To reveal more about the plot and villainous machinations of Far From Home would be to risk spoilers, but suffice to say the circumstances of Peter’s new mission — which coincides with his school trip to Europe — perfectly dovetail with the lessons this teen hero needs to learn. After the universe-saving scale of Endgame, it’s a relief and a bit of a respite for MCU fans to see Peter get to be just an awkward, sweet kid who wants to tell the girl he likes how he feels and hopes that she — the morosely funny and equally awkward MJ (a delightfully droll Zendaya) — feels likewise. That’s what makes this Peter so relatable and lovable; that he also happens to be a fledgling superhero is what mucks up his adorkable romantic plans.Far From Home is - like its predecessor, Spider-Man: Homecoming - an ‘80s movie at heart. If Homecoming was a John Hughes movie then Far From Home is a hybrid of European Vacation, WarGames, and Gotcha!, meaning it’s a fish out of water comedy mashed up with a teen romance and espionage adventure. The latter element is courtesy of Nick Fury (the perpetually gruff Samuel L. Jackson), who is less a mentor for Peter here than a proverbial principal, always on his case about not screwing up if Peter knows what’s good for him.
With Tony gone and Fury of a one-track mind, it falls to another adult to serve as Peter’s quasi-mentor: Quentin Beck (a suitably dashing Jake Gyllenhaal), a bold superhero from an alternate Earth — dubbed Mysterio by our world — who any true comics fan knows is more than meets the eye. Again, to say more is to risk spoilers, but Mysterio’s inclusion is a perfect pick and sly commentary on our reality-questioning and truth-challenging times. Beck understands the power of image and perception on both the personal and grand scale, a persuasive skill that doesn’t require superpowers so much as a keen understanding of human fallibility and needs.Marvel fans will also get a kick out of the Easter eggs included in the film and all the care the filmmakers have given to this particular installment, while both fans and general audiences alike will be left with plenty to keep them amped for what lies ahead for the web-slinger in Marvel’s Phase Four.
On a technical level, this film’s homestretch boasts some of the MCU’s most impressive visuals this side of Doctor Strange while also addressing some longstanding fan pet peeves about this Spidey’s powers and shortcomings. This is a grander, more ambitious film than Homecoming in many ways, yet it owes that well deserved accolade to all the groundwork laid so far in Tom Holland’s past appearances as Spidey. It’s been great fun to see this new take on the beloved character evolve to such a pleasing extent over the last few years.
