SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME by Urizen

   Spider-man, spider-man, does whatever a spider can! Man I have been hyped for this movie since it was announced. Endgame was an amazing movie, but there is no denying that it was depressing.  While Far From Home wasn’t going to be a one hundred percent happy movie,  especially since it was going to have to deal with the aftermath of Endgame, the idea was still a breath of fresh air. Spider-man has also been a more light hearted character, so it was something that was definitely going to be needed. I couldn’t wait, even if it’s existence almost seems like a spoiler. I’m not going to waste too much time with this one, let’s dive on in. It goes without saying though, this is going to have spoilers for Endgame if you haven’t yet seen it.  

   Spider-man: Far From Home deals with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker after the events of Endgame. He is still living the superhero life, but when his class gets ready to go on a trip to Europe, he wants to take a break. For once he wants to just enjoy himself and spend time with his friends, especially Ned played by Jacob Batalon, and Michelle, played by Zendaya, whom he wishes to confess his feelings to. While on the trip, he gets approached by Nick Fury, who had been trying to contact him for days. He tells him that they need his help. He needs to team up with a hero named Quentin Beck and stop a new threat that is threatening this world. A threat that ravaged the Earth Beck came from. It is revealed that Quinten Beck is a hero on his Earth, explaining the multiverse to Peter. He says they must stop these four creatures, known as the Elementals. Apparently Beck had stopped two prior while he and Peter stopped another together in Venice, leaving just one, the fire elemental. Beck, being dubbed Mysterio, and Peter develop a close friendship as the two team up to save the world. Along the way, the two deal with their own personal issues,  Beck wanting revenge for his family that he lost, and Peter with trying to figure out who he wants to be and if he can live up to everyone's expectations of him.

   I’m not going to lie, this  movie is so hard to talk about. About at Endgame levels of difficult. It is to the point that maybe in a few days I might get into spoilers. There are so many things to talk about that I can't, not without giving away major elements of the movie. It makes it so hard to get into the plot of. It is beyond frustrating.

   Let me just go in and say, this movie is amazing. While Into The Spiderverse was my favorite Spider-man movie in general, Far From Home takes the spot as my favorite live action Spider-man. It did a great job at capturing the essence of the character. I know people have had multiple complaints about the MCUs version of Spider-man, including the lack of web swinging, him not building his own suit and equipment, and him feeling like an Iron Man sidekick rather than his own hero. I can safely say that that all gets fixed in this movie. I’m fairly certain they heard the complaints and did their best to listen to the fans.

   Going with that, there is a lot to like in this film, but one of my favorites is the conflict Peter is going through. He wants to go back on this field trip, confess to MJ, and have this time being like a normal kid. Unfortunately, everyone else has other plans for him, and want him to be the next Iron Man, putting a lot of pressure and expectations on him. With that and still grieving over Tony’s death, it leads to one of my favorite and most touching moments in the MCU thus far.

   While there are the heavier moments, this movie has a lot of humor. It is Spider-man after all. Thankfully almost all of the jokes land successfully, with a few not quite hitting the mark. Those mainly fall on the Peter's teachers though, and honestly it really isn't many that don’t work. What was also nice is that with this humor, it gave a lot of the side characters a chance to shine. Everyone got their moment without it feeling too overcrowded. The balance was perfect and no one was overshadowed.

   As far as acting and characters go,  everyone is great in this. Tom Holland continues to kill it as Petwe Parker. He really has become my favorite version of the character thus far. Peter's story and development over the course of the MCU has been great so far, as he is growing into the character we know and love from the comics. He finally is getting his spidey sense going in this too, which May refers to as the Peter Tingle. I thought I would hate her calling it that, but the joke works.  Seeing Peter get to really nerd out over things and show just how smart he is was something I was really excited for, and I’m happy we got more of that. After this,  I’m really excited to see where they go next with him.

   Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio is everything I could have ever wanted. I was so worried when I heard we were getting Mysterio in this movie. He is a character that while he can be written really, really well, has also been written as more of a joke. Plus there is the whole fishbowl helmet that I didn’t think they would do. His whole costume is a bit over the top. When we got that first reveal of him though, man they really brought his costume to life, and it looked excellent. His powers and fight scenes were among my favorites in the movie. That being said, pretty much all of the action scenes were excellent. The movie also does good with creating and strengthening bonds throughout it. We get Happy and Peter growing closer, MJ and Peter getting to know each other more, and Beck and Peter forming a close bond. Gyllenhaal and Holland work really well off of each other, and the interactions between the two are excellent. Gyllenhaal killed it, and like I said, Mysterio was everything I could have ever wanted.

   Here's a fun tidbit for you,  I don't really like Mary Jane Watson. There are a few exceptions such as the PS4 game and the Ultimate universe,  but even in the Ultimate comics I was more into him and Kitty or him and Gwen. MJ can be written well, but most often I'm not a fan. When Homecoming came out and we got the reveal that Zendaya's Michelle Jones went by MJ and she was going to be this movies version of the character, I was very okay with a welcomed, different take of the character. I had only wished I could see more. Thankfully, here I got that. We get to see a bit more of MJ’s personality and character in this movie and it is wonderful. She is weird and fun, throwing out random facts about how the Eiffel Tower is a mind control tower, so it is something she is most looking forward to seeing, and how a bridge they are on was a spot where they killed people. Her favorite flower is even a Black Dahlia, because of the murders. It is such a change from the traditional take on the character, and I am all for it. I appreciate that Peter likes her and even when she says all of this stuff about murders and such, he doesn’t look at her strangely for it or anything. He even goes to get her a black dahlia necklace. The chemistry between Tom Holland and Zendaya really shines in this. I know I have said it before in this; I’m super excited for what the future of the MCU holds for them.

   Spider-man: Far From Home is an excellent film and a great way to close out the Infinity Stone Saga of the MCU. Boasting a great soundtrack, excellent visuals and action sequences, and great development for the characters we have known thus far. While some may still put Spider-man 2 above this due to some flaws it may have, such as some iffy CGI moments, jokes that land flat at times and nontraditional takes on the characters, it will still surely rank high up there in people’s lists of top Spider-man movies. Also make sure you stay for those post credits scenes. I have no idea what it is all going to lead up to, but I loved every second of it. While Endgame had me excited and apprehensive as to how that phase of the MCU would end,  Far From Home has me hopeful and excited to see what Marvel is bringing us, as we swing into the next stage of the MCU.