Spider-Man has become the heart and soul of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the past few years.
From his immediately charming introduction in Captain America: Civil War to his hilarious and feel-good solo film Homecoming and heroic turns in the last two Avengers films, Tom Holland's Peter Parker is one of the most relatable and lovable characters in the superhero sphere.
Tom Holland's Peter Parker is one of the most lovable characters in the superhero sphere.
- Rating: 7.5/10
Thus it falls on him to steer the MCU into its next phase, following the brilliant insanity that was Avengers: Endgame.
Steel reeling from the death of mentor and friend Tony Stark (Iron Man) in the last film, Peter is struggling to figure out where he fits in this post-'blip' world.
The 'blip', of course, is how Spider-Man: Far From Home deals with the problem of half of the world's population returning five years after big purple baddie Thanos snapped them out of existence.
Spidey was one of those folks who was turned to ash (everyone remembers the trauma of "Mr Stark, I don't feel so good") and was miraculously brought back by some Avengers shenanigans, leaving him as one of the few remaining superheroes on Earth. That means he's going to have to answer the call when other-worldly disaster strikes outside of his New York neighbourhood.
How fortunate, then, that his school vacation to Europe happens to coincide with ginormous fire and water creatures wreaking havoc.
Enter new super dude Quentin Beck, or Mysterio, as he's dubbed, played by the fantastic Jake Gyllenhaal.
Spidey and Mysterio must work together to save the world, as per the Marvel handbook. That being said, there are some surprises in the second half of the film that are very enjoyable.
Also thoroughly enjoyable are the support characters.
MJ (Zendaya), Ned (Jacob Batalon), Betty (Angourie Rice), Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) are all hilarious and perfect in their roles and add a lot to the film.
Far From Home's mid-credit sequence is incredibly relevant to the MCU going forward, so make sure you stick around. The post-credit sequence is also pretty cool.
Rating: 7.5/10
