“Spider-Man: Far From Home” Offers an Enjoyable MCU Chapter Post-Endgame – Movie Review

Spider-Man still isn’t on my list of favorite comic book characters. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate who he is and enjoy the content he’s featured in. Spider-Man: Far From Home ended up offering an enjoyable chapter in the MCU that tied up some things after (the very messy) Avengers: Endgame. Let’s see what happens in Phase 4!

This review of Spider-Man: Far From Home is very spoiler heavy. You have been warned.

I won’t say Far From Home is as great as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but the latest film about the red and blue web-slinger does a good job with certain character developments and what to expect going forward in this series.

I’m going to begin this review by talking about the mid-credits and post-credits scenes. So, if you don’t like spoilers, here’s me warning you again.

Still here? Okay then!

Remember how many fans thought Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) was lying about the Multiverse? Well, it was revealed he was indeed lying (that’s just what this character does). However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the concept of multiverses is explored later in the MCU. With all the shenanigans that happened in Avengers: Endgame, I can’t believe the timeline wasn’t altered or tears into certain multiverses didn’t appear.

Also, the mid-credits scene featured J. K. Simmons reprising his role as J. Johan Jameson. His appearance has led to certain fans talking about how a universe with Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man might still exist. Into the Spider-Verse has already explored multiverses. So, the MCU or future live-action Spider-Man movies doing the same doesn’t seem like that much of a stretch.

As for the post-credits scene, it supported another fan theory (the promotional materials made it obvious) about how the Nick Fury with whom Peter interacted with during the film wasn’t the real Fury. Ben Mendelsohn and Sharon Blynn reprised their Captain Marvel roles as the Skrulls Talos and Soren. These two Skrulls had been impersonating Fury and Maria Hill.

Talos and Soren were working on Fury’s commands. Apparantly, Fury is operating from a space station (S.W.O.R.D) and is focused on intergalactic threats.

With Phase 4 being next, I guess we should ready ourselves for the very famous Secret Invasion comic book storyline.

Coming to the rest of the narrative in Spider-Man: Far From Home, it retained its childish side with some darker moments. As far as my opinion goes, the consequences of numerous people coming back after five years were brushed away.

It was too convenient how everyone close to (or kind of close to) Peter were snapped way. It would have been interesting if Aunt May, MJ, or even Ned weren’t snapped and had to deal with Peter still being five years younger upon his return.

The main story was about Peter trying to address his feelings after Tony Stark’s death. For some weird reason, certain people wanted Spider-Man to be the next Iron Man. I mean, why? How does one see such a connection between a web-slinger and a multi-billionaire who flies around in a robot suit? It felt forced to me.

Having said that, Tom Holland continues to do an impressive job as Peter Parker. This movie has many emotional scenes and it is good to see a male superhero on the big screen who isn’t hesitant to show his feelings or cry.

I did like how Far From Home thought of bringing Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio into the fold. He too shared a connection with Tony Stark. Kudos to the writers for going back into the Iron Man film series cannon and using it to give Mysterio a backstory that made sense. Gyllenhaal did an incredible job in the role and considering who he is as a character, this probably isn’t the last we have seen of him. Bring on the Sinister Six, Sony!

I do think the current Spider-Man film series has to figure out what to do with MJ. Zendaya is likable in the role, but she can’t do much because of being the lead’s girlfriend. I enjoy how MJ is a bit taller than Peter and also has a deeper voice (Peter does seem to be squeaky during certain instances when talking). But even though MJ can hold her own in a fight (as much as you would expect a normal teenager to) she needs a separate storyline arc going forward. MJ has to do more than simply worrying about Peter’s wellbeing when he goes to do handle superhero duties.

In other interesting developments, this film featured the MCU’s first Muslim hijabi character (played by Zoha Rahman) and the cast included the MCU’s first openly transgendered actor named Zach Barack.

All in all, if you’re a fan of Spider-Man, you’ll enjoy Far From Home. It has tons of action sequences and humor. There’s also a fun little scene where it looks like Peter’s weapons are paying homage to Cap’s shield and Thor’s hammer. However, if you aren’t into the young web-slinger, skipping the latest installment isn’t much of a big deal.

Feel free to share your thoughts with us.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary