The last movie in Phase 3 of the MCU, how is it?
SPOILER FREE REVIEW
I love Spider-Man he is my favourite superhero along with Batman, I grew up with the 90s comics, the 90s cartoon and Sam Raimi’s great movies (I even like the 3rd). When a new Spider-Man movie comes out I want to love it, but I am also slightly concerned that it results in a bit of a mess like The Amazing Spider-Man 2. I liked Homecoming, it had a lot of good qualities, Michael Keaton is my favourite part of the movie and of course, I love Tom Holland as Spider-Man, but the movie lacked tension or urgency which caused me to not love it. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was an amazing film at the end of last year, probably becoming one of my favourite Spider-Man movies of all time and when I heard Mysterio would be the villain for Far From Home and he was going to be played by Jake Gyllenhaal, I was excited.
How did the movie turn out? It was fantastic! This is by far my favourite Live Action Spider-Man movie since Raimi’s trilogy. Every character felt like an actual person and the acting was on point through the whole movie. There were some amazing action set pieces and tension which is what was missing from Homecoming, I never got bored while watching it.
The only negatives I’ve got are filled with spoilers, so that is it for my spoiler-free review. If you like Spider-Man then you owe it to yourself to go and see it!
SCORE: 9.2/10
SPOILERS
I think the most obvious thing to start with is why I prefer this movie to Homecoming? The main thing is the feeling of the film, it feels more like a contained Spider-Man film, still part of a bigger universe, but Spider-Man is the hero of his own movie. Peter finally gets his Spider-Sense in the movie or Peter Tingle, if you want to call it that. His relationship with his friends and family comes across a lot more genuine in this movie and the performances are a big part of that. I much prefer Ned and MJ in this film, she is different than any MJ before, but I like her chemistry with Peter. Of course, Samuel L Jackson always gives a fantastic performance as Nick Fury, or not… more on that later.
One of the best characters though is Mysterio. From the trailers, I was slightly worried that they changed his story too much, but thankfully they haven’t. He is no longer an FX artist or stunt man, but a scientist who worked for Tony Stark and created the technology known as BARF from the beginning of Civil War. If anything, this is actually an even better backstory than the comics and Jake Gyllenhaal gives a great performance like he does in all his films.
My favourite scene in the film is actually up there with my favourite MCU moments ever, where Mysterio uses his illusions to mess Spidey up! We get a glimpse of giant Mysterio, a bunch of crazy things and even a glimpse of Zombie Iron Man! Just amazing, loved the scene and it’s stuck in my head since seeing the movie.
There was also a reference I noticed right towards the end of the movie with a building being built saying something like: “We can’t wait to show you what’s next”. With a 1, 2, 3, ? Straight away I just thought this was referencing phase 3 was ending and teasing what’s next for phase 4, but there have been theories that this could be the Baxter Building, AKA where the Fantastic 4 are situated! We will just have to wait and see.
There are a few negatives and knit picks I have though. Mainly with some changes from the comics, there is still no sign of the Osbornes and not enough mention of Uncle Ben! We see his suitcase that Peter uses for his holiday, but he is a huge part of Spider-Man’s backstory, I know Iron Man has become his father role, but Uncle Ben should still have a presence in the film through conversations or even photos or something.
The mid-credits scene is absolute insanity too! J.K Simmons is back as J. Jonah Jameson!!! Which is AMAZING! I think Mysterio is still alive and this is his plan B, but where can they go with this? Spider-Man having a secret identity is a huge part of his character. How will he work at the Daily Bugle now? How does he keep his loved ones safe? Hows he will he go to school or college?! I’m not sure, but I hope they have a plan.
Then there’s the end credit scene! Nick Fury is a Skrull?!?!? We need to know for how long, or how this happened, please explain!
THE GOOD
GREAT CHARACTERS
SPIDER-MAN FINALLY HAS HIS SPIDER-SENSE
MYSTERIO
BOTH END CREDITS SCREENS
J. K SIMMONS IS BACK AS J JONAH JAMESON
TOM HOLLAND IS SPIDER-MAN AND PETER PARKER
IM EXCITED FOR WHAT’S NEXT TO COME
AMAZING ILLUSION SEQUENCE
THE BAD
NOT ANY MENTION OF UNCLE BEN EXCEPT FOR A SUITCASE WITH HIS INITIALS ON
EVERYONE KNOWING PETER’S IDENTITY NOW WILL BE TROUBLING FOR THE FUTURE FOR THE FILM’S NARRATIVE
DIDN’T WANT IT TO END
SCORE: 9.2/10
What a great Spider-Man and Marvel film! I’m so excited for phase 4! Expect to see a bunch of Marvel posts on my blog coming next, keep a look out. Thanks for reading! Follow me for more posts like this and like it if you like it!
