Logan Sork Film Reviews
Spider-Man: Far From Home
When the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced Spider-Man into the fold, I was excited to see what they would do with the character. The first solo film that starred the iconic character, Spider-Man: Homecoming, was released in 2017 and I found myself one of the few people who didn’t enjoy it. For the majority of that film’s run-time, I found the lead character very annoying and it relied too heavily on previously established characters to prop up the film’s flimsy plot. Thanks to that film I really wasn’t looking forward to this one. Luckily however, Far From Home improves on Homecoming’s problem, even if it doesn’t stand out as much as other Spider-Man films have in the past.
Spider-Man: Far From Home is directed by Jon Watts and is the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming and the 24th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is set in the fallout of Avengers: Endgame, with the world searching for a new protector after the sacrifices that were made. Many believe it should be Peter Parker (Tom Holland), aka Spider-Man, but all Peter wants to do is enjoy his European school trip and confess his love to his close friend, Mary Jane (Zendaya). Peter’s quite trip is disrupted however when Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the director of S.H.E.I.L.D, recruits Peter for a mission. Peter reluctantly agrees to work with Fury and a new hero known as Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), a hero climbing to be from another dimension to stop a group of destructive creatures known as elementals. Peter must decide what matters to him more as he struggles to fill the big shoes left before him as Earth’s greatest hero.
As someone who didn’t enjoy the previous Spider-Man movie, I was pleasantly surprised by the way things turned out in this film. There were a lot of elements that this film improves greatly, one of which is the character of Peter Parker. While he still comes across as an Iron Man wannabe in some portions of the film, he is far more tolerable than he was in his previous solo film. Part of this is due to Tom Holland’s improvement as an actor but also the improved script, which gives Peter a much more interesting dilemma o deal with, resulting in a far more intriguing film. The action sequences and overall direction have improved as well, as it seems director Jon Watts has gotten a better command of the bigger scenes and visual effects a movie like this demands. Still, the overall direction of the film doesn’t have any of the fun spark that previous Spider-Man films had. Thankfully though, the biggest elements I had problems with the last time around have improved greatly, making for a better experience this time around.
Much like the previous film, the supporting cast is fantastic and brings a lot of fun energy to the film. Samuel L. Jackson is fantastic as Nick Fury, with his deadpan delivery bringing a lot of subtle comedic moments to some of the more serious ones. Peter’s classmates are also a lot of fun, with Zendaya turning in an excellent performance as a different, but still very interesting version of Mary Jane. However, who steals the show in this film is Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio, a Spider-Man character I have personally wanted to see on the big screen for some time. Not only is this character done so well in terms of writing and visuals, but Gyllenhaal manages to bring this sophisticated yet psychotic character to life in a way that only he could. In the end, it’s this cast that makes the movie so much fun to watch.
The writing for this film is also a lot better, as this film manages to balance out the comedy with the moral dilemma Peter faces much better this time around The comedic elements of the writing have also improved, with more jokes landing in this film than most of the previous Marvel films. However, because there is still such a big emphasis on comedy, there are a lot of scenes throughout the film that exist more to set up jokes than to contribute to plot or character development. This can cause the film to drag on, especially during the second act as we are forced to watch scenes that aren’t terrible to watch by any means, but ultimately lead to nowhere. Thankfully though, the film picks up half way through and from then on there weren’t any noticeable pacing issues. So, while the film may be uneven in terms of pacing, it is a little more balanced out than the previous installment and is more thoroughly entertaining thanks to the improved writing.
Still, the writing relies on events that have happened in previous Marvel films very heavily, which is my biggest issue with the movie and with this franchise in general. Everything that happens in this movie is the result of previous films and really doesn’t feel like a movie but rather an episode in a TV series. If you were to watch this movie without having seen any of the previous films in the Marvel universe, you would totally be lost. This is not always the case with this franchise, as there are quite a few movies that you can enjoy without having seen a single installment. Here however, there are so many emotional beats and plot points that rely on you having seen the other films. To me, a movie should be able to stand on its own without the support of other or be able to have a strong enough voice to make itself standout. Unfortunately, however, this is a case of a film relying too heavily on previously established to get you to care rather than putting the work in itself.
In the end however, I would be lying if I said I didn’t have fun with this movie. Yes, it doesn’t reach the heights of the greatest Spider-Man films, but it is also an improvement over the franchise’s worst installment, so at least it has that going for it. There are a lot of improvements that make this film more watchable than the previous installment, such as the improved lead character, better writing and direction and a fun group of supporting characters. Despite that, there are a few pacing issues in the first half of the film and it doesn’t do enough to give itself its own voice in a long running franchise. So while this Spider-Man film won’t stick with you like other installments have, it’s fun enough to warrant at least one watch.
7/10