Spider-Man Far From Home (Minor Spoilers)

(Image Source: iMDb)

While I am elated that Spider-Man is in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I feel Sony and Marvel's handling of this incarnation of the character has been a mixed bag. Don't get me wrong, I think Tom Holland's take on the character is pretty solid with plenty of room to grow. I understand this version of Peter Parker is relatively new to the hero business, and still has much to learn about being a superhero. However, as of now, I rank this take on the character between his predecessors, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield; he nails both sides of the character, the quirkiness of Peter Parker and the witty heroics of Spider-Man. Unfortunately, Marvel and Sony have been touting him more as Iron Man Jr., rather than a hero of his own. This was my biggest complaint with Spider-Man Homecoming, and it is definitely one of the bigger faults of Spider-Man: Far From Home. It seems Marvel definitely wants to make him one of the new faces of this franchise, but if they want to do so effectively, they need to let Spider-Man stand on his own and not in the constant shadow of Tony Stark. I think Jon Favreau's character (Happy Hogan) says it best, he's not the next Iron Man and he is never going to be Iron Man. With that little rant out of the way, how does Far From Home hold up as an installment of the MCU and as a Spider-Man solo film? Honestly, while it was solid in both regards, I felt it was simply another "filler" episode like Ant Man and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Acting as an epilogue to the MCU's Infinity Saga, Far From Home takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame. The film does well in setting up a Post-Avengers world through the perspective of Peter Parker, and giving us a taste of the world in Phase 4 (and possibly beyond). The basic premise surrounds Peter and his classmates taking a class trip to Europe; unfortunately, the vacation is hijacked by SHIELD commander, Nick Fury, and a mysterious person known as Quentin Beck. Similar to how Homecoming paid homage to John Hughes' "high school comedy" films of the 1980s, Far From Home seems to pay tribute to the National Lampoon Vacation series, most notably National Lampoon's European Vacation. The viewer joins Peter and his classmates as they travel across the European countryside, visiting notable locations such as Venice, Prague, and London. It is interesting to see Spider-Man in a location outside of his usual New York, and offers something new to longtime fans of the character. While I enjoyed the change in scenery, it adds very little to the overall production; the filmmakers could have kept it in New York and the plot would have remained mostly the same. They still would have kept Peter feeling lost after Endgame, his budding romance with Zendaya's version of MJ, and the conflict surrounding Nick Fury and Quentin Beck's overall mission. Speaking of Quentin Beck, his version of Mysterio was an amazing visual spectacle, but was unfortunately lacking as a character. While I understand Gyllenhal was attempting to portray him as supposedly the opposite of his comic book counterpart, it unfortunately comes off as pretentious. However, I suppose that simply adds another layer to Mysterio, adding to his overall "illusion". I will say I liked the interactions between Parker and Beck, with the latter acting as another mentor to him in his time of need.
In regard to Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury, he was once again at the top of his game and was easily my favorite character in the film. (Marvel, can we please get a Nick Fury movie? That would be amazing!) I also enjoyed some of the supporting cast, such as Zendaya's MJ, but I felt there was one subplot involving them that Marvel was being a bit pushy with. Thankfully, that particular one ends along with this film.
Overall, Far From Home is solid as both an installment in the MCU and as a Spider-Man film; however I feel it was a lacking and unnecessary one. It felt more like a filler episode than a major chapter, aside from the mid-credits scene which is one of the few noteworthy parts of this film, and sets up the character's overall future. If you are looking to marathon the MCU in its entirety, this one can be considered optional since it does not contribute much to the overall narrative. The action scenes were pretty solid, I will give them that. It is worth watching out of curiosity, and seeing where the franchise is going after Endgame. Hopefully, the inevitable Spider-Man 3 fixes many of these missteps and gives us a fitting conclusion to Peter's high school years. What did you think of this movie? Feel free to discuss in the comments below, and be sure to follow for more updates from Reviews and Retrospectives.