Peter Parker is adjusting to life after the events of movies I have never seen.
Nearing the end of high school, he is on a school trip to Europe with his class. His only plan is to ask MJ (Zendaya) out.
But Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and a mysterious character called Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) have other plans.
Spider-Man: Far From Home reminds me of when I would try to read Spider-Man comic books: jumping into the middle of an ongoing story, with various references to stories which have come before.
It feels like an extended middle act with a stinger for another story at its end.
I know that is the Marvel strategy but I hate it.
I really like Jake Gyllenhaal in this movie - he goes big in a fun way. He was apparently in the frame to take over from Tobey Maguire if he was unable to return for Spider-Man 2.
It is interesting to see him here, although his performance feels constrained by the script.
Everything I dislike about this movie relates to the script.
This movie wants to be about accepting the role that people have forced on you - but the movie never follows through.
And more importantly, Peter is never truly in danger. Just imagine if the Raimi version had a European trip? No Tony Stark gizmos. No Nick Fury. Probably no money either.
Holland’s Peter may be at high school and live in Queens, but he is completely shielded from life - that is cutting off the character from one of his key elements: his relatability.
Spider-Man has always been about the conflict between superheroics and ordinary life.
Most of Maguire’s conflict comes from his attempts to maintain a life outside of his superhero identity - he is always struggling for money, constantly late for important events and worried about his friends and family (e.g. Aunt May losing her house to the bank in Part 2).
On top of that, the Raimi and Marc Webb versions are constantly having their two lives invade and overlap with each other - one of the high points of Homecoming is when Adrian Toomes threatens Peter in the car. It is the one time he is in genuine danger - not just in the immediate sense, but in terms of everything he holds important.
The one time the movie gets close to this is when Mysterio uses his illusions on Spider-Man in the warehouse.
I criticized the marginalization of Aunt May in the Garfield-verse but Uncle Ben is completely absent from these movies in favor of hero worship of Tony Stark.
Not that Peter cannot look for role models - it makes sense as part of his character.
But the character never imparts any major lessons, and Peter does not appear to learn anything from his death.
The most he gets is a(nother) suit.
The creation of this new suit aggravates me - it removes any obstacles. I would have appreciated some defects because of how fast it had to produced. Think about the repeated tech failures in Mission: Impossible IV, or Miles trying to figure out web shooters while being chased in Into the Spider-Verse. Marvel’s webhead is teflon-coated.
There is a nice beat where he runs out of webs and has to improvise - but it is over quickly.
This movie ends in the place where Spider-Man existed in his previous incarnations - on the backfoot and with his personal and heroic identities in danger.
I guess that is progress?
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