Spider-Man: Far From Home - Movie Review - A worthy continuation?

This film is a 12A, was released on July 2nd 2019, and this review will contain NO SPOILERS, but there will be a discussion of MAJOR SPOILERS after the main review. There will also be spoilers for Avengers: Endgame.

Introduction 

Spider-Man is probably the one superhero we've seen the most iterations of in the shortest amount of time. With Tobey Maguire starting it off, Andrew Garfield briefly giving it a go, Tom Holland being the MCU version, and even the animated Into the Spider-Verse. This character has been through many highs and lows but at the moment, he's been doing really well. Spider-Man: Homecoming was a really entertaining movie, offering a more down to earth aspect of the MCU, Into the Spider-Verse was fabulous and upon rewatching, it got so much better, I criminally underrated that film when I initially reviewed it. But now, after the earth shattering events of Endgame, Spidey is here to hopefully calm us all down. 

Thoughts Going In 

I was certain that I would really like or even just enjoy this movie, there was nothing throwing me off. My only concern was that this film would feel underwhelming after Endgame which was not that long ago, similar to what Ant-Man and the Wasp suffered as a follow up to Infinity War. But, regardless, there wasn't much I held as a concern.

The Story 

Now that Tony Stark is gone, Peter Parker is left without a mentor and feels lost in the world, feeling unable to fill the shoes of Tony. However, he soon leaves for a holiday all over Europe. On this trip, he hopes to connect with MJ and tell her about how he feels about her, as he has a crush on her. However, Nick Fury interrupts his trip and introduces him to Quentin Beck / Mysterio. They need his help to battle elemental beings who have invaded earth from an alternate dimension. Peter is then left with the choice, help to save the world, or spend time with people he cares about. 

What I Liked 

Spider-Man: Far From Home takes everything that worked wondrously in Homecoming and either continues it, or makes it even better. 

Firstly, the action. Homecoming had some great action scenes such as the one at the Washington Monument, however some of it felt slightly uninteresting and fatiguing because the down to earth segments of that film with Peter in school were more entertaining. Here, the film makes the action more interesting and more exciting. The fights with the various elemental beings were really cool to watch and CGI was remarkable. The climax which takes place in London was also excellent with some fascinating visuals. The music stood out most in these sequences and there were even some exhilarating versions of the classic Spider-Man theme. This was the best aspect of this film because it was something the first film was lacking. 

Secondly, the characters were also much better. Peter feels as if he has grown as a character since Homecoming as he now clearly understands the responsibility he has. He frequently hesitates to join the fight simply because he'd rather be on holiday with his friends. He wants to remain a normal child with normal friends and doesn't want to get wound up in all the action. This made him much better as it shows that he is progressing as opposed to remaining as a naive and desperate child, as in Homecoming he was eager to be out saving the world instead of being at school. Ned was just as likeable as before and he delivered some really funny jokes. One trait I like about both Peter and Ned is that they always have a tendency to claim "that's awesome" at certain things in the film, and this is great because that is absolutely how teens would react to these things, coming from me. MJ was also a standout because she is essentially the same as she was before, but there's more of her. The relationship between her and Peter was also really endearing and somewhat relatable as I could understand how Peter felt, being desperate to approach a girl you have feelings for, but too shy to actually do so. This made me enjoy watching how their interactions played out, and it was more entertaining when MJ begins to get suspicious of Peter being linked to Spider-Man. The only other notable character was Mysterio. Jake Gyllenhaal did a really good job and the chemistry between him and Peter felt very genuine. The other characters such as Nick Fury and Happy were essentially the same as before, but like MJ, there's just more of them, which was good. 

The last thing was that the movie seemed to be a good balance between all its strengths. It doesn't dwell on one aspect significantly more than another and felt very consistent. Each part gets its time to shine with there being enough of the down to earth stuff and enough of the superhero stuff so that they're both equally as entertaining. The film also throws in a bit more drama regarding Peter and his struggles. There's a twist in the film which allows for his struggles and fears to be visualised and enhanced and it made the film both dramatic and engaging. And, oddly enough, it didn't distract from the other two aspects. This film got the perfect balance between all three of these components, and it made this an unbelievably satisfying watch. This was another improvement from Homecoming because that film had plenty of the characters and action, but we've established that the latter was less interesting than the former, and the drama in that film wasn't quite as prominent, even though it was still really well executed and even powerful.

Also, one other thing is that the ending of this film (as in after the post-credits scene) left me completely clueless as to where the series is going next. And honestly, I love that. For a franchise this big and elaborate, that is not something I thought I'd ever say, and the excitement of not knowing where we go next is unlike any other feeling.

What I Didn't Like 

There are some minor problems with this film but not severe. The biggest issue is with the central twist. I won't give it away and I'll expand later but it was extremely predictable, explained in a messy way, and will probably undercut some of the tension in scenes prior to the reveal upon rewatching. You'll know this when you see the movie. 

Like any comedy, there are jokes that don't work. However, this film has a few running jokes that fall flat as well as elongated jokes that wasn't much fun to begin with and were completely inessential. But that does go for any comedy so I suppose it is inevitable. 

Conclusion 

Now THIS is how you follow up the biggest movie of all time in style! Spider-Man: Far From Home was everything I wanted and more. It gets the absolute optimum balance between thrilling action, endearing characters and interactions, as well as new drama to deepen our protagonist. I loved this movie and it outdoes Homecoming easily. I don't think it's quite Into the Spider-Verse nor is it as spectacular as Endgame, but it proves that although we've seen tons of this character, we've barely seen anything. I can't wait for more of this interpretation of Spidey and I hope this one goes on to do really well. 

I'm going to give Spider-Man: Far From Home a 9/10  

Update to Marvel Rankings 

As this is an MCU film, and we've had two entries since my ranking, I thought I'd update my ranking of all the films with the additions of Avengers: Endgame (which I have revisited) and this. There are a few other differences too, but keep in mind that I can never properly rank a set of films as my opinion on films are constantly changing and never set in stone. 

23. The Incredible Hulk
22. Thor
21. Iron Man 3
20. Captain America: The First Avenger
19. Thor: The Dark World
18. Iron Man 2
17. Iron Man
16. Captain Marvel
15. Black Panther
14. Ant-Man and the Wasp
13. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
12. Avengers: Age of Ultron
11. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
10. Doctor Strange
9. Ant-Man
8. Avengers Assemble
7. Guardians of the Galaxy
6. Captain America: Civil War
5. Spider-Man: Homecoming
4. Spider-Man: Far From Home
3. Avengers: Endgame
2. Thor Ragnarok
1. Avengers: Infinity War 

I'd like to address that Endgame improved drastically upon rewatching. I think a film of such scale has to be seen multiple times before you have fully comprehended the whole thing. My issue with Thor wasn't as problematic as he was funnier than I remember, some of the discombobulated aspects of the time heist weren't as apparent, and the final battle was still as awesome. However, you may notice that Infinity War has dethroned Ragnarok as my favourite entry. The reason is because I rewatched it after seeing Endgame and thus knowing what happens after the cliffhanger ending. Amazingly, I still enjoyed it hugely and was still shocked by the ending. It is a film that I don't see myself getting bored of at any point in the near future. Also, because my main issue with Infinity War was whether it would hold up after Endgame, and it did, I have now moved it up to be the first 10/10 in the franchise, it just deserves it. 

Spoiler Time 

Don't read this part if you have not yet seen the movie

So yeah, the twist with Mysterio was really interesting because initially, when I first heard he was in the movie and I saw him in the first trailer, I actually thought he was quite simply a villain and he was this movie's baddie. However, the thumbnail for the second trailer showed him joining forces with Peter, so I then got confused. The trailer and start of the film suggested he was on the hero side, but I was still very doubtful that he was. Turns out, I was right. But the weird thing here is that I predicted this twist without knowing it was a twist, which is a little bit mind blowing. But then, the way the twist was then explained felt very messy and just an exposition dump.

Anyway, his illusion technology was the thing that enhanced Peter's struggles and fears. The sequences where he basically traumatises Peter were horrifying and really compelling. And the final battle where Peter takes down the fake elemental from the inside has some really dazzling visuals. My only concern with this is that when I rewatch the hydro-man and molten-man fights (both of which took place before the twist occurred) they will be less tense because I now know Peter is just fighting a load of fake nonsense. But, for the time being, those sequences were great and really cool. 

Ok, the mid-credits scene. So, I'm probably not as excited as other people by this scene. The reveal of JJJ (portrayed by J.K. Simmons, the same actor as the original Spider-Man movies) was cool as he is great in the role but I didn't get super pumped upon this reveal like other fans did. I was more concerned about the fact that Peter's identity has been revealed and Mysterio tricked people into thinking Peter killed him. Does this mean that Peter Parker is going to be on the run from the police in the next movie? Who knows.

The post-credits scene wasn't exciting but more confusing. It is revealed that the Nick Fury and Maria Hill that appeared in the film were actually Skrulls in disguise. It is then shown to us that the actual Nick Fury is on some kind of space vessel alongside more Skrulls. Not only does this force me to remember the bland movie that was Captain Marvel, but I don't know what this means for upcoming films. This may also make me look back on the events of the film differently as I now know some people are just Skrulls, but I can't be sure just yet. 

Also, there was no "_____ will return", so this only intensifies the fact that the future of the MCU is completely unknown. Seriously, what is even the next movie?