Introduction
Ever since Spiderman Homecoming (marking the beginning of the second reboot of the Spiderman franchise) was well received by the audience, plans for a sequel was underway and what could be a better way to continue the story than to follow the events of the worldwide blockbuster, Avengers Endgame? Well, that's exactly what happened six years ago, which gave us the first one-billion dollar Spiderman film! Starring an ensemble cast which included Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Samuel L Jackson, Jon Favreau, and Marisa Tomei, this was Sony Pictures' highest grossing film, until it was surpassed by Spiderman: No Way Home in 2021. Stick with me till the end of this new Anniversary Rewind review, as Spiderman Far From Home completes six years.
P.S- Although I do not think anyone of you have missed this film, still saying- this review contains spoilers!
Basic Plot
As Peter Parker mourns the death of Tony Stark, he faces the challenge of dealing with four elemental monsters while on a trip to Europe. He receives help from 'Mysterio', but everything is not as easy as it seems!
Positives
Performances and Comedy
Performances really talk here in this film and it's the dynamism of the combined act of the cast members that helps establish the intended story arc, developed by the writer duo, Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna. I love the conviction with which Tom Holland portray emotions, sorrow for Tony Stark's fate, teenage romance, friendly misunderstandings, and above all, a responsible Spiderman, who can fight the evil even without Iron Man's assistance. The relationship between Holland and Zendaya is explored quite well here and the teenage rom-com is really enjoyable to watch, while Ned played by Batalon is as convincing as ever. A special mention to the scene where MJ gets to know about Peter's identity as the Spiderman; and also where some of the characters including Ned, MJ, and Happy are confessing their secrets, after realizing that they are going to be killed by drones and they only have seconds to live; those scenes were absolutely hilarious! The supporting cast performs well, and while majority of the act is on the comical side, a solid and obvious exception is Mysterio, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. He's pretty convincing as the cunningly con-artist villain, who's character revelation is basically the major conflict point of the film. His actions really make you angry and that adds all the more fun to this film, as Peter goes all out to catch him! It's just that Gyllenhaal's act felt a bit over the top in a couple of serious and intense scenes towards the end of the film but that's alright.
Direction and Technicalities
Director John Watts picked up exactly where he left in 2017, and the results is fantastic. The world building, characterizations, and most importantly, balancing a Spiderman sequel with post Endgame events (not a matter of joke) is handled with relative ease by the director. The writing team does the rest with an intriguing story, coupled with grand action set pieces. The exploration of Peter's character has been great in particular, and while it's majorly Tom Holland's credit, we should also keep in mind that there's no proper act without a proper direction. John Watts concentrates on exploring certain depths of Peter Parker, especially where Peter unknowingly commits mistakes (costing him dearly later) and that's a nice addition, showing his lack of solo experience in the field. His character development from that of a friendly neighborhood web-slinger in Homecoming, to a List-A Avenger in this film is written and executed really well. Characters have been given ample spaces to dynamize the story, and that works well especially when combined with the respites, provided in between action scenes. Setting up of the respite-cum-comedy scenes, and following them up with the action, is chaotic, rightfully amateurish, and unapologetically fun! The film also scores high in technical departments, VFX being the front-runner. The illusions created by Mysterio look all the more organic, owing to the solid CGI work. The climax is really elevated by the proper use of special effects and towards the end, where Peter fights the drones on the London bridge with that final darkened out illusion is an absolute killer of a scene; Superb staging, solid action, and an out-of-web Peter Parker relying on his spider-instincts to overpower Mysterio, is where the thrill soars very high indeed! What also rightfully deserve special mentions, are the quirky camera work by Matthew J. Lloyd and a great music by Michael Giacchino, both of which work very well in sync to provide maximum entertainment and enjoyment.
Underwhelming Aspects
Bits and Pieces
Although this film has no major flaws- there are quite a handful of them which I thought of mentioning. Although director John Watts confidently handles this Spiderman sequel which follows the events of Avengers Endgame, at some point, you might feel the execution of some of the scenes and dialogues to be more inclined towards being executed as an Avengers successor film and not a Spiderman one. The Tony Stark reference was going to be obvious anyways, but it can feel a tad overwhelming. Also, the relationship between Peter and MJ, although set very well) can feel slightly inorganic. I mean, the pair is shown to begin their journey from scratch and develop feelings for each other as the movie progresses- there isn't really a reason as to why MJ just suddenly fell for Peter, especially after their equation with each other in the previous film. Felt like as if Liz was removed from the plot only to allow MJ, who has always been the second choice.
Conclusion
Spiderman Far From Home is the proper follow up to Spiderman Homecoming as well as Avengers Endgame. The action, humor, performances, background score, technicalities, and direction- all come together, to deliver a solid big screen experience, that's explosively fun to the core! This film also solidified Tom Holland as a worthy Spiderman after Andrew Garfield, and of course the OG, Tobey Maguire. While six long years have passed and the fourth Spiderman movie titled 'Spiderman Brand New Day' is set for a mid 2026 release, does this billion dollar Homecoming successor hold up to this day? Well, it surely does! 'People need to believe, and nowadays-they'll believe anything' says Mysterio towards the end of the film, which obviously, sets up Spiderman No Way Home.
Watch Out For
- Cast Performances
- Direction and Screenplay
- Humor
- Action and CGI
WTF Rating
8/10