3.5/5
Spider-Man: Far From Home tackles some vital questions: Can there be a future to MCU films post the Avengers: Endgame? Tony Stark is dead. Captain America has retired. Thor has gone off somewhere in space. Captain Marvel is taking care of the whole galaxy, if not the universe. So who would fill the void left by Tony Stark? Can Spider-Man, who is sorely grieving the loss of his friend and mentor be the next Iron Man and the leader of New Avengers? The answer, ironically, doesn't lie within the film but in the mid-credits and the end-credits scenes of the film. These tidbits are so twisted it isn't funny. They not only give a delightful twist to Spider-Man's fate but also offer up tantalising possibilities about the future of the Marvel Universe.The film begins by offering us a brief summary of what happened when people killed by Thanos suddenly came back. It's not just the superheroes but the common people too who have to deal with the consequences of missing out five years from their lives. Thankfully it's done in a fun way but nevertheless does reminds us of the chaos caused by Thanos. The film then shifts to a field trip organised by Peter Parker's (Tom Holland) highschool. The Europe trip, which covers Venice, Prague and London, runs through the length of the film like a long-running gag and infuses it with several light-hearted moments. It's interesting to note that it parodies several old tropes associated with field trip films for doing so.
In Venice, a water monster surfaces, threatening to drown the city but a mysterious superhero, named Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), appears out of nowhere and saves the day. Mysterio appears to be a mix of Iron Man and Dr Strange. He comes as a boon for Peter, who is desperately in need of a mentor and feels Mysterio fits the bill. There is a scene where he wears Tony Stark's glasses and looks almost like him in subdued lighting. That kind of convinces Peter that Mysterio and not him is the heir to Iron Man and he ends up giving a global defence system bequeathed to him by Iron Man to Mysterio. That Mysterio isn't what he seems hardly matters as the whole film is a kind of inverted joke played by Marvel on the audience. The studio is telling us through this film that what we invested in for the last 10 years was just a creation of smoke and mirrors and hardly real and hence we should stop mourning its passing away. They are asking us to move on to other stories and it's time we did exactly that.
The film boasts of some of the best fight choreography seen in a superhero film. And the special effects too have been rather imaginatively used by the director Jon Watts. They're bigger and better than those seen in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
The implausible storyline works because of the performances. Zendaya is a natural as MJ, Peter Parker's crush and later girlfriend. She's so good in fact that it's criminal to waste her as a supporting character. Marvel should seriously think of starting a franchise with her. Tom Holland makes us invest in both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. He's infinitely superior to all the other actors who have played the role before. He's a treat to watch both as a high on hormones teenager as well as a fumbling superhero. The ensemble cast, comprising Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury and Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill are as dependable as ever. We wish there were more buddy comedy scenes between Peter and his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon). To compensate for that, Ned gets a girlfriend, Betty (Angourie Rice) and both play out the teenagers-in-love-while-on-vacation trope to the hilt.
Spiderman: Far From Home is the last of the old MCU films. With so many other characters now in their kitty, the direction new films will take is bound to be different. So the present film is like a bridge between the past and the future. It’s a spectacular ride in itself. Enjoy it also for its nostalgia value...
Trailer : Spider-Man: Far From Home
Neil Soans, July 1, 2019, 7:05 PM IST
4.0/5
Spider-Man: Far From Home Story: The events of 'Avengers: Endgame' have changed the world; particularly for Peter Parker (Tom Holland) who struggles to keep his personal and professional lives separate.
Spider-Man: Far From Home Review: Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is still reeling after the massive showdown in ‘Avengers: Endgame’, which claimed the life of his mentor, Tony Stark. It’s only natural that he chooses to take a break from apocalyptic threats, and that comes in the form of an overseas school trip, along with his mates. Although, he’s a bonafide Avenger now, which means he has great responsibilities that he can’t escape, no matter where is. Peril soon catches up to him when Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) shows up and gives him his next big mission. But is Peter up to the task?
One of the biggest tasks the film must tackle is picking up after the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) world-altering ‘Endgame’. It does this by taking us into Peter's head, and the frame of mind Spider-Man is in. It makes a compelling angle; Peter is struggling with who he is – a school going teenager who really likes his classmate MJ (Zendaya), and who he is meant to become – Tony Stark’s successor. The plot is mostly built around this problem, and Tom Holland brings a lot of nuance and depth to both angles. Peter’s affable demeanour is now well-established, but Holland also makes this Spider-Man a more significant force to be reckoned with, and that’s saying something.
The film’s plot also has to juggle between a high-school romantic comedy tonality and the guns-blazing action spectacle that audiences have come to expect from an MCU film by now. While this can get occasionally tedious – some jokes feel a little forced and could have easily been left out – it’s engrossing under Jon Watts’ direction. Chalk it up to the performances, especially with Jake Gyllenhaal’s take on Quentin Beck a.k.a. Mysterio. The character is entirely unpredictable, made more intriguing by Gyllenhaal’s performance. The action set pieces are surprisingly innovative, especially in the second half of the film. As a result, 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' is a lot of fun but more importantly, the film is also a satisfying continuation and way forward for the MCU, as Tom Holland proves he’s more than capable of carrying an Avengers’ film on his young shoulders.
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