TAS Reviews: Spider-Man: Far From Home

TAS Reviews: Spider-Man: Far From Home

There's a lot of pressure for Far From Home to be more than just another MCU movie. Not only is it the next chapter of the MCU - it's the first chapter in the MCU since Endgame. A movie that, for all intents and purposes, was the conclusion to the 22-film arc in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A lot of people are curious where Kevin Fiege and the rest of the team at Marvel Studios will take the MCU next, and for a lot of people, Far From Home is an opportunity to show that there's still reason to be invested in this franchise following Endgame.

With Far From Home, director Jon Watts and Kevin Fiege have accomplished this with flying colours, delivered on one of the finest films in the entire 23-film run of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's difficult to believe, but the best thing about FFH is this: it doesn't overwhelm audiences with set-ups and teases for future films to earn their investment in future films. It's confident enough in it's quality, delivering on a satisfying standalone movie that ranks amongst the best of the superhero genre.

FFH's greatest strength is it's focus on character. It explores the conflict between wanting to live a normal life, and the sense of responsibility that defines most heroes. It allows the movie to further explore what makes the character of Spider-Man special to most people, and what makes this particular iteration of Spider-Man so unique. Peter isn't as certain of himself as most heroes. Flawed, unsure of himself, but at the end of the day, optimistic and well meaning: Peter is a deeply humane character, and it's this movie's exploration of character that makes for such an engaging, endearing and often emotional story. You can't talk about emotional and endearing without mentioning Tom Holland, who is as great as ever as Peter Parker. Holland gives yet another charismatic and likeable performance, and balances this charisma with the sense of sensitivity and vulnerability that makes his performance as Peter Parker so great.

The best MCU films are an amalgamation. The Winter Soldier is not just a generic superhero. It's a meld of traditional action movie, political thriller, and a character study of Steve comes to grips with a world different than the one he saved decades ago. Homecoming was more of a traditional superhero movie, but includes elements of teen comedy. Similarly, FFH delivers on the action expected from a movie of this scale, while delivering on the comedy that is a staple of the franchise. Like virtually every movie, not every joke lands, but it's one of the funnier movies in the franchise.

The romance in this movie is not merely an afterthought, and takes up a decent amount of screentime and significance. The movie has a damn good romantic lead in MJ, played by Zendaya. I found her character quite unlikeable in Homecoming, but this movie does a great job taking a character that was merely a one-note gag and fleshing her out as a character. Zendaya's chemistry with Holland feels authentic and endearing, and there's something innocent and adolescent about their relationship that makes the pair so cute and easy to root for.

The action in FFH is not only a significant improvement on Homecoming. It delivers on some of the most creative, kinetic action in the franchise. One of the MCU's biggest criticisms is uninventive cinematography, and although FFH is not a radical reinvention: it features some of the most lively, creative cinematography in the MCU. For instance, it delivers on the swinging that was absent from Homecoming, doing so with POV shots that felt delightfully unique within the franchise. That's just one example of how the cinematography in this movie gives it a sense of personality and identity.

A lot of people anticipated Mysterio's portrayal in the movie, and how Jake Gyllenhall would perform as the character. Gyllenhall turns in the single finest performance in the history of the MCU. From the moment he appears, Gyllenhall commands the screen with charisma, but there's always a sense his charisma is merely a facade. You can tell there's something bubbling beneath the surface, and it's that sense of ingenuity that makes his performance so captivating. It makes every scene with him, even a simple conversation, feel suspenseful and dishonest. Without revealing too much, when the curtains are lifted, it is executed with every bit of theatricality that one could hope. The movie features the best MCU villain not named Thanos. You will hate the villain, and just when you believe things are going right for the heroes, the filmmakers pull the rug from under you. It makes for a rollercoaster of a movie experience, and makes the antagonist feel like a genuine threat.

If I had one complaint about FFH, it would be that Peter's character arc in the movie isn't as strong as his arc in Homecoming. Though the movie does a wonderful job exploring Peter as a character, the impetus for his growth wasn't as strong as it was in this movie. For example, Peter's growth in Homecoming was a result of Tony taking the suit from Peter and leaving him to his own devices and Peter coming to terms with his own internal strength in the rubble scene. On the other hand, the reason for Peter's growth in this movie doesn't feel quite as well-defined.

Conclusion

Spider-Man: Far From Home is an utter triumph, delivering on the laughs and action that have become a signature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while including enough twists along the way to create a thoroughly familiar, yet delightfully surprising experience. The movie features a strong hero, a fantastic antagonist, and some of the most unique cinematography in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. To top it off, the movie has an after-credits scene that literally made my jaw drop, and is a work of art if ever there was one. FFH is not only a great movie: it's my favourite movie of the year so far, a top 5 (maybe top 3) MCU movie, and perhaps the best Spider-Man movie ever made. Go see it.

