Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)

The wall-crawler is back in this post-Endgame film that ends not only Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and sadly, Spidey’s last adventure for the MCU.

Reeling from the death of his mentor and lead Avenger, Tony Stark, Peter Parker has been ambushed with questions whether he is the lead Avenger. However, Peter has decided to forget being Spider-Man for a while when he heads to Europe on a class field trip. While he makes the decision to leave his superhero persona behind, his Aunt May puts the suit in the suitcase in case he is needed. Peter also intends to finally reveal his feelings for classmate Michelle “MJ” Jones.

However, on his trip to Venice, a mysterious elemental monster made of water has appeared and despite his attempt to save his classmates and others, Peter is unsuccessful. However, a savior comes in the form of Mysterio arrives and is able to stop the elemental creature. S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury tells Peter that Mysterio comes from an alternate Earth, due to the snap that killed both Thanos and Tony Stark. When Peter reluctantly agrees to help Fury and Mysterio defeat the other elementals that have appeared throughout Europe, something even more inevitable is bound to happen that will affect Peter’s double life forever.

With the success of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017, Spider-Man’s first solo entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe really tested out to see how Peter would be able to juggle both his life as a high school student and the wall-crawling, web-slinging superhero. This second solo MCU for Spidey really gives our hero a more mature juxtaposition in terms of his double life. Once again, Tom Holland continues to impress as the now 16-year old Peter Parker, unaffected by the “blip” that makes him still 16 rather than a 21-year old Parker, still reeling from the loss of mentor Tony Stark.

Director Jon Watts and writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers did something smart and made word on bringing characters not seen on screen. In this case, enter Quentin Beck aka Mysterio. This character has two surprises. Tthe first involves with the casting of Jake Gyllenhaal, who actually does quite a great job in playing the role. The second surprise comes in the fact that he is actually a hero rather than a staple villain as seen in the comics. The mere fact that Mysterio, in the comics, is one of Spidey’s biggest villains. Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders provide some ample support when needed in their MCU signature roles of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Nick Fury and Maria Hill.

The film has a subplot in terms of relationships that tend to more in the vein of being the film’s comic relief as we see Peter’s reactions to two relationships involving people close to him and it is those reactions that are priceless. The first involves a romance between Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May and Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan with the second between Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds and Angourie Rice’s Betty Brant, the latter of which surprises Peter more than the former. Remy Hii’s Brad is a potential threat to Peter’s attempt to tell MJ how he feels while Tony Revolori’s Flash Thompson does what he does best, admiring Spider-Man while insulting alter ego Peter on numerous occasions with Peter resorting to getting the upper hand at times when it calls for it.

There is a mid-credits sequence that brings some shock value and at this point, could help Spidey get his own adventure now outside the MCU (now that it’s been confirmed that he is no longer affiliated with it) and an end-credit sequence that continues the MCU going. Now that Spider-Man is out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where he goes from here especially with the mid-credit sequence could help slowly bring Spidey into the SUMC (Sony Universe of Marvel Characters).

Spider-Man: Far from Home continues Tom Holland’s well-made run as Peter Parker as he deals with more than his double life and a finale that yells “open book” as to what’s next for the character. With his exit from the MCU, Spider-Man can ride off on his own into the sunset as he’s got even bigger issues to deal with while the MCU continues to run at full speed.

WFG RATING: A

Columbia Pictures presents a Marvel Studios production. Director: Jon Watts. Producers: Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal. Writers: Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna; based on the characters created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Cinematography: Matthew J. Lloyd. Editing: Dan Lebental and Leigh Folsom Boyd.

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, Cobie Smulders, Numan Acar.