Even as fatigue had set in for most fans of the superhero genre, I stood sturdy on the precipice of denial like a beacon of hope, adamant that it still has value...

But now my sciatica is acting up and I can feel this ache deep in my ass, and something is telling me it's only the beginning...

Spider-Man: Far From Home lacks much of an identity of being a Spider-Man film. It undertakes kind of a monumental task by trying to clean up the mess that Endgame left behind while also providing a stepping off point to move forward. It falls short at doing one or the other because it tries to do both.

The first half of the movie sees a hormonal and anxious Peter Parker trying to unwind after the events of Endgame by taking a class trip across Europe, and honestly it's a fucking slog to get through it. I don't want to watch Spider-Man uninterested in being Spider-Man, and I definitely don't want to watch him awkwardly flirt with Zendaya's insufferable rendition of Mary Jane.

Around halfway through the movie when the villain took the stage, I started to enjoy the movie a little more. Peter was less preoccupied with his conflicted feelings and felt driven again to protect people (mostly just his friends but I'll take it). As far as Mysterio, the villain of the movie, I would not have enjoyed him nearly as much as I did if not for Jake Gyllenhaal. The character of Quentin Beck isn't exactly the world-ending threat that Thanos was, but Jake's adept portrayal of the character made him interesting enough for me. Jake is one of my favorite actors working today so I'm admittedly pretty biased.

Far From Home is an overall weaker movie than Spider-Man: Homecoming, and a noticeable drop in quality and enthusiasm after the completion of the Infinity War Saga. If you're a diehard Spidey fan than I'm sure you'll look past any of these flaws and find enjoyment, it's not an awful movie after all. I was just left wanting a lot more.