Although I really enjoyed the different but unique Spider-Man movie from the MCU, I will confess that I didn’t think it was the best version of a Spider-Man movie that I've ever seen especially when compared to the Sam Rami versions or the more recently loved Into the Spider-Verse movie. However, It came to my surprise that the Tom Holland Spider-man’s most recent adventure would honestly surprise me with its more emotional focused storytelling and unique action set-pieces that help elevate the movie into not only being a solid spider-man movie, but also a solid MCU movie at that.
Taking place a few months after the events of Avengers Endgame, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is back to being your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and is also looking forward to take a break to go on a European school vacation with his buddy Ned (Jacob Batalon) and to put the moves on his new found crush MJ (Zendaya). However, during the vacation, he gets intercepted by Nick Furry (Samuel L Jackson) who pairs him up with another hero named Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) to take down large monstrous threats which interfere with Peter’s class trip. Peter reluctantly tries to pass off his responsibilities as a superhero but that may prove to be faital as he will soon discover the truths about his allies.
What makes this movie work is the more emotional and relatable focus of Peter Parker's Character. Peter was already pretty relatable in Homecoming, but this movie balances more of what we liked before while adding new challenges such as dealing with the sad fact that his mentor Iron Man is gone, Peter’s life after being resurrected from the snap, and just the fact that he is somewhat pressured into living his superhero life more than just being a normal teenager. The conflict is great and instantly understandable but the movie also balances itself out with having some solid humor and creative action that has set a new standard for the MCU Spider-Man franchise.
Peter’s character has never felt more real to the audience and actor Tom Holland pulls no punches in his performance. During the course of the movie, Peter makes some interesting choices that can be seen as right or wrong, but his reasons for making the choices he does are still understandable knowing the stuff he has and is going through. Other characters return in the last movie such as the funny and dorky Ned, MJ or Mary Jane who gets more of a character arc, and even other surprising characters make an appearance like Nick Fury and Tony Stark’s former butler Happy played by the great Jon Faveru. The most interesting character that has made quite a mark in this movie is Mysterio who has such an interesting backstory and a twist that while you can see it coming a mile away, is still executed very well with the greatest of ease.
If you thought the action set pieces in Homecoming were spectacular, Far from home exceeds those scenes immensely as this film has some of the most brilliantly laid out visuals that can be compared to even the best MCU movies. The action is smooth and makes great use of showing Spider-Man’s and even Mysterio’s powers. The big fight scenes against the monsters are great and provide a great edge on your seat action, but when things in the story are revealed the imagery only gets more and more enhanced and visually creative such as when spider-man finds himself in a distorted reality that he thinks is real when it actually isn't. It should also be mentioned that this movie takes place around Europe so you can bet the cinematography will show off as many European landmarks as possible such as Rome Italy or London England. Bottom line, these are some of the best superhero visuals that can be compared to even some of the past Spider-Man incarnations which are already visually interesting in their own rights
Micheal Giacchino returns as the film's composer and much like almost everything else he has scored throughout his career, the score for Far From Home is fun, energetic and even blissful when it needs to be. It is rather debatable if this music soundtrack is better than Homecoming’s, but there is no doubt that Giacchino knows how to get an audience invested with his great compositions.
When Spider-Man was introduced into the MCU, this was the movie I thought I was gonna get. I guess it just turns out I needed to wait one film later to have what is honestly an MCU Spider-man movie that is at least in or around my top ten favorite MCU movies. I still enjoy Homecoming, but Far From Home in my opinion is so much better thanks to its relatable and fun storyline, characters that have been made even more interesting, outstanding visuals, and a great score from Micheal Giacchino. There is more interesting stuff ahead for our favorite Web-slinging hero in the future, but this movie is the one MCU Spider-Man movie that is gonna be pretty hard to beat.
(Final Grade: A-)