Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Marvel films have become such an event that each new addition to the timeline feels like a huge deal and considering I am a huge Spider-Man in general and after the events of Endgame his character easily is in the most interesting place. I was really hyped not only for that side of the film but also for Jake Gyllenhaal to make his way into the MCU considering he is one of my favorite actors of all time. I went into this movie with so much hype and where there definitely are things it could have done better it did provide me with a fun Spider-Man movie which is enough for me. Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is still dealing with the stress and emotions due to the death of Tony Stark and everyone asking if he is going to be the next Iron Man. He sees a class summer trip as the perfect way to get away and take a much-needed break and to focus on building a relationship with his crush MJ (Zendaya) but he finds himself in the middle of a war for the world as Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and a human from another dimension named Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) is fighting evil creatures called Elementals who threaten the entire world.
As I mentioned the character of Peter Parker is in a really interesting place right now as he tries to balance being a high school student and a superhero while also being deeply hurt by the death of Tony Stark and is not really dealing with that. He feels alone and is internalizing so much of this pain and stress which feels new and fresh. We have never seen a character go through something like this in the MCU so far and it is expressed so well through the performance given by Tom Holland. The new shine of his performance is no longer there so he doesn't quite feel like such a big standout than he did in Spider-Man: Homecoming for example but he still is so solid. He brings so much charisma and likeability to this character while also being so good at bringing heartbreaking depth and emotion. Easily when you look at the MCU overall when it comes to well-crafted performances Tom Holland has to be included in the conversation near the top of the list. His chemistry with Zendaya is also a big highlight of this movie, they both come off as so innocent and awkward that it turns a part of this movie that could feel cliched and distracting into something that was legitimately sweet and cute. Of course, Jake Gyllenhaal is also just incredible. Sure its a different type of movie for him to be in but he still gets absorbed into his character and gives a performance that works on all ends depending on what he is going for in each scene.
The visual effects in this movie also impressed the hell out of me which is something I didn't think could be done, the MCU alone has built literal worlds in previous movies and films like Doctor Strange have created some of the most interesting visuals of the decade. Yet still, there are some sequences in this film that play with reality that blew me away. Not only are they so creative but just to create the idea for those scenes and lay them out and actually make them must have taken so much work. They are trippy and disorienting but so well done. This also helps make the action really solid, sure there are some more generic set pieces and big monster fights but especially towards the second half of the film it felt extremely well built and engaging. I will also say where sure there is plenty of dark emotion in the film at its base it is a fun Spider-Man movie. Filled with some great dialogue that had me literally laughing out loud it never becomes a full comedy like Thor: Ragnarok but still is just a blast to watch.
The visual effects in this movie also impressed the hell out of me which is something I didn't think could be done, the MCU alone has built literal worlds in previous movies and films like Doctor Strange have created some of the most interesting visuals of the decade. Yet still, there are some sequences in this film that play with reality that blew me away. Not only are they so creative but just to create the idea for those scenes and lay them out and actually make them must have taken so much work. They are trippy and disorienting but so well done. This also helps make the action really solid, sure there are some more generic set pieces and big monster fights but especially towards the second half of the film it felt extremely well built and engaging. I will also say where sure there is plenty of dark emotion in the film at its base it is a fun Spider-Man movie. Filled with some great dialogue that had me literally laughing out loud it never becomes a full comedy like Thor: Ragnarok but still is just a blast to watch.
As far as negatives with the film I will say it is a bit predictable with its overall ideas and narrative. Sure the specifics are impossible to predict and added some interesting ideas to the plot but you can see the general way things are going from a mile away and it does little to defy those expectations. Instead, it strives to make it the best version of that predictable plot that it can be and for the most part it is able to provide enough fun moments and ideas to not make it feel like it is just being dull and going through the motions. I will also say that there are a few unresolved emotional arcs that feel like they kinda disappear at points in the movie, especially that of the pain Peter feels over Tony. They use it effectively in plenty of scenes but outside of those scenes, it feels like that pain goes away and this film can get distracted overall as it balances being so many different movies in one. The very end (especially the credit scenes) also left a sour taste in my mouth, now no doubt they are fun and so many people will love them but it felt like they had to throw multiple things out there at the last moment that felt out of place. Every movie doesn't need to build a narrative for the next movie to explore, let this movie be a great stand-alone film and don't constantly have your eyes on what's next.
Still though overall I enjoyed Spider-Man: Far from Home quite a bit. Sure it is my least favorite of the 3 MCU films to come out in 2019 (I loved Captain Marvel more than most people) but I still had a great time at the theater watching it and feel like most will also. If nothing else it has two fantastic performances and some of the best visuals of the year but being an MCU film I feel like it won't take much to convince people to go check this one out.