Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) - Movie Review

Much like Ant-Man And The Wasp was for Infinity War, the latest big screen depiction of Spider-Man feels like exactly what Marvel needed after the culture shock that was Endgame. Just as much sci-fi tinged romantic comedy as it is superhero action bombast, Far From Home finds director Jon Watts and writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers still mining gold out of the juxtaposition of superhero life and ordinary high school life.

Between Peter and MJ, Betty and Ned, and even Happy Hogan and Aunt May, the romantic beats manage to hit the right levels of cute, awkward and eerie reminiscence of those people you remember from high school. Much like the opening tribute to those lost during Endgame, complete with chintzy photo quality and Comic Sans, it wields second-hand embarrassment to unearth something real. Or maybe it’s just me remembering making videos back in high school that were about as well-crafted.

With a tone more fixated on comedy than all-out drama (at least to begin with), it serves as the yin to Endgame’s yang in showing the story possibilities allowed the Snap, here officially labelled as the ‘Blip’. Where Endgame went for survivor’s guilt, this goes for the realisation that classmates are suddenly five years older than others remember them being. Hell, most of this ends up mining the superhero qualities of the MCU for laughs, allowing the harsh reality of what occurred earlier this year to sit comfortably alongside the very ‘let’s not take things too seriously’ vibe.

But even with that said, this film’s necessity next to Endgame ends up revealing more than just mirth; it also serves as a deconstruction of basically every single superhero film not just in the MCU canon but in the history of the medium. This is where we’re getting into *SPOILER* territory, but since I wound up getting to this film far later than everyone else (flu sucks), hopefully this won’t be much of a hassle. You’ve been warned regardless.

The film’s main villain, Jake Gyllenhaal being exactly what I wanted out of him joining the MCU, is someone who uses special-effects wizardry, a network of like-minded collaborator, and a preposterous backstory that nudges at how bizarre this entire franchise has gotten, all to convince the public that a hero is out there who will save them from fantastical threats. Even if that hero isn’t all that they seem. This goes beyond making light of Endgame and chisels away at the fabric of the modern superhero film, actively making the audience aware of the artifice that goes into its creation. Because this film, ultimately, is about trust and the deception that can interfere with it, whether it’s from others or one’s own head.

The main aspect that this follows up on regarding Endgame is the ultimate fate of Tony Stark, the hero who started this whole franchise over a decade ago, and where the world goes from there. While the visuals take some subtle cues from Into The Spider-Verse in how insanely trippy the illusions can get, the story is incredibly down-to-earth as it pertains to Peter Parker, his place as Tony’s successor, and whether he can live up to that legacy. Echoing real sentiments within the MCU production table, methinks.

Spider-Man as a character is rife with conflict, being torn between his civilian identity and his superhero status. Tom Holland continuing to nail that dichotomy gives the story the push it needs to look into his character arc, showing him settling into his own skin and gaining confidence in his own abilities and judgement. It again taps into the ‘with great power…’ adage, only this time delving into the hard question of whether Peter is able to accept that responsibility. Going for a ‘believe what’s in your gut, and not what you see’ motif, it shows Peter cutting through the bullshit and learning to trust himself. I mean, Tony trusted him enough to give him insane levels of technical power, so maybe it’s time he started doing the same.

It’s a story about growth and learning to trust one’s own instincts, balancing good-natured teenaged antics with a nicely satirical take on what has become superhero cinema’s biggest moment, along with just about every other moment before and possibly after. It seems like the future of the MCU is in good hands, and with the utter bombshell of a mid-credits sequence here, I’m pretty damn hyped for what Spidey’s got in store for us next.