After the stellar success of Avengers: Endgame, any superhero outing is likely to pale in comparison. Though in many ways, Spider-Man: Far From Home serves as a post-banquet confection or coda to Endgame, as it's set in the days following the global annihilation/resurrection of The Snap (or "Blip" as it's called here), with an emerging hero - Tom Holland's Peter Parker - who like much of the world, is still picking up the pieces after the death of his beloved mentor, Tony Stark.
Did Tony intend for Peter and Spider-Man to take on the mantle as leader of The Avengers? Those are intimidatingly big shoes to fill, and a heavy burden to contemplate. Fortunately, Peter's school is headed to Europe for a class trip to Venice, and beyond.
The plot thickens when Peter's recruited by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and a new ally called Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), as a gaggle of inter-dimensional Elemental creatures (a water being, a molten thing, etc.) are threatening the tourists. All Peter really wants to do is find time to be closer to MJ (Zendaya), so he can express how he really feels to her. Turns out that's all the audience really wants, too.
Directed by Spider-Man: Homecoming helmer Jon Watts, the film is most successful when the focus is on these young innocents abroad, who have terrific chemistry together. Jacob Batalon and the other school pals are back from the first film, and when they're just left to interact and stumble giddily towards independence, there's genuine fun to be had. Holland and Zendaya are terrific together, especially when Holland's awkwardly trying to express himself. He carries the picture. I found when Parker's more angst-ridden and Stark-haunted, things were less engaging. I have to say I enjoyed Homecoming much more.
Part of that may be Gyllenhaal's character, who just wasn't as gripping or involving as I'd have liked him to be. It doesn't help that he's often surrounded by an avalanche of eyeball-numbing CG, swarms of lethal drones that caused this viewer to check out in Act 3. The story wasn't as compelling and the stakes didn't feel as personal. And as in Captain Marvel, they seem to be using Nick Fury more for laughs these days, and he's not nearly the bad-ass he used to be in The Winter Soldier.
More Ant-Man than Avengers, Spider-Man: Far From Home is diverting enough, but it swings nowhere near the heights of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It's a fun summer escape, but by no means a Marvel classic. Now that Marvel Studios has concluded Phase 3, here's hoping Holland gets the true Spidey opus he deserves.
Did Tony intend for Peter and Spider-Man to take on the mantle as leader of The Avengers? Those are intimidatingly big shoes to fill, and a heavy burden to contemplate. Fortunately, Peter's school is headed to Europe for a class trip to Venice, and beyond.
The plot thickens when Peter's recruited by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and a new ally called Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), as a gaggle of inter-dimensional Elemental creatures (a water being, a molten thing, etc.) are threatening the tourists. All Peter really wants to do is find time to be closer to MJ (Zendaya), so he can express how he really feels to her. Turns out that's all the audience really wants, too.
Directed by Spider-Man: Homecoming helmer Jon Watts, the film is most successful when the focus is on these young innocents abroad, who have terrific chemistry together. Jacob Batalon and the other school pals are back from the first film, and when they're just left to interact and stumble giddily towards independence, there's genuine fun to be had. Holland and Zendaya are terrific together, especially when Holland's awkwardly trying to express himself. He carries the picture. I found when Parker's more angst-ridden and Stark-haunted, things were less engaging. I have to say I enjoyed Homecoming much more.
Part of that may be Gyllenhaal's character, who just wasn't as gripping or involving as I'd have liked him to be. It doesn't help that he's often surrounded by an avalanche of eyeball-numbing CG, swarms of lethal drones that caused this viewer to check out in Act 3. The story wasn't as compelling and the stakes didn't feel as personal. And as in Captain Marvel, they seem to be using Nick Fury more for laughs these days, and he's not nearly the bad-ass he used to be in The Winter Soldier.
More Ant-Man than Avengers, Spider-Man: Far From Home is diverting enough, but it swings nowhere near the heights of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It's a fun summer escape, but by no means a Marvel classic. Now that Marvel Studios has concluded Phase 3, here's hoping Holland gets the true Spidey opus he deserves.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment