Room For Growth – Spider-Man: Far From Home

With the events of Avengers: Endgame firmly in the rearview, it’s time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to set its eyes on the future. Even though Disney and Marvel Studios have done a remarkable job staying relevant and continuing to sell tickets, franchise fatigue is a real thing and understanding that will be key to projecting their film future. Spider-Man: Far From Home is an action-packed adventure flick that toes the waters of having the beloved Wall-Crawler lead the MCU. 

It’s rare these days for a director with rising industry stock to hang around for the sequel, especially when the original catapulted their career, but this is the case for Jon Watts. Screenplay Writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers also ran it back so, whether it was solely their decision or the studio had some heavy influence, getting the band back together for the sophomore effort was a good idea. Most importantly, it afforded them the opportunity to learn from the mistakes in Homecoming and grow with the characters. While we were treated to a substantial maturity boost in Peter and MJ’s relationship, the overly campy, dumb high school shenanigans for the rest of the cast wore thin even more quickly and a good 10-15 minutes were dedicated to the inclusion of new characters to serve that purpose. During those moments, it felt stuck between the desire to be a full-fledged high school comedy and the logical progression of the MCU. Finding the right tone in the wake of Endgame wasn’t going to be easy and Far From Home didn’t abandon its identity but they won’t be in high school forever. 

With Tom Holland officially suiting up for the fifth time as the Web-Slinger, we can really see him coming into his own and embracing one of the most iconic characters in comic book history. His portrayal of Peter Parker is pretty damn spot-on even though the script has done a poor job establishing just how smart he is. The intellect is a big part of the character but, for some reason, these new stories have chosen to mostly ignore that in favor of more traditional high school teenager traits. I’m certain Holland is capable of more and maybe the events of this new film will catalyze the character’s future. As I mentioned earlier, his relationship with MJ took a big leap forward and Zendaya was a wonderful dance partner in that role. The two of them have palpable chemistry together which goes a long way and gives the audience something worth cheering for. I know a lot of people weren’t sold initially but she’s great in the role. Despite some of the uninspired, time-wasting characters and their accompanying dialogue, McKenna and Sommers nailed the most important relationship in the Spider-Verse. There’s a strong foundation to build from moving forward and having a legitimately intimate relationship at the center could provide a much different scope to the hero life. 

Carving up the meat of this film is difficult to do without serious spoilers but I’ve done a pretty good job over the past few years and I’ll continue to do my best now. The inclusion of Jake Gyllen-hair…sorry…Gyllenhaal raised a lot of questions. For longtime Spidey fans, his character is very familiar and the story can go one of two ways. For everyone else, you’ll enjoy the character introduction and the whole string of complications that goes along with that. As for Jake, he’s one of the most consistently strong performers in the business and this was no exception. His versatility and verve were on full display throughout and, as an MCU newbie, he worked well with the rest of the cast. This was certainly one of the more intriguing and ambitious characters Marvel could have brought to screen but they really couldn’t have found a better guy to fill those shoes, no matter how hideous the costume was.  

Claude Paré’s production design gave this movie a distinct visual footprint that was much bolder than its predecessor, stopping on location in multiple European cities, and undoubtedly took cues from the surprising success of Into the Spider-Verse. The new hero costumes were on point and there was a staggering use of color and contrast used to manipulate what the audience and the characters saw but even when you think you know you’re not quite sure. Many of these visual effects shots took a great deal of imagination to construct and an army of technicians to actualize. Without the incredibly talented and dedicated VFX artists, this film and many others like it wouldn’t have nearly the same impact. The action sequences and choreography, especially down the stretch, set a dizzying precedent for any future sequels. Whoever had the foresight to plan it all out and visualize the scope and pace of the action deserves an award. I’m not sure which award or how many people to give it to but give somebody something. 

Far From Home was undoubtedly a bit of a test to see how things are going to proceed and, clearly, the market for superheroes hasn’t quite cooled off yet. The early foreign release has already drawn north of $100-million with another $70-80-million expected at the domestic box office over the holiday weekend. While there are some things I didn’t like, the positives definitely outweighed the negatives and made for an enjoyable time. Beyond the spectacle, there’s actually some surprisingly poignant social commentary on how we perceive the news, perception, and reality in the digital age. It’s uncharted territory for the character and the production company but good to see them venturing out. 

Recommendation: Whether you have been following the comics or only started following the films, if you like what the MCU has been up to then this movie is for you. It’s more a sequel to Homecoming than it is to Endgame but there’s some behind the camera stories regarding that. If I have the time and opportunity, I’d definitely like to catch this in theaters one more time…maybe in 3D this time.