Spider-Man: Far From Home is a fun and light-hearted sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming. I recently re-watched Homecoming to re-cap the events of Marvel’s second reboot of this fan-favourite franchise and remembered it to be charming, yet slow and tedious at times. After having prepared for a similar experience from Far From Home, I was happily surprised by an exciting and hilarious sequel that outdoes the original in every category.
Far From Home is the first Marvel film to be released since Avengers: Endgame and follows the events of the aftermath of the ‘blip’. Where Homecoming’s pace slowed down during the action scenes, Far From Home remains thoroughly engaging and surprising throughout the film. The balance between intriguing plot and thrilling action scenes, paired with the quintessential Marvel humour, propels the audience through a non-stop adventure as the characters galavant around Europe on Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) high school science trip.
Holland’s portrayal of the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man is endlessly charming and endearing as Parker navigates super-hero life, made all the harder as he deals with high school romance and teenage awkwardness. While Holland’s Spider-Man differs from his predecessors, he brings his own personality to the role and makes Peter Parker’s struggles both relatable and endearing. Far From Home also features many of Parker’s high school friends from Homecoming, all of whom bring hilarity and further teenage awkwardness to the film. Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) is the new super-hero addition to the cast. Gyllenhaal’s portrayal of the character is intriguing and kept the audience on the edge of their seats. Old favourite Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is back and is as great as ever. I only wish we had seen more of him in the film.
The special effects were exceptional and helped to create the fun and exciting action scenes, which, at times, differed from the usual super-hero action sequences. Far From Home is more cinematically experimental at times, especially compared with Homecoming, which was refreshing and built intrigue for the audience. Paired with a beautiful score (Michael Giacchio) and a well-chosen soundtrack, both action and dialogues scenes played well to the audience.
The audience loved the film and there was plenty of laughter and applause throughout the film. While there are many references to other Marvel films, a casual fan will still find Far From Home an enjoyable film. For the die-hard fans, Spider-Man: Far From Home is a great and much-improved sequel to Homecoming, as well as serving as an interesting look at life on Earth after the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Overall, I’d recommend Far From Home to anyone looking for a funny and exciting thrill-ride of a film.
Releasing in Australian Cinemas 1 July, 2019
Youth Review
Jasmine Regan Feldman