certainly not the case, as we get to see the Web Slinger again in another Solo outing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Far From Home has a lot to live up to being shortly after Comic Book movie game changers like Spider-Verse and Endgame¸ however for the most part, it does succeed in that department. Far From Home may start out a bit standard but as the film progresses, it ends up becoming a great film and an excellent addition to Spider Man’s ever growing rooster of solid movies.

Solid Start but Soars after a Certain Point

Far From Home focuses on Peter Parker, who after being a part of an intense war, wants to kick back and relax on an upcoming Vacation with his classmates. Things take a turn when Nick Fury is summoning him to figure out a new threat coming to Earth, so Parker has to struggle with managing being Spider-Man all while trying to have the perfect vacation. The plot has a decent set up, and in the first half of the film, it is enjoyable. It doesn’t do anything truly outstanding within the first half hour because it’s mostly trying to be entertaining, especially after such a dramatic Marvel film like Endgame. The downside is, some moments of comedy and character moments don’t mesh up as well in the first half, with the writing not so much falling flat, but not landing as hard as it could have been when it comes to a story and character standpoint. That is, during the first half of the film, once the second half of the film occurs, not only does it pick up big time, it becomes down right great! At a certain point, when a major reveal happens, the film gets more intriguing and also a bit deeper when it comes to characters as we get a better sense of the threat that occurs in Far From Home. Plus, we see more growth with how these characters are handling their situations along with maintaining their relationships, in a ton of very clever ways. It becomes more so a film about living up to one’s potential and showing that in this film with Spider Man and the events that happened in Endgame made it flow very well and was incredibly fitting to the character. Also much like the previous Homecoming, this new Spider-Man movie doesn’t try to be like the original films but instead its own thing and does it in a solid execution. It’s hard to reveal much of the good elements of the plot without spoiling too much, but rest assure that Far From Home takes a while to get great but when it does it becomes one of the best Spider Man movies out there.

Parker and Friends Make for Fun Characters

Far From Home does elevate in plot in the second half, but it is due to a good cast of characters we see grow in this sequel. Tom Holland as Spider-Man is a good representation of the character being both different yet also true to the original character. We see Parker in this film trying to live up to the potential that so many of the other Avengers had to offer, and it’s a struggle that is portrayed in a more realistic fashion. We see his confidence grow even through all the various moments that we might be lead to believe that he has given up, with some solid writing and acting; the character was made more believable. The rest of the cast serves their purpose pretty well, as a lot of them are mostly comedic relief that tend to have some jokes that hit or miss. The highlights of the side characters are Nick Fury who is fun like always and Zendaya is also very entertaining as MJ being a decent new take on Spider Man’s love interest. By far the best character in this movie is Mysterio played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Of course as expected Gyllenhaal gives a phenomenal performance as this character being believable in every scene he’s in. His character is also very well written, even though it might be obvious on what this character will end up being if you know anything about the character, the motivations and techniques behind his methods more than make up for it. His sequences end up being one of the highlights of the film with great action set pieces and even add to Spider Man character in terms of development.  Mysterio is fantastic addition of the Spider-Man cast of characters for his impact on the actual story and characters of the film. Much like the best Spider-Man movies, its characters really make this iconic Comic Book characters come to life.

Mysterio Brings Visual Flare

A Marvel Production, especially one centered on Spider-Man is bound to have some great visuals from a technical standpoint. During the first half, the look of the film is pretty standard with CGI that is pretty serviceable. Nothing true out of the ordinary for Marvel, but yet once the second half comes in, we somehow get more of an explanation for Far From Home’s seemingly standard effects. Without giving away too much, if you feel like the effects aren’t as good in this movie compared to other Marvel movie, Mysterio himself gives an explanation for the effects and done in a clever way. What elevates this movie from a technical level more so are the action sequences which this film delivers plenty of and all in creative ways. Most particular an outstanding action sequence involving Mysterio which not only looks unique and creative but dives into the psychology of the characters in a way that makes this action scene all the more interesting. It all concludes to a great action packed finale that while not as great as the Mysterio Mind Sequence, is still a solid way to end the movie. It’s no Endgame when it comes to scale, but in terms of the first Marvel film after Endgame, this was a good follow up towards that film on a technical standpoint.

Enjoyable and Strives to be Mostly That

Spider-Man Far From Home is a fun entertaining movie. Certainly isn’t one of the best films from Marvel, but it is elevated through a lot of great moments and a very strong second half. Coming off of Spider-Verse and Endgame, this might feel like a weaker film, however it’s not trying to be those movies. It’s another feature film that adapts Spider-Man in a unique creative way; it does have some faults and filler, but improves much more as it goes along to one of the most entertaining Spider-Man movies in recent memory. For a character as over used as the Web Slinger Hero is, Far From Home is a refreshing adventure for comic book and Spider-Man fans alike.