Spider-Man: Far from Home Takes a Bold Swing into a New Phase

The Spider-Man films have a lot on their shoulders as the first Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise to get an installment post-Endgame. So, after bringing to a close one of the most successful and engaging superhero arcs that has been a constant boil for over a decade, where does Marvel go from here? It’s a stressful step forward that’s just as tense as Peter Parker (Tom Holland) feeling the fear of following in the footsteps of his mentor, Tony Stark.

Thankfully, Spider-Man: Far from Home is an assurance that Marvel movies will not be slowing into a comfy groove with its characters and will still have a good time.

Back in action. Marvel Pictures

After the chaotic events of Avengers: Endgame, humanity is attempting to readjust in a new world. Despite the initial shock of having missed out on five years of his life, Peter is more or less thrown back into the same high school situations that he left. He’s once more in the science club with his geeky best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and his crush of MJ (Zendaya). The students are once more off on a field trip, this time across the pond to visit Europe. Peter is hoping it will be a break from his usual superhero duties—a chance to finally relax and make that relationship with MJ work. For the first quarter of the film, we’re eased back into the teen-comedy tone with a cheerfully comfy atmosphere where the focus is more on whether Peter will get into MJ’s good graces than on what monsters Spider-Man will fight next.

But, of course, Peter’s vacation is short lived, and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) pops up on the trip to not only hand Spider-Man another mission but remind him of who he is. More or less taking over for Tony Stark, given his attachment to Tony’s assistant Happy (Jon Favreau), Peter is still conflicted about not only living up to those superhero standards but balancing it all with his high school life. There’s understandable doubt in his mind that he can follow in such footsteps.

Numan Acar, Tom Holland, and Jake Gyllenhaal in Spider-Man: Far from Home. Marvel Pictures

Peter’s superhero mission seems fairly by the book: elemental monsters are attacking the globe, and a magical being from another dimension named Quentin “Mysterio” Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) has brought a warning to stop these monsters early. Standard? Yes, but here is where Far from Home differentiates itself from the formula. By this point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it has become commonplace to witness threats of evil aliens, monsters, wizards, and robots. Earth is now so used to these forces that one could easily manufacture paranoia and persona around such chaos and shake things up for the next era of superhero films.

Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio. Marvel Pictures

Far from Home is not just a great Spider-Man movie but also a powerful epilogue to Marvel’s Phase Three and an invigorating taste of Phase Four. Just when you think the film is settling into the familiar of a Marvel film, it blows the hatches off your perceptions and leads you into a trippy, exciting, and unexpected superhero picture with ideas and personality to spare. There’s a grand assurance that this Spider-Man is up to the challenge and that the future of the MCU is in good hands if it’s willing shake the cage this hard after Endgame.

For Peter being so fearful of the balance in living up to a legacy, Far from Home meets its own challenge of once more meeting the expectations of balancing humor, action, and genuine surprise. Holland and Zendaya have such astounding chemistry that when they reunite for this film it feels more like a real progression in their relationship rather than a necessity of the plot. The action sequences give Peter plenty of chances to swing across all manner of European cities, forced into situations to use his web in the most clever ways. And there are so many shocking twists that breed such excitement and result in the two most perfect post-credit Easter eggs of the entire MCU. I know the directive to stay past the credits is said with every Marvel film, and it’s usually just for a tease of things to come, but this is a rare case where the extra scenes not only present intriguing aspects for the future but force you to go back and reexamine the film from a different perspective.

Michelle (Zendaya) catches a ride. Marvel Pictures