Spider-Man Far From Home: Most Marvel To Ever Marvel

In a roundabout way, ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ is the most Marvely Marvel film yet produced. It has to prove that the franchise can pull off an equivalent sequel to an impactful first movie like ‘Iron Man 2,’ it has to boost every element of the previous entry like ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ it has to balance production notes from two separate studios like both ‘The Incredible Hulk’ and ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming,’ and it has to contend with the main conceit of its villain being blatantly given away like ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier.’ Which makes sense because it has the misfortune of being the immediate follow up ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ which so threatened to transcend the medium itself that it’s now being re-released in theaters with additional but unnecessary footage. If that’s not the movie studio equivalent of a victory lap, I don’t know what is. Suffice it to say, the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is pretty much riding on ‘Far From Home.’ And having seen it, I can confirm that if the future of the MCU looks anything like this, then it will be, at the very least, entertaining.

Following the sudden resurrection of half the world after a five-year disappearance, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and his high school science club decide that a summer trip to Europe is what everyone needs to unwind from the chaos. Peter in particular is looking forward to a break from shouldering everyone’s expectations that he fill the Tony Stark-shaped hole in the world. However, his vacation and attempts to woo MJ (Zendaya) are interrupted by the emergence of a series of giant elemental creatures that are openly attacking the public. Despite doing his best to avoid playing the hero on his time off, Peter is conscripted by Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to fight them alongside Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), an inter-dimensional wizard hero whose homeworld was destroyed by the elementals. Or so he claims. As the elementals lead them on a tour of Europe, Peter not only has to balance the weight of responsibility passed to him by Tony, decide how much of his life to devote to being Spider-Man, and manage the tumultuous relationships of high school, but he also has to figure out just what the heck is happening between his Aunt May (Marissa Tomei) and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau).

All of that is interspaced with an appropriate amount of action and comedy sequences in such a way that it makes this possibly the best paced Marvel movie to date. Everything moves and flows with just enough speed for it to be enjoyed without overstaying its welcome. And even when things do stay a hair too long, like the adorkable romantic moments between Peter and MJ, it only adds to the teenage awkwardness of the scene. This is boosted by the cinematography. ‘Far From Home’ was directed by Jon Watts, who’s previous credits include lots of music videos and the Onion New Network segments. He knows how to shoot people in conversation and his control of scenes where characters are talking and advancing the plot are as masterful as any, but action sequences seem to elude his talents. While lovingly choreographed by the secondary and visual effects teams, the fight scenes against animated elemental giants are still shot with the grace of a drunk squirrel.

The acting in the film is pretty top notch. This is Disney we’re talking about here, they don’t make a multi-billion dollar franchise without making solid casting choices. Holland, Jackson, and Smulders are as comfortable in their roles as any of the big-name Marvel actors, Zendaya carries a fluid mix of her Disney Chanel and HBO personas to make a cynical yet endearing performance, and Gyllenhaal’s initial stiffness is revealed to be a clever ploy to keep the audience at bay for a crucial twist. Favreau is surprisingly the heart of the movie and once again proves that his talents as a filmmaker don’t end at his directing abilities. Jacob Batalon returns as Peter’s friend and confidant Ned and even gets a hilarious and grounding relationship with Angourie Rice’s Betty Brant, complimenting their shared comic timing and confident character work. Tony Revolori was probably the best part of ‘Homecoming’ and while he’s not given as much to bite into this time, his rendition of the classic douchebag bully Flash Thompson is as lovably hateable as Tom Felton’s Draco Malfoy.

There are a few noted pitfalls among the cast, however. Tomei is a consummate professional and stellar actress, but this series seems deadset on shafting her with a blank character that operates purely as eye-candy, an object for her male costars to compliment for looking good for her age. Granted, she does look fantastic, but the smattering of casual sexism sprinkled around any scene she’s in is more distracting than I think she’d like. Likewise, Remy Hii joins the cast as a new rival for Peter’s love life, but is to encumbered by a glowing neon sign saying “I’LL BE IMPORTANT IN THE NEXT MOVIE” to show off his skills as an actor. Rounding out the paler end of the cast are Martin Starr and J.B. Smoove as a pair of comically bumbling teacher chaperones. There’s enough comedy in the movie for their relief to be unnecessary and it doesn’t help that their running gags are unfunny and confusing. For reference, one of the best things about comic book movies is that they’re not written like comic books.

But the real strength of the film is its script. The book was penned by Chris McKenna, a familiar face in the Marvel writing room but is more well known for his TV work. And his background made him a perfect choice to handle this film, which unfolds in episode-like sections. Counterintuitively, this allows the narrative to balance multiple heavy themes without dropping the ball on any of them. It plays as a solid action film, enjoyable romantic comedy, and though-provoking horror film all at once with little to no tonal dissonance. Based on that balance, it is able to effectively convey Peter’s identity crisis, promote character growth across the board, and present a treatise on the dangers of “fake news” through familiar channels of the superhero genre. No. Really.

Basically, it’s pretty damn good. There are flaws that poke through here and there that disrupt the experience, but if nitpicks could kill a movie we’d miss out on some of the most seminal works of science fiction and fantasy. It doesn't quite reach the level of artistry of 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,' but I'm increasingly confident that the sheer brilliance of that movie was lightning in a bottle and it would be unfair to consider that the standard going forward, even for tangential properties. If you’re one of the ten or twenty people on the planet not on board the Marvel hype train, this isn’t going to change your mind because if ‘Endgame’ couldn’t do that than nothing can, but at this point you really only have yourself to blame for missing out on what has more or less established itself as the defining secular deity of multiple generations. Your loss. 4/5.

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