7/3/19 - Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) -7/10

Accomplishes the marvelous feat of marrying intense realistic stakes and smaller personal dilemmas. I feel the nature of SM demands smaller storytelling even when the world may be at stake. This one, like Into the Spider-Verse, mastered that. It was witty without being complicated, cute without being too schmaltzy, fun while still carrying a weighted seriousness. FFH was clever, consistent, and continuously advancing. It played with how you saw, felt, and interacted with almost every character in a way that provided some depth and pathos.

I appreciated the sequel more than the first. Holland still lacks some of the depressed burden that I envision, but he is getting there and has inhabited Peter quite well. His youthful awkwardness paired with nerdy thoughtfulness, all while being earnest and ardent finally rings true. He is emblazoning the Spider-ness and Peter-ness - full tingle!

I like the shift in weight from the standard Uncle Ben to Tony Stark/Iron Man. His sense of duty and obligation hoisted upon him, both figuratively, in his own mind, and literally. It is an ingenious way to perpetuate the guilt, loss, and emotional cavity that Ben usually fills but has been engendered to Tony through the past 4 movies. it’s placement in the plot is also a smart way to weave everything together. I didn’t see that coming, but it comes across as a planted seed that has produced a bountiful harvest.

I never thought that I would see the grandeur and trippy inventiveness of Mysterio brought to the big screen, but not only did they nail it, they did so with such aplomb. Bravo to their interpretation and pizzazz. I also like Jake Gyllenhaal here. I think he pulls off the aloof but driven Mysterio well. I always appreciate his work, though his innocence can often come at a doey-eyed cost. But, when he turns on the viciousness, his intensity rivals the best of them. The character that he portrays here is clever, even if the grand goal is a bit obtuse.

I love the smart, acerbic, independent, and completely modern MJ of Zendaya. Keep kicking ass!

I won’t get into the spoilers of the stingers scenes, but I will say that they do a terrific job of setting up major antagonism and a slew of possibilities. 

I had little desire to check this one out, being a bit lukewarm on Homecoming and fairly “superheroed out”, but I thought this film did a fantastic job of being fun, dramatic, well made, and excitable for the franchise’s future. Certainly a recommend!

Spidey only movie rankings:

1. Spider-Man: Into Spider-Verse

2. Far From Home

3. Spider-Man 2

4. Homecoming

5. Spider-Man

6. Amazing Spider-Man

7. Amazing Spider-Man 2

8. Spider-Man 3