Spider-Man: Far From Home is the twenty-third movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the final movie in Phase Three and the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming. If you haven’t seen Captain Marvel, I wouldn’t advise you to watch this movie because you will be confused, and even though it should be obvious, you should not watch this movie if you haven’t at least seen Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, which also require that you see all the MCU movies. If you haven’t done all of that already, why are you here?
I enjoy the majority of the MCU, but I did not enjoy Spider-Man: Far From Home, and I really wanted to. I love the cast of regulars and the guest stars. I love the overall humor. I loved certain themes, including the three romantic stories. I loved how it was a high school coming of age comedy. I adored how we saw normal people react to the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame. Peter Parker’s storyline was interesting, but Spider-Man’s wasn’t. I don’t read the comics, and I’ve heard high praise from fans of the comics for this movie, but I love MCU because it is unpredictable, and I roughly knew exactly what was going to happen as if I was watching a 70s sitcom where you’re uncomfortable because of the layers of misunderstandings. Marvel movies and television shows love to lean heavily on to the trope of the hero being seen as the opposite, and I’m actually a little tired of it. The opening scene made me roll my eyes, and if you watch a lot of movies, you’ll be able to see the majority of the plot twist fairly coming fairly early.
The intention behind Spider-Man: Far From Home’s story is solid. During times of grief and crisis, be wary of trusting leaders that seem to perfectly embody what you’re looking for without doing your due diligence. Don’t cede your power, but deal with it even if you are uncomfortable and feel inadequate. Be cautious of the spin. These themes are urgently germane, and the way that the film does it is apolitical so unlike the prior MCU movies, it is less likely to alienate viewers of a certain political persuasion. Unfortunately I only like a solid message in my entertainment if I was entertained, and I just kept asking why anyone, especially a certain MCU staple, trusted a certain someone who just happened to coincidentally arrive at the same time as the problems. It aggravated and annoyed me, and I knew that something was off with our usual cast of heroes though I did not guess the exact reason and was delighted by that reveal. I also don’t buy that Spider-Man is that dumb, especially after the school bus sequence. I didn’t like the way that it ended though I love the casting choices.
Spider-Man: Far From Home’s story reminded me too much of Iron Man 3, which I enjoyed the first time around, and Robert Downey Jr. could pull off because we associate him as an individual with the persona more than his suit, but the character of Spider-Man is rooted in location and certain aesthetics. I thought that the way that the movie dealt with it was hilarious, but it felt like a retread, which is deliberate. The movie is trying to make parallels with Tony Stark and Peter Parker, but I never asked for it or wanted it. While I appreciate the question of a power vacuum and tackling identity issues, I ultimately did not like the answer. I’m not saying that Spider-Man couldn’t or shouldn’t be the leader, but I don’t like how it is aggressively shoving the mantle of explicit successor instead of being a person in his own right who assumes the responsibility in his own way. For once, I don’t agree with the message.
I also didn’t like that Spider-Man: Far From Home was literally Spider-Man: Far From Home because he was not in New York. For me, Spider-Man is New York. I know that this unmooring from location enhances Spider-Man’s discombobulation and instability that is inherent in the character’s psyche after the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, but it didn’t work for me. I don’t hate globe trotting in all movies, but I think that it is ultimately a weak, gimmicky narrative device that didn’t work in this movie, Aquaman or Men in Black: International. Also in a world of superheroes and villains, the part that ruined my suspension of disbelief was the idea that kids from public school would go on a school summer trip to Venice while one character makes jokes about Peter being poor. Exactly! How can these kids afford it? I don’t believe you! You’re lucky to get parents’ permission for the trip to Washington D.C., and that trip is a high school staple. Spider-Man in space and on different planets is fine, but in Europe, no.
Spider-Man: Far From Home felt as if it left some plot threads hanging. It felt as if there was some tension between Ned and Peter because Ned was putting a lot of pressure on Peter to save them before the threat emerges, and I was kind of waiting for Peter to address that, but it never happens. I love their friendship, but that felt weird that they never even talked about it later in the same way that Peter talked to May at the end.
While I liked that the denouement got us to a Spider-Man staple, and I loved the way that the villain ultimately bested Spider-Man at the end of their first confrontation, overall I hated the visual representation of his powers. I understand that I may be in the minority here, but I have a personal quirk when I watch sci-fi, and I had this problem when I was watching Doctor Strange too. Nothing makes me less invested in the outcome of a conflict than when characters have to fight something that isn’t substantially happening in the real world. I’d rather see the real deal with intercut point of view shots of what the character is seeing than just seeing what the hero thinks that they’re seeing, especially when I know that it isn’t real. I know that it would look ridiculous, but it is ridiculous. I was with you when a kid got bitten by a radioactive spider that enables him to be super strong and sticky, but now I have to see a bad acid trip. The line must be drawn here. It doesn’t matter what the movie or television show is, I despise it. I just can’t.
I guess if you were ever wondering if I’m just blindly, uncritically consuming every Marvel movie, this review answers your question. I’m not excited about the direction that the MCU is going, and I did not enjoy Spider-Man: Far From Home. I still adore the cast and the characters that they brought to life, but for once, I absolutely disagree with the writing and the message behind the story. MCU has been so great that I even doubt myself and could totally buy that my opinion is wrong. I want to be wrong.