David Pierdomenico
(Spoilers for Avengers: Endgame)
(Spoiler Free for Far From Home until the end)
As if Avengers: Endgame didn’t already face a huge challenge trying to beat Avatar at the box office, it’s MCU successor, Spider-Man: Far From Home faces an even greater challenge. It has the mammoth task of following one of the greatest and most epic film finales of all time. Does it succeed at being an entertaining stand-alone film, or does it struggle to be relevant or have any real stakes? Let’s take a closer look at Spider-Man: Far From Home.
The Loss of a Legend
Far From Home gives us our first real look at what the world is like in the absence of Iron Man. Not only is the world feeling his absence, but Peter himself struggles to live up to the massive shadow he cast. It makes for a really interesting character arc for Peter, as he’s torn between wanting to be a normal teenager and being a superhero.
This same dilemma was explored in Homecoming, but it’s amplified quite a bit, especially because Peter can’t go more than ten minutes without seeing some sort of tribute or memorial to Iron Man, even in Europe. His death in Endgame was poignant and tragic, and in many ways this film offers fans a chance to grieve, along with Peter.
MCU Meets European Vacation
Once again, director Jon Watts does a great job blending superhero action and John Hughes-inspired teen comedy. The film opens with a hilariously awkward student news program from Peter’s school. They do a great job of displaying the lasting consequences of half the population disappearing, then reappearing five years later (the film names this even as “the blip”).
Since MJ, Ned, and Flash are all the same age, we can assume they were all part of it too. As was Aunt May, who even runs a charity for those who were “blipped”. It barely scratches the surface of all the social, political, legal, and financial repercussions of this event, but it’s good to see them address it and keep the continuity.
The trip to Europe is probably the most entertaining aspect of the film. We get a lot a fun, comedic moments with Ned and his new girlfriend, who are obnoxiously sappy and sentimental. Peter so desperately wants a chance to have a romantic evening with MJ and tell her how he feels, but keeps getting interrupted by Nick Fury and the need to stop massive titans known as Elementals. Following up the epic and poignant intensity that was Endgame, the lighthearted humor of Far From Home is incredibly welcome.
(Spoilers Ahead, You’ve Been Warned!!!)
Confusing New World
Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio makes for an interesting twist villain (assuming you didn’t already know he’s a villain). When the reveal is first made, there is an element of extreme cheesiness to it, as Gyllenhaal goes full mustache-twirling-villain, explaining his evil plan to his henchman, purely for exposition purposes for the audience.
Aside from that, his entire scheme of manipulating visual media to purport a narrative is frighteningly relevant in our modern age of deepfakes and false news. And with the shocking twist in the mid-credit scene, we’ve barely scraped the surface of how far this theme will go in the next film.
Overall, Spider-Man: Far From Home is probably the best thing we could have gotten following something as momentous as Endgame. It’s fun, entertaining, and with its ending, creates a very interesting new direction for the MCU to go in!