Score: 9.5/10

Watching it tomorrow, so won’t read until then.

But so happy with the score! Looking forward to it.

Hope you have a blast!

Oh boy. I'm gonna watch it in the coming week and going by the reviews I'm gonna have a blast.

Leaving this here so I can find it tomorrow.

@luminoushydra:

Spiderman 2 is very good actually. Spiderman 3 and 1 aren't that good really. Spiderman 1 is very campy at times and bit in a good way while Spiderman 3 has story issues.

Spiderman 2 however has. A great story for its character and the villain is entertaining as hell.

See it tomorrow, can't wait to see it.

Just looked at the rating to avoid any spoiler.

9.5/10: pretty cool!!

I'm going to see it tonight

Is this version of MJ even remotely close to her 616 or even Ultimate counterpart ?

A lot of people anticipated Mysterio's portrayal in the movie, and how Jake Gyllenhall would perform as the character. Gyllenhall turns in the single finest performance in the history of the MCU.

Wow, that good ? I knew Jake Gyllenhall would be one of the best things about the movie, but to be the very best villain after Thanos, certainly picks my interest.

The action in FFH is not only a significant improvement on Homecoming. It delivers on some of the most creative, kinetic action in the franchise.

Does Spider-Man actually fight in this movie ? Unlike Homecoming were he never actually fought nor threw a single punch.

For instance, it delivers on the swinging that was absent from Homecoming, doing so with POV shots that felt delightfully unique within the franchise.

Does it top ASM2 swinging ?

To top it off, the movie has an after-credits scene that literally made my jaw drop, and is a work of art if ever there was one.

Man, I keep hearing this, I'm curious af.

I saw a clip on Youtube, it had J.K. Simmons back as Jonah......is that the after credits scene ? If not, just say no, don't tell me what's the after credits scene haha.

FFH is not only a great movie: it's my favourite movie of the year so far, a top 5 (maybe top 3) MCU movie, and perhaps the best Spider-Man movie ever made. Go see it.

I hope with all my heart this is true, you know how I feel about Homecoming and how it was a massive disrespect to the character of Peter Parker, I hope this movie fixes things.

@thor_parker82:

Spider-Man gets a lot more showcase action moments in this movie. Most of the action sequences are against elemental creatures that are made of water and fire so there isn’t much room to “punch” things but they give Spider-Man badass moments in other ways.

Lol I personally loved the swinging scenes in this movie more than TASM2. There’s a scanning scene toward the end of the movie that I absolutely ate up. Don’t wanna spoil it but you’ll see.

The thing you mentioned is a part of the end-credits, but that’s only one part of it.

I really hope you like the movie. When are you watching it?

Excellent review. I’ll be seeing it tomorrow morning. Hype level is is high.

@theamazingspidey: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, would you rank it above Spider Man 2? I plan on rewatching it sometime before I decide on my final opinion of it.

Can someone spoil the major plot points and after credit scenes? I have no plans on seeing it until it hits streaming maybe, but I heard some stuff about the movie that sounded interesting.

Spider-man 1 was a product of its time (Nickelback was even in the soundtrack), they all were. 1 & 2 did a decent job at portraying Spider-man in the early 2000s, but 3 was just awful Emo dancing Spider-man and Topher Grace was a giant miscast.

Man that was magnificent. Best Spider-Man movie hands down.

I prefer the raimi movies. I don't like how this Spiderman relies so much on the people around and gets so much help. Tobey Spiderman went solo and fought most of his villains without help

@theamazingspidey:

Spider-Man gets a lot more showcase action moments in this movie. Most of the action sequences are against elemental creatures that are made of water and fire so there isn’t much room to “punch” things but they give Spider-Man badass moments in other ways.

I see, at least I hope he is depicted as a capable combatant instead of the massive rookie we saw on Homecoming.

Lol I personally loved the swinging scenes in this movie more than TASM2. There’s a scanning scene toward the end of the movie that I absolutely ate up. Don’t wanna spoil it but you’ll see.

Say what you want about ASM2, but there is no denying that the swinging in there is unparalleled, and as good as Far From Home swinging might be, I genuinely see no way it can outdo ASM2, but I hope I'm proven wrong since I absolutely adore the swinging scenes.

The thing you mentioned is a part of the end-credits, but that’s only one part of it.

I didn't watch it on purpose, it was posted on Instagram on a fanpage, I was so freaking mad to be spoiled about it.

I really hope you like the movie. When are you watching it?

I'm watching it on Thurdsday.

How did you manage to watch it so early ?

