I have been looking forward to this film after I saw Homecoming. I am a massive Spiderman fan and I have loved all of his films. Yes even Spiderman 3 and The Amazing spiderman 2 and I am pleased to say Far From Home was far from disappointing. In fact I would say it was slightly better than Homecoming.
Let's get the only criticism I have out of the way which is I thought the start of the film was a bit slow and wasn't as strong as Homecoming. However once we got to the scenes in Prague, it started getting stronger. Like Homecoming, the story was very relatable from a teenagers perspective, the fact that Peter wanted a break from being a superhero and be a normal 16 year old kid is told very well and connects really well with other young teenagers and possibly adults.
The story also focuses on Peters grief for Tony Stark and his pressured belief that he has to be the new face of the Avengers and that leads to him being smartly manipulated by Quentin Beck AKA Mysterio.
Jake Gyllenhaal is perfectly cast as the villain who's actions is first seen as sympathetic since Tony stole his invention ideas but as the film goes on, it becomes clear he's a psychopath who will stop at nothing to make people believe he's a hero. The writers decisions to borrow elements from Mysterios actions from the comics is both clever and very faithful.
The humour is spot on and perfectly timed and each cast member is given a moment to have their shot at a comedic moment in this film; from the hilarious relationships of Aunt May and Happy and Ned and Betty (which was just cute) to Mr Harrington being the naive easy going teacher who all students will probably love.
There's also some foreshadowing which seems irrelevant at first but actually becomes very clever and very meaningful when it arrives but what struck me the most is the character development. In the previous film, Peter wanted to prove he could be a big time superhero and he's not just a little kid. In this film, we see Peters vulnerable side a lot as he grieves for Tony and his desire to be normal for once before accepting he can be a normal teen and be a big time superhero.
Zendeya is also given more screen time as the awkward, down to earth but adorable at the same time MJ who is just as developed as well. We get to understand her as a character and she becomes a more fleshed out character. Yes she is essentially a love interest but she's not your one dimensional damsel in distress love interest. Plus Zendeya and Tom Holland have fantastic chemistry and they fit together just perfectly.
What made this film better than homecoming for me was it took bigger risks. The illusion scenes should be too much for this type of Spiderman film yet they work just right. These scenes become really psychological with mindbending visuals and Easter Eggs from the comics and the scripting part of it just hits you really hard which also shows what a menacing villain Beck really is. It feels like they directly come from a video game and it really pays homage and stays true to the character of Mysterio. There's even a zombie Avenger nod from the comics. Director Jon Watts constructs them really well and also does fantastically with the action sequences.
What I loved most about the 3rd act superhero showdown was the drones Beck uses to try to kill Spiderman have a reminiscence of the comic book robots Spider Slayers and realising it the 2nd time watching it, I definitely felt a big sense of nostalgia. I really hope Beck wasn't actually killed off because he seems to good a character to get rid of and I would love to see a Sinister six adaptation sometime in the future. We already have The Vulture and Mac Gargan who becomes The Scorpion in the comics introduced in homecoming, Mysterio in this movie and the minor character Dimitri who becomes The Chameleon in the comics. Marvel studios would maybe need at least two more sequels before adapting the storyline but I have faith it can work and the more films we have Tom Holland as Spiderman the better.
There's also the mid credit scene which is by far the best MCU credit scene teased. With a hilarious cameo by a classic character, the 3rd film is teased which also makes Beck Spidermans biggest enemy so far. and it's looking like it'll centre on a story that's never been told before via screen adaptation or comic book wise. I really hope it isn't a highly anticipated moment that gets swept under the carpet in the first act otherwise I will be very disappointed.
Overall this is a fantastic and worthy sequel to its predecessor that boasts fantastic visuals, a memorable villain and a very relatable story and teases a potentially fantastic story. Let's just hope the film is better than the anticipation.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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