Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

 

This one is just so much fun...

No seriously. The first one with Tom Holland as Spider-Man is also a fun flick, but this one ramps up the comedy to eleven. It's easily forgotten just how funny this film can be. That doesn't detract from the action, but it does have a metric shit ton of laughs, something which superhero films at times seem to forget a little. 

So sure, the story is a little thin, but you can't win them all, can you?

This film takes place after the events of 'Avengers: Endgame', so a lot of people have been gone from existence for 5 years. But the world is starting to recuperate and now Peter and his class are going on a European trip. But almost immediately, something is off, as a creature made entirely from water attacks Venice and a mysterious superhero saves the day. Turns out this is Quentin Beck, a soldier from an alternate Earth, trying to stop our Earth from being destroyed by these beings called Elementals.

You know, because they're Earth, Fire, Water and Air? 

Spider-Man is enlisted by Nick Fury to help Beck (who also rapidly goes by the moniker Mysterio), which makes life a little tough for Peter, as he is trying to keep up appearances ànd tries to tell MJ that he really, really likes her. 

He also gets access to Tony Stark's military protocols through high tech glasses, even though he doesn't feel ready for them. So it only makes sense that he hands them over to Mysterio, as Peter trusts him. 

Maybe not the best idea ever. 

You see, Mysterio is actually a former employee of Stark who bears a grudge and uses a combination of holographic technology and weaponized drones to create these intricate illusions. He also wants to destroy Nick Fury. And when Peter finds out that Mysterio isn't who he pretends to be, he just placed himself on the hitlist as well as things heat up in London... 

You can tell that Tom Holland now is completely comfortable in the role as Peter and he definitely plays up the comedic angle this time around. Combine that with most of the characters from his school that are comic relief (but not in an annoying fashion) and that makes for a lot of laughs. 

Okay, sometimes a bit too many, but hey.

The action pieces do come nicely balanced throughout the film. The weakest part is probably the story, as you most likely have to be blind not to immediately get that Mysterio is a fishy character. Yes, if you know the comics, this is of course stating the bloody obvious, but not everyone reads comics, let alone knows the entire backstory and rogue gallery of Spider-Man. 

But Jake Gyllenhaal is very good as Mysterio, of that there is little doubt. You can tell he is having a blast and there is really good chemistry between him and Tom Holland. Heck, their chemistry carries the film most of the time. These are probably the only two everyone will remain focused on, as they did make MJ a bit more funny and less stoic. It's a bit weird at first, but considering this is after the events of being erased and the fact that she also likes Peter, it sort of makes sense. But not too much. 

Whichever way you cut it, this is fun. Simple, uncomplicated fun. And yes, you really need to stick around for the mid- and post-credits scenes, because the first reintroduces a fan favourite (really, the theatre erupted in applause when I saw it there and in Belgium, this rarely ever happens) and the second is definitely a "Now that is cool and suddenly I see the events in a different light" kind of thing.