Caffeinated Clint
If ‘’Avengers : Endgame’’ was therapy, then ‘’Spider-Man : Far From Home” is the ice cream cone on the way home.
Hankies get a welcome rest here as Peter Parker transports audiences on a fun cage-match across the globe with his buddies. The result is a refreshingly different, very enjoyable genre-mesh that will be appreciated by a much wider, broader audience than your standard superhero offering. And unlike the brilliant but heart-hurting “Avengers” culmination from earlier this year – the last place we see this incarnation of Spider-Man – you won’t need a referral from your doctor to see a specialist afterwards, due to the issues it raises to the surface.
Just like it’s predecessor, Jon Watt’s “Spider-Man : Far From Home” melds two usually disparate types of films : the superhero action-adventure flick & the coming-of-age teen comedy. It’s John Hughes and John Frankenheimer hanging out for one night only, if you will.
Watts’ take on Stan Lee’s beloved web-slinger embodies all the tried and true elements of the “Spider-Man” films that came before it, sure – Peter Parker’s ineptness, the relationship between our hero and his treasured ‘MJ’, and the unaccustomed balancing act of trying to preserve a normal teenage life while moonlighting as a costumed hero – but it’s more finely tuned focus on comedy, and in particular the uneasiness of Peter Parker’s teenage years, sees this recording play on a whole different speed to the Sam Raimi and Mark Lawrence films. And it’s that perky light touch, combined with the very relatable teenage trials of passage that Parker finds himself caught up in, that may make Watt’s the most successful and faithful screen adaptation of the source material to date.
“Far From Home” -or “National Lampoon’s Spider-Man Vacation”, as it might otherwise be called – sees a post-“Infinity War” Parker (Tom Holland) joining his class on a school trip to Europe. But soon enough, Peter – who is more interested in having some ‘off’ time from hero duty so he can charm the lovely ‘MJ’ (Zendaya) – is assigned the task of bringing down some colossal new villains with a strange new ally: Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal).
What Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers’ “Far From Home” script does so very well, not just as a comic book movie but as a stand-alone comedy and fantasy film, is that it’s determined to do something very, very different -both visually (wow, I tell you! Wow!) and thematically, while never tipping the audience off as to where it might be going. An unpredictable, eye-gasm that’s full of laughs, thrills and genuine suspense? Almost unheard of in 2019!
While it’s the hoots and incalculable witticisms you’ll likely be able to recite in the weeks to come, the film revels in its effects and fight sequences, serving up niftily crafted VFX biffo bits that are truly applaudable.
The film’s large cast are as steady as a flame on a well-placed Bunsen Burner.
Holland proves, once again, to be as equally fun a Peter Parker as he is a Spidey, Zendaya gets to effectually explore her tangible onscreen chemistry as her MJ grows closer to classic comic book love Peter, and both Samuel L.Jackson and Jon Favreau have fun, and aren’t afraid to poke fun at their personas, with their long-standing MCU parts – usually performed more seriously – of Nick Fury and Happy Hogan, respectively.
Adding real gravitas to this round is the always-solid Jake Gyllenhaal, playing the mysterious new superhero in town. The backstory on this guy is not only brilliantly written but a lot of fun, and Gyllenhaal seems to be genuinely enjoying letting loose here.
The support cast, particularly those that help make up the rest of Parker’s class – notably Jacob Bartron, Angourie Rice, Remy Hii, and Tony Revolori – and also the teachers – J.B Smoove and Martin Starr, just stupendous – are as equally as memorable as anyone in tights, too, with the writers dividing up the quality dialogue between all.
Sure, Parker doesn’t advance too much here – ending the film in much the same place he started it in – but he does learn to deal with the death of a mentor, does learn to tap further into his “tingles” as a result of understandable naivety, and further perfects those cool-ass flips and fight manoeuvres- which, being Spidey, is super important. Considering the deep, emotional brow beating “Endgame” put us through, most will be perfectly fine with Spidey skipping most of the lesson plan this time around.
This is just big, exciting and shockingly fresh fun – a film that’ll have you cheering right through to the killer mid-credits sequence.
Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 2” might finally have been popped off the throne. Wear the crown proud, “Far From Home”.