Always enjoy your reviews. I'm glad this is good and just you saying it might be the best Spidey movie ever (coming from you) makes me think i should slip away and go see this.

Excellent review! SPOILERS for those skimming through the thread.

I LOVED this movie! It was great fun to watch, which is half of what makes the MCU such a great franchise. Jake’s performance was brilliant. What is it with CBM villains with great performances lately? Spider-Man did his best to keep everything as stable as he could, and Lady Luck just threw it back in his face, but he kept getting back up, just like a superhero should. The way Iron Man’s Death was taken was perfectly realistic, and the glasses, to me, felt like the object the movie circled around. It gave Peter Power he didn’t think he should have, and he gave them to someone who didn’t need that power. The romance was handled greatly for Peter and MJ, and I didn’t catch a joke (except the Ned/Blond girl ones) that didn’t stick for me. The “Witches” thing had me dying. And the way the Snap/Blip/Decimation was handled throughout the first bit of the movie was amazing IMO.

Of course, not everything was great, as no movie is perfect. I didn’t like Ned as much in this movie as in this movie as Homecoming. His romance with the blond girl whose name I can’t remember was honestly a little stupid IMO, but maybe I’m just weird. The “I miss you” joke and the Boy-to-Man thing was not that great tbh. But overall, the good far outweighs the bad.

Can we just talk about the visuals/cinematography? The swinging at the end was something that gave me a little bit of my faith in humanity back. Mysterio’s illusions were possibly the best effects in the MCU. I was amazed at the monster’s and how good they looked in the broad daylight. Edith provided the sci-fi look that we all know and love.

The scene of Mysterio’s revelation was absolutely astonishing. The way they brought in the guy from Iron Man and had Mysterio be the guy from CW was something I never expected. They made the illusions look so real with their preparation that you actually thought they were real (or at least you would if you weren’t spoiled.)

Seeing the after credits on YT, I am vowing to do my best to see after credits in theaters from now on. JK Simmons as JJJ was a Heath Ledger Joker Level performance, and I doubt he got worse. The revelation to the world is going to be something huge going on, unless the MCU loses its grip. The Skrulls as Nick and Maria was great too.

Overall, I give this movie a solid 8.8/10 at the absolute very least. In fact, it’s easily a 9/10.

Movie was absolutely brilliant, and is now one of my favorite CBMs of all time. It really was phenomenal.

Bout to go see it.

I'd put it above Spider-Man 2, but I can see valid arguments for SM2 being better.

Mid-credits scene is James Jonah Jameson showing a video to the world where Mysterio frames Spider-Man for the attacks throughout the movie and revealing that Spider-Man's name is Peter Parker.

@thor_parker82:

How did you manage to watch it so early ?

Came out a few days ago in Australia!

That means a lot! Hope you enjoy it.

It really is THAT good.

@theamazingspidey: The return of an... old friend at the end was really great too

Decent review. I have some gripes about it. Specifically the entire structure of Parker himself but I've come to accept this a "Tony Jr." I give it a 8/10

The movie lived up too and surpassed the hype. Best Spider-Man movie ever.

@theamazingspidey:

Honestly that is the Spider-Man movie we have been waiting for. No pun intended, it was AMAZING.

Those visuals. Man. Literally ripped out of a comic book and really takes me back to playing Spider-Man games on consoles. Some of the best sequences ever in a CBM.

Now that’s how you do a villain. JG was simply awesome.

Ever since IW we have been getting some quality Spider-Man. From IW to SMPS4 to ITSV to now this. I have Spidey fever lol.

@theamazingspidey:

Just saw the movie, it was awesome, now this is what I was hoping for, there are still some problems like the constant mentions and need of Stark or his technology, and some characters like Flash and MJ, they are not bad per se, MJ was fine in this movie, just not as MJ and Flash even less, their characters are not bad, but as adaptions they are pretty bad, as characters on their own, they are cool, I was surprised by MJ.

Other than that, this movie was glorious from beginning to end, the action, dialogue, plot and especially Mysterio are all amazing, and finally it looks like Peter is doing the right things just because it is the right thing, not because he wants to prove something.

Now for spoilers:

@thor_parker82: I’m glad you liked it! I was anticipating your response.

I didn’t like Zendaya in Homecoming but I actually really liked her in this movie. My only gripe with her is her name. Just call her Mary Jane goddamn it! Stop it with this Michelle Jones BS.

Great review as usual! Glad to see that you loved it as well.

I absolutely loved how unique Mysterio was and the scene where he screwed over Peter in the abandoned building was phenomenal. Loved every second of it.

Also, the return of JK Simmons as J Jonah Jameson got me and my theatre's audience wild.

I was pleasantly surprised with this movie.

The fact that she is not Mary Jane is the only saving grace for her haha, keep her as Michelle please IMO.

I give it an 80/100.

Thanks for your review.

I’d give it a 7/10. Nice review! I’ll give it a rewatch a few months from now.

Most inventive use of Spider-Man’s powers. I like this more than Into the Spiderverse.

@theamazingspidey: Why do you think the MCU is shying away so much from even mentioning Uncle Ben ?

My guess is they probably think it would feel out-of-place and forced because they haven't built up the Uncle Ben backstory, but I gotta admit.... it's getting a little awkward. I would love for them to delve a little bit into Uncle Ben in the 3rd film.

@thor_parker82: @theamazingspidey: I remember when discussing whether or not to include a more outward reference to him in Homecoming (when Peter was preparing for the dance, May was gonna give him the same clothes that Ben wore), they said that they didn’t want to reduce the mention of Ben and his death to essentially a throwaway line. I can only assume that they don’t want to directly mention him and his death without it being of true importance to the movie.

Least that’s what I’m thinking is the logic they’re continuing to have regarding it

@mike_fowler: @theamazingspidey: It's getting annoying though, Uncle Ben is the MAIN reason Spider-Man does what he does, and as much as I loved Far From Home, it still furthered the narrative (like Homecoming) that Peter is doing it to be a hero like Stark, and that's just so wrong.

A simple mention of Uncle Ben and how he was a huge influence for Peter would be enough.

I believe we've had this discussion before lol and I described why the "Peter does it to be a hero like Stark" argument is so silly and an example of people watching Homecoming and expecting everything to be spoon fed for them.

I agree the lack of references to Uncle Ben is getting awkward, but he really isn't saving people because of Stark. Two movies in and people still misunderstand MCU Spider-Man.

"When you can do the things that I can, but you don't... and then the bad things happen... they happen because of you."

Jon Watts (the director) said the reason they haven't delved into Uncle Ben is because they want to show things people haven't seen before in Spider-Man, which is understandable considering all the flack TASM caught for repeating the origin. I understand their reasoning, but at the same time, I agree with you. Even a 1-minute conversation between Peter and May or something, about Uncle Ben, would be nice. Because the lack of mention to Uncle Ben is getting quite ridiculous at this point lol.

@theamazingspidey:

I believe we've had this discussion before lol and I described why the "Peter does it to be a hero like Stark" argument is so silly and an example of people watching Homecoming and expecting everything to be spoon fed for them.

I agree the lack of references to Uncle Ben is getting awkward, but he really isn't saving people because of Stark. Two movies in and people still misunderstand MCU Spider-Man.

I think I didn't explain myself right, I know he isn't doing this because of Stark, I mentioned in my mini review on Post 32 that Peter's character is finally done right, doing the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do, but the prescence of Tony and influence on Peter is still there and presented as one of the reasons Peter is a hero, not the sole reason, but one of the reasons.

Jon Watts (the director) said the reason they haven't delved into Uncle Ben is because they want to show things people haven't seen before in Spider-Man, which is understandable considering all the flack TASM caught for repeating the origin.

Yeah, I believe many decisions they are taking are with the line of thinking on not repeating anything from previous movies, I mean, look at what they did in the post credits scene.

We've already had 6 movies of Spider-Man hiding his secret identity and balancing both lives, so I maybe can see why they decided to reveal his identity to the world, to tread on different ground that people haven't seen, but they are so stuck in doing something different that they are forgetting that's the core of Spider-Man, his dual identity and constant struggle to balance both lives. If the post credits scene had ended when Mysterio framed Spider-Man for the crimes, this movie would have been LITERALLY PERFECT, but IMO it was a big mistake to reveal Peter's identity.

I understand their reasoning, but at the same time, I agree with you. Even a 1-minute conversation between Peter and May or something, about Uncle Ben, would be nice. Because the lack of mention to Uncle Ben is getting quite ridiculous at this point lol.

Agreed.

@theamazingspidey: Great review. Saw the movie. I will give it a Solid 8/10.

I really liked Marvel learned from Homecoming and filled the movie with more epic action.

@theamazingspidey: excellent review.

I truly enjoyed the movie (from start to finish). That was not the case for Homecoming (where I connected only to Michael Keaton).

Here it is openly a comedy and a good one.

It's a good sign for the CBM to be able to go back and forth between movies like Infinity War or Wonder Woman in one end and Aquaman (that bored me, but that's not the point) and Far From Home.

Add to that some space operas, a few thrillers etc. . and the CBM bubble won't be a bubble at all.

I really want the CBM to go away from the source material now.

I thought the movie was solid, but far from being up there with the best of mcu movies imo. Mysterio was a some of MCU better villains which is good to see.

The sequel was far better than the first one.

@theamazingspidey: your review is as great as ever