Dan Abel’s review published on Letterboxd:
Marvel Cinematic Universe (Phase 3) Film 23
"Everywhere I go I see his face. The whole world is asking who is going to be the next Iron Man..."
After the events of Avengers: Endgame people are trying to return to a state of normalcy. Peter Parker takes a class trip to Europe for a well deserved vacation. When he arrives in Venice the city is attacked by a water monster known as an Elemental. The situation appears to be dire when a new hero named Mysterio appears to save the day. This begins a companionship between the older Mysterio and Spider-Man. One that could save or destroy the Earth.
Spider-Man: Far From Home is the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to follow the events of Avengers: Endgame giving us a glimpse into how humanity aims to return to a pre-blip society. It does a fair enough job at that but I'm going to need to see more regarding the subject in future films because there are still so many unanswered questions. Many people don't like the way Spider-Man looks up to and is taken care of by Tony Stark in the MCU but I've always loved that angle. It makes the Spider-Man character more interesting and grants him more weapons at his disposal. One angle I didn't like was the whole setup for how power changes hands, as it was totally ridiculous. Not even Peter Parker is that gullible. They could have done better with that.
Tom Holland is great as usual and cements his spot on my personal favorite Spider-Man, barely edging out Toby McGuire. Jake Gyllenhaal is an excellent edition to the MUC but I wish he would have taken on a different role. Mysterio is cool but I don't think we'll be seeing that character again anytime soon. The CGI and action are as excellent as I've come to expect and the plot was well paced. I prefer Spiderman: Homecoming over this film but that's more of a testament to how much I liked Homecoming than it is a slight toward Far From Home.
I almost forgot all of the sad parts regarding the death of my personal favorite Marvel super hero in a previous film but they handled the aftermath quite well, at least as far as Spider-Man is concerned. Be sure to watch the mid-credits scene because it sets up huge implications for Spider-Man in the next film. Then stick around for the post credits scene for a glimpse at what I think is going to be the major story arc for phase four and beyond. Spider-man: Far From Home isn't one of the best MCU films but it's a damn good one. I can't wait to see the next and possible last MCU Spider-Man film some time in 2022.
