According to the general opinion of Marvel fans today, the MCU is not in a good place right now. While I agree, I thought it would still be good to re-evaluate everything since Endgame so far. Of course, this would start with “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” where Peter is still reeling from Tony’s death and the tragic events from the previous two movies. While desperately trying to keep his two lives separate, he makes the mistake of trusting Mysterio, a supposed ally until he betrayed Peter and ruined his life for the next movie.
Pro/Con #1: The Dialogue
If I had to describe the dialogue of this movie in one word, it would be: “satisfying!” When I rewatched the movie for this review, I found myself laughing every five minutes because the humor was on point. A very good example is the scene when Peter and the class are about to fly to Italy, where Peter tries to sit next to the girl he likes but ends up sitting next to the teacher instead. The whole exchange was hilarious, especially when the teacher tried to give a deadpan or casual story about his wife faked blipping to cheat on him. Each line perfectly embodied the characters, remaining faithful to the previously established material from Homecoming. From the casual but loyal best friend in Ned to the bumbling yet optimistic school teacher, each personality made the jokes and other dialogues feel more natural and provided smooth transitions in between each scene.
However, if I had one complaint about the dialogue, it would have to be that it didn’t feel as emotionally resonating as Homecoming did. With that movie, it felt more personal as we hear the desperation in Peter’s voice as he tries to prove himself as an Avenger, but then the heart behind confronting the Vulture about his actions. After all, Peter had to face the dad of his biggest crush, of course every line would tug on your heartstrings. In Far From Home, on the other hand, we mainly hear Nick Fury (or should we say, Talos) tear Peter down half the time or listen to Peter whine about his trip the other half. Not to say Peter’s reasons weren’t valid, and he is a kid reeling from VERY traumatic events, but I had trouble connecting or sympathizing with Peter’s plight. Of course, it didn’t help that half the movie was full of jokes. That is NOT to say it’s a bad thing, but I felt like I didn’t have enough time to “calm down” and transition from the latest joke to the more serious scenes. For instance, when Peter went off to tell Fury about Beck, MJ made a remark about how she figured out Peter’s identity while Ned counters with how he knew longer. But almost immediately after, we’re thrown into one of the trippiest (but also one of the coolest) fight scenes in the movie. Like, at least give us a few more minutes to process Beck’s betrayal before making a joke about it and thrusting us into the fight.
Pro/Con #2: The Villain
The first time I saw this movie, I didn’t think Mysterio was a great villain compared to Vulture or other MCU villains. However, after rewatching this movie, I realize I didn’t give this guy enough credit! He not only orchestrated a massive plot to deceive “Nick Fury” and the world, not only did he have a massive crew to back him up, but the way he manipulated and stayed a step ahead of everyone is just terrifying. Plus, when they dove more into his origin story, I absolutely love the tie-in to “Civil War” as Beck being the guy behind BARF. I didn’t even know I needed some background on a scene that you wouldn’t think twice about, but it makes so much sense for Beck and his abilities. Finally, I always appreciate whenever the villains drop a few pearls of wisdom in these movies, and Beck is no exception. In the scene where he’s giving toasts to his crew and doing his evil monologue, he rants that “you could be the smartest person in the room, but unless you have a cape and can shoot lasers out of your hands, no one will listen.” That line just hits so hard because it’s pretty true in that world, but it can also be applied in our world with who we choose to listen to in politics or whatever else.
However, my only complaint about this villain is the simple fact that he’s just another Tony hater. With Vulture, Tony took control of all chitauri salvage operations and put Tombs out of a job. With Mysterio, he took credit for and control of Beck’s tech before firing the guy for being unstable. On the one hand, I like the tie-ins to make it all fit into the MCU’s storyline; but on the other, this makes the villains feel more like Iron Man’s enemies rather than Spider-Man’s. Not that Spidey has always been the main cause of his villains in the comics, but at least they have the kind of connections to the webhead that make you instantly recognize and accept that they’re Spidey’s villains. But with the MCU, it’s a bit hard to achieve that recognition while knowing they have closer ties to Tony than Peter. Therefore, the hero/villain dynamic doesn’t feel as authentic as pairs like Black Panther and Killmonger, or Thor and Loki. If you’re gonna make a successful villain, then you need to establish that level of personal connection between the good and bad guys. While Peter had this to a degree with Mysterio here, it just doesn’t feel the same as it would in the comics.
Pro/Con # 3: The Story
Overall, the story was great because it not only served as a continuation of “Avengers: Endgame,” but it also added more to Spider-Man’s character arc. All the way back in “Homecoming,” Peter spent that whole movie single-mindedly focused on working up to the big leagues and ignoring everything else in his life. That is, until he gets his wish in a way but realizes he needs to “stick to the ground” until the events of “Infinity War” and “Endgame.” And now, years later in “Far From Home,” we see Peter try to focus on his vacation and just being a normal kid, all while struggling to accept the responsibility Tony placed on him. Some people might say that Peter was annoying or making stupid mistakes, especially when he gave EDITH to Beck, but I absolutely love these moments. Keep in mind that Peter is still a kid, and after the trauma he’s been through with Vulture and then Thanos, of course, he’d wanna step out of the superhero spotlight for a while. But the best part is that he’s basically learning that “with great power, comes great responsibility,” without a dying relative telling him that (yet). Every time he struggles to balance his two lives, as well as accept Tony’s death and legacy, he starts to learn about his duty to himself and everyone else who depends on him.
In spite of that, there are a couple of small things I want to address. For instance, I feel like there should’ve been a stronger, more impactful moment that prompted Peter to hand EDITH over to Beck. The scene in question starts with a dangerous lava monster, Spidey helps out a little, and Mysterio “sacrifices himself” to stop it. Fury borderline tears Peter while praising Beck, Peter and Beck go to have a drink, and Peter suddenly decides Beck is the new Iron Man. Like, really? That’s it? I know Peter’s friends could’ve died during the fight, but the scene just didn’t have the high stakes or