As the first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie after “Avengers: Endgame,” Spider-Man: Far From Home” has a lot to live up to and, oh man, does it deliver….. plus a bunch more questions. Before we get into that, let’s start at the beginning. “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is the sequel to 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” FFH is also the last movie in the current MCU Phase 3 of movies — an interesting choice seeing as “Endgame” was so final. But then again, this movie does serve its purpose of solidifying how final the “Endgame” was.
FFH has a lot to answer for in a short amount of time. In its opening, the film does a great job of recapping everything that happened in “Endgame” and how the civilians of the universe are dealing with the post snap, or “blip,” as it’s called by the characters in FFH, while also making sure the movie is still centered around Peter Parker.
Speaking of Peter, in FFH, Tom Holland brings so much to his performance of Peter, someone who’s going through so much who just wants a second to relax and to just be a normal teenager. Following up on “HoCo,” this movie really shines in managing to find the balance between Spider-Man and Peter Parker. After the events of “Infinity War” and “Endgame,” it makes sense that Peter would have some apprehension towards taking the mantle of being a hero, especially when it was given to him by Iron Man, someone who was basically a mentor to him.
Removing the “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” from his neighborhood is an interesting choice but it allows us to spend some time with Peter and his classmates (which, I would like to note, his class has more diversity than the MCU has managed in its other films over the past decade). Some of the best moments of the movie are simply when we get to see Peter, Ned and M.J. interacting. Their dynamic is great as always and it’s so refreshing to see them acting like actual teenagers do.
Zendaya’s performance of M.J. is extremely refreshing to see. As Peter’s love interest, it’s one of the few times I can think of where I’ve seen a teen girl not have to change herself in order to get the attention of the guy. She’s awkward, nervous and brutally honest in some situations but she’s never forced to act a certain way in order to get the attention the guy. Which is a narrative I rarely seen in movies, especially involving women of color.
Another standout character is Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) and while I can’t say too much about him just know, he lives up to his character name of being a mystery and you’ll have a lot to discuss about him by the time the film is over. Speaking of discussion points, FFH ends in the perfect place to close out the arc of the MCU Phase 3, while leaving the universe open for new challenges and stories to take place.
Ultimately, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is an interesting movie that’s sure to leave fans with a lot to talk about while we wait for Marvel to announce what’s next for us in the universe. There’s a lot going on in this movie from the second it starts until the end of the last end credits scene.
