Spider-Man: Far from Home
Director: Jon Watts
Writer: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers
Based on: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko‘s comic
Sequel to: Spider-Man: Homecoming
Cast: Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Tony Revolori, Angourie Rice, Remy Hii, Martin Starr, J.B. Smoove, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Cobie Smulders, J.K. Simmons
Part of: Marvel movies
Seen on: 10.7.2019

Plot:
After everything Thanos and the Avengers have done, Peter (Tom Holland), aka Spider-Man, returns to high school. But there really is no going back to normal anymore. Still, they make an attempt that includes a class trip to Europe. Peter is excited, hoping to find a possibility to finally ask out MJ (Zendaya). But instead Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) contacts him, asking him to take on a new threat in the shape of elemental monsters. Peter should team up with Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), a new superhero and the only man to fight the monsters and come out alive so far. Juggling class obligations, friends and a secret monster fighting mission may be a little more than Peter can handle, though.

Coming after Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home has its work cut out for itself. Endgame was a big finish that left a lot of characters with a lot of pain, but Spider-Man has always been the more light-hearted, more comic relief character. But I thought that the film handled that challenge pretty well. It was entertaining, that’s for sure.

Spider-Man: Far From Home isn’t quite as surprising as it thinks it is, with the plot following well-established patterns. But I didn’t think that was all that important because at its heart, it’s a character film, all about watching Peter grow and grapple with the events of Endgame that have left him understandable shaken to the core. The serious nature of this, though, is couched in a lot of fun that nevertheless never dilutes the pain.

Jake Gyllenhaal is a very welcome addition to the MCU and I really enjoyed his performance, especially since he and Holland really bounce off of each other in an extremely fun way. But the real stars here are the kids, above all Holland himself who really is fantastic. One couldn’t wish for a better Peter Parker. But all of them – Zendaya, Batalon, Rice – are really good. There is a sense of energy and fun that comes from their chemistry with each other and that gives the film wings.

As usual, there is a post-credit scene that I found a little weird, but at least it explains the characterization of one of the central characters that I found a little off up until that point (another point for the script, though).

Overall though, the film is fun and simply very well done. A nice change of pace again within the MCU and a good continuation of the first Spider-Man film.

Summarizing: pretty great.