Written by George Heftler
It’s been a good couple years for Spider-man. He’s had an awe-inspiring animated movie. He’s had a critically AND commercially lauded video game. And his live-action endeavors have never gone so smoothly.
It was not so long ago that Spider-man movies were garbage. There are defenders of the third Raimi movie, but The Amazing Spider-man was regarded as dismal by just about everyone and The Amazing Spider-man 2 is even worse. So, when tiny child, Tom Holland, popped up in Captain America: Civil War, gosh, what a breath of fresh air!
But success breeds complacency. And good is the enemy of great just as sure as with great power comes great responsibility. Which is why it’s my unfortunate duty to report that Spider-Man: Far from Home is … pretty good.
First, let me say that if you enjoyed Homecoming, you’ll assuredly enjoy Far From Home. It’s got basically the same cast, but instead of RDJ mugging for the camera, we get to spend more time with the delightful side characters portrayed by Martin Starr, Jacob Batalon, Tony Revolori and more.
The stars of the film are also giving great performances. Holland is wonderful as a hero torn between duty and high school. Zendaya is truly great as MJ and has a lot of chemistry with Holland, and Jake Gyllenhaal has always been a pro at going off the deep end.
The story is … fine, I guess. Peter doesn’t want to deal with the pressure of being a super hero, he’s unhappy someone is hitting on his aunt — the same sort of stuff we’ve seen before. But in addition to the repetitiveness, it also sort of just meanders along. There is a very clear Act 1 and Act 2, but Act 2 is much more engaging—especially since a large portion of the audience will probably see the plot coming from pretty far down the road, you’re left wanting it to hurry up and arrive.
Another thing that leaves me conflicted is the villain motivation. Similar to Homecoming, this is the story of the downtrodden refusing to be stepped on any longer. Vulture (Michael Keaton) turned to crime when the people who made the mess got paid to clean it up, turning a profit from the death, destruction and misery they rained down on the people of New York.
In Far From Home, there’s a monologue that is basically a “reverse-John Galt speech”, extolling the virtues of socialism, and a “is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?” labor force vs. boss attitude. But when you spend so much time railing against Tony Stark as a capitalist pig, and then shrug your shoulders and say, “Yeah, but people are corrupt and will sacrifice the proletariat for the sake of a handful in the ruling class,” it feels like the, “very good people on both sides,” of movie commentary. The Vulture’s message was handled much more deftly.
A final thing absolutely worth mentioning is the post-credits scenes. I have never seen a theater erupt like this, and they truly leave me excited for the future of Spider-Man. For my money, they’re easily the best stingers in the MCU and a must-see.
So, looking at Spider-man: Far From Home movie as a whole, it’s definitely worth watching. I had a great time, and I’m sure you will too. But now that we’ve been spoiled by quality, not just with Spider-man but with the MCU as a whole, the bar is too high to let things like a plodding first half slip past. I don’t want to sound too down on this movie, but 5 years ago, this probably would have been the best piece of Spider-man related media out there. Now? With the recent Spider-boom, it can’t help but feel a shade disappointing.
