Anthony's Film Review - Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Marvel Studios has done it again, with a superhero action movie that delivers above average...

Spider-Man: Far From Home is the 23rd superhero action movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the last film of MCU's Phase Three group of films, and the first one to be released after the epic Avengers: Endgame just months before. It's just incredible how far Marvel Studios has come and how much further they will likely go. But I'm not going to talk too much about why Marvel is super successful, because I kind of did that already in my review of Avengers: Endgame. Instead, I shall go right into reviewing this movie.

The first half of this movie is essentially a standard superhero movie, particularly a standard Spider-Man movie. Once again, it's about a teenage boy who is both a high school student and a superhero and he's attempting to juggle both. This time, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is going on a class trip to Europe. The group includes his close friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), his love interest MJ (Zendaya), a couple of other students, and two adult chaperones. In the beginning, there is much focus on this trip, such that, for a moment, the movie feels like a Peter Parker movie rather than a Spider-Man movie. But some things serve as a reminder that this movie is a superhero movie. For example, S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) keeps trying to call Peter, who refuses to answer. Peter also receives a gift left behind by Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, and has a few interactions with his aunt May (Marisa Tomei), who knows about his identity as Spider-Man.

Soon, a gargantuan threat appears during the class trip: a giant Water Elemental. Peter as Spider-Man does what he can to save the day, but it turns out he isn't alone. Another superhero named Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) enters the picture. Both he and Spider-Man are doing what they can to stop the monster. From there, Peter learns about what the world is up against: the Elementals of Air, Earth, Water, and Fire. He also learns that Mysterio came from an Earth in an alternate universe. As Spider-Man, Peter has a major task ahead of him, which also comes at the worst possible time, with his class trip going on.

Eventually, something interesting happens. A specific scene in the middle of the film acts as a major turning point, and the rest of the movie takes an unexpected turn. While the first half of the movie feels like a standard Marvel superhero action movie, the second half is definitely not standard. I am not going to mention in detail what happens here. All I'm going to say is this. The threat that Spider-Man faces in the second half is something you will likely not anticipate. Unless you are a Marvel superfan who spends much time coming up with theories of future events based on minute details from previous Marvel stories, this is something that may surprise you because you have never seen such a thing in any movie you've ever seen. That alone bumps my rating for this movie from a 7 to an 8 on my 1-to-10 movie rating scale.

Another thing I'll mention is the mid-credits scene after the initial credits are presented but before the vertical scrolling credits begin. Obviously, I'm not going to spoil what happens here either, but here's why I mention it. This isn't a scene that provides only a bonus tidbit or a source of extra humor. It's a scene that could be considered an essential part of the story. Now, this is definitely not the first time Marvel Studios has done this. Captain Marvel, plus Ant-Man and the Wasp, did this. But the mid-credits scene of Spider-Man: Far From Home is so jawdropping that you should not miss it. It's not just because of the surprise cameo you see here. It's also because it ties in with the second half of the movie, covering a theme that perfectly fits a certain aspect of the real-life chaotic world we're living in 2019. On top of that, it's a great place to end the story and provide a logical launching point for Marvel Studios to tell more stories. (Note: There is also a post-credits scene at the very end, which I didn't see but have read about later. Apparently, it's an astonishing scene because it turns everything you know about one particular character upside-down.)

As you can tell, I definitely enjoyed Spider-Man: Far From Home. It does a fine job engaging the audience, as well as providing a transition between Avengers: Endgame and the next Marvel Cinematic Universe movie that will mark the beginning of MCU Phase Four. Marvel fans will no doubt rejoice over this. So will non-Marvel fans, because I don't think it's necessary to have seen certain previous MCU movies, like Avengers: Endgame or Spider-Man: Homecoming. One thing is certainly clear from this movie. Spider-Man and the MCU are not going anywhere. If anything, there is more to come. Much more.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Spider-Man: Far From Home, visit the Internet Movie Database.