Spider-Man: Far From Home

This review may contain spoilers!

If Endgame was a phenomenal end of an era, then Spider-Man: Far From Home is the MCU proudly announcing that it is here to stay for a long, long time. I would give Spider-Man: Far From Home a 9/10.

Spider-Man: Far From Home is the latest MCU film and follows Peter Parker as he balances an overseas summer vacation and being a superhero agent in the field for Nick Fury and newcomer hero, Mysterio. This film succeeds so well because it takes the time to recognise all that Peter has gone through in recent years/films and then takes him to his breaking point. Throughout the plot Peter is desperately clinging to the thought that he can have a moment of his life that is normal, in which he can tell MJ that he has romantic feelings for her. Sadly Peter is unable to find his normal moment in amongst the appearance of Nick Fury, the threat of an elemental invasion, a team-up with Mysterio and a gift from now-deceased Tony Stark that takes a turn for the worst. Our hero has to suffer a lot in this film, and one of the big points in all this is a betrayal from a newfound ally that leads to the near-destruction of London and Peter's loved ones. This is a high intensity blockbuster that manages to find a way to ground us after the scale of Endgame but at the same time propels Spider-Man into his best solo film yet. The cinematography for this film is absolutely breathtaking, the action scenes carry you along for the ride and each scene feels very effectively framed. The special effects for this film had me stunned; the design for Mysterio and a number of other new and old characters looks fantastic, but the real triumph is the hallucination sequence in Berlin which ultimately was a visual pinnacle in this film. The score for Far From Home has some really well-performed blends of sinister and thrilling; while the soundtrack managed to guide us between settings and add a little bit of light humour.

Tom Holland, who played Spider-Man, has only improved in this role over the years and it's all the more clear now that he's back as the leading protagonist; one of Holland's strongest scenes is when he finally lets his hurt and frustration show in a very moving moment with Favreau's Happy. Samuel L. Jackson, who played Nick Fury, gives a fairly good performance as this international man of espionage; Jackson has a habit of finding a way to make Fury the coolest and toughest guy in the room in most scenes he's in. Jon Favreau, who played Happy Hogan, has some really nice comedic moments playing to his character's infatuation with Tomei's May; in this film you get to see Favreau really act as a guide for Spider-Man and help him in a way that Happy once did alongside Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark. Zendaya, who played MJ, is this incredibly intelligent, resourceful role that stands out strongly; Zendaya really fleshes out her role's own awkward approach to forming relationships in this film and it's a good contrast to the journey Peter is on too. Jacob Batalon, who played Ned Leeds, is still incredibly solid as one of the film's main points of humour; Batalon and Holland have a bond that makes for unbelievably good best friend chemistry on-screen. Martin Starr, who played Mr. Harrington, is still amazingly fun to watch as the nervous, overly protective teacher and chaperone; Starr's ability to present a very highly strung man who is comically tragic works wonders in several scenes. Jorge Lendeborg Jr., who played Jason Ionello, returns to this sequel for one scene that is a seriously funny callback to Homecoming; the way Lendeborg Jr. manages to bounce off Rice and provide a very wry delivery of exposition about the events of Infinity War and Endgame is great. Cobie Smulders, who played Maria Hill, very nearly eclipsed Jackson in this film if it wasn't for the amount of dialogue she had; Smulders really played to Hill's hard edge which lead to an incredible scene with her wielding an RPG. 

However, the best performance came from Jake Gyllenhaal, who played Mysterio. There have been a number of antagonists in the MCU that I really love but Mysterio has found himself a place high up near the top. Gyllenhaal is an extremely versatile performer who has often proven himself to flesh out roles extremely thoroughly, and this is no exception. His first act portrayal draws you in with this incredibly charismatic, fearless hero who becomes a friend and pillar of support for Holland's Peter. Yet it soon becomes apparent that this 'hero' role has to be so convincing so that when it becomes time for the audience to look behind the curtain and learn that Mysterio is a team of people creating illusions, we truly are surprised. From there Gyllenhaal relishes in crafting a showman who is smug and maniacally vindictive; taking any opportunity he can to bask in the power he has created for himself. Gyllenhaal succeeds with this role because he finds an antagonist who is capabale of manipulating perception and as his plan unravels and we grow closer to the end you can see the desperate lengths he is willing to go to maintain his lie.

This film struggles with incorporating some of the secondary subplots that are intertwined throughout the film, most significantly being Nick Fury and 'SHIELD''s involvement. There is a point in this film in which Nick Fury starts to become important and at first this is interesting but then secret agents start to get inserted for bit moments of humour, or Nick Fury really slams Peter with some out of character tough love. The entire payoff here is explained in the last end credit scene of the film, which is a great scene but wasn't necessarily worth creating such a jarring element of the film for. The editing for the film sometimes supported the subplot issues I've mentioned, chiefly that there are several scenes (some of which are high action moments) in which shots cut away at a point that interrupts the flow or doesn't add strongly to the moment itself.

Marisa Tomei, who played May Parker, still doesn't feel very convincing as a caregiver role for Holland's Peter; Tomei takes a strong backseat in this film and given a relatively boring subplot. Tony Revolori, who played Flash Thompson, still just does not work as the arrogant rick kid bully; Revolori finds a way to make this character even more over the top and unbearable with his livestreaming antics and weird butler interaction at the end of the film. Angourie Rice, who played Betty Brant, is given a significant amount of screen time in this sequel which just feels unwarranted; forcing a high school romance between Rice and Batalon's characters added nothing to this film at all. Remy Hii, who played Brad Davis, is a pretty forgettable minor antagonist; Hii is the 'rival' for MJ's affection but he gives such a generic popular kid performance that often enough you forget about this role. J.B. Smoove, who played Mr Dell, just felt like another teacher role too many; Smoove did his best for some funny moments but he was consistently eclipsed by Starr.