AVENGERS: ENDGAME is a colossal film on many angles. Its ripple effect will be felt forever. Complex and overwhelming in its ways, yet artistically relevant and triumphant to an existence that’s worked its way up since the start of the MCU. The end-of-an-era had finally arrived…? Or so we thought! Did you seriously think that’d be it? Most of us no, but some of us (I know a few) leaned towards a mindset of MCU starting over. In some ways, maybe. To a degree. But in others, nah! And I type ‘nah’ with so much confidence, because as we lingered with the thought of “where do we go next?” clearly SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (the official end of Phase 3) presents things tangled within MCU’s web of excitement.
Therefore, be warned. If you haven’t seen AVENGERS: ENDGAME, don’t see SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (yet)! This movie is way too connected to ENDGAME, and you’d be violating your MCU viewing privileges if you jump-the-gun. The first ten minutes alone would ruin so much. While the basics have been discussed in just about every media outlet, thorough plot details not so much. FAR FROM HOME exposes a lot of its results, making the key point strictly based on growth from the events that unfolded. Thanos’ snap, which had turned half the universe to dust, has been reversed. (We all know that!) Billions of lives saved, including Parker’s, projects a heavy burden on him, because now he’s living in a complex world known as “The Blip,” a world where victims of the snap coexist with those who weren’t.
In this next arachnid adventure, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and the rest of the world are coping with the aftermath of ENDGAME. Unlike his enthusiastic energy to go full-force-hero as he did in HOMECOMING and INFINITY WAR, Peter just wants to take a break. The kid just wants to be a regular teenager. Finding comfort in going away with his high school friends on a European trip, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) tracks him down with hopes of testing and engaging him on dealings with a new threat known as Elemental Creatures, and possibly uniting with a new face on the block known as Quentin Beck / Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), who’s from an Earth that exists in a dimension parallel to ours with experience handling Elementals. After the encounter, Parker realizes Spider-Man can’t be a regular teenager anymore. He’s got responsibilities with the world, especially when Fury’s mission shifts with an unexpected outcome that, in turn, adds more to his plate of proving he can be a reliable, full-time Avenger!
What – a – rush! I had so much fun watching this movie, I don’t even know where to begin. It’s a fantastic follow-up to ENDGAME. Without doubt, you can expect a joyride of ongoing thrills. FAR FROM HOME brings together clever humor, heroic spectacle, emotion, puppy-love, drama, action and just about everything else you love about Spider-Man and the MCU. Director Jon Watts, who previously brought us HOMECOING, presents his audience with next level Spidy-swag. As an arc for Parker/Spidy, FAR FROM HOME is a lot more fun than the first film, but at the same time the stakes are higher and a lot more personal. With this movie, Spidy aims bigger, but it doesn’t go without a crafty story based on reasons why scenarios are lifted for the narrative and links to what’s surly going to follow.
It’s a story about a kid pulled in many directions. If anything, forces of his hidden world forcing him to grow up fast. Tom Holland is a joy for the role once again. Clearly exposing his love and enjoyment playing Parker and Spider-Man, his charisma is layered nicely as the role’s objectives pushes for it. Jackson as Fury will always be Jackson as Fury – fun, rough-around-edges, hip, rugged and this time a bit more edgier in terms of ‘tude as he makes it clear to Parker how much Spider-Man is needed, which goes along with a running joke. Jon Favreau returns as Tony Stark’s head of security and Spider-Man “babysitter,” Happy Hogan, as a key adult figure in his life, as does Aunt May, played Marisa Tomei. Lest we forget his high-school crew, along with crush, Mary Jane (Zendaya). However, Jake Gyllenhaal as Beck / Mysterio is a major badass. I really enjoyed the character and backstory and once in motion, it was on. In my eyes, the highlight of the movie. Gyllenhaal’s charisma runs parallel to Holland’s in this movie. In short, he’s the backbone. The common denominator to everything that boils as an underlying scenario.
Even though the story centers around a teenager and all sorts of inevitable insecurities (we’ve all been there), FAR FROM HOME carries itself as one of the most sophisticated and methodical superhero movies I’ve seen. Very engaging and fun as it serves up as kind of a sightseeing extravaganza across Europe, alongside a diverse cast to add a touch of pizzazz and contemporary style. At a run of two-hours-and-ten-minutes (including two fantastic end credit scenes), it’s a rollercoaster of enjoyment, surprises and another notch on the belt of MCU’s resume that’ll generate thirst for more.
