The Marvel juggernaut gets off to a pretty good post-Endgame start with the lighthearted Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Directed by Jon Watts, the film opens with Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tom Holland) grieving the loss of his friend/mentor Iron Man, but excited to be going on a class trip to Europe. There, he hopes to make his feelings known to his crush, MJ (Zendaya). But Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) wants his help battling monsters called the Elementals. There to assist is a mysterious hero (Jake Gyllenhaal) from a parallel universe version of Earth.
The movie's biggest strength is the interactions between Parker and his classmates/chaperones. There's plenty of character-based laughs to be had in those scenes. The action is competently shot, and the film thankfully remembers to include human conflict within the story and not just man vs. CGI monster conflict.
In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Holland's mannerisms grated on my nerves, but I liked him more in Far From Home. Perhaps I've gotten used to him, or he's grown into the role, or the character's written better here, but whatever the reason, I thought he did a solid job in this outing.
Spider-Man: Far From Home is unlikely to bring any new fans into the Marvel world, but it will likely please fans of the franchise.
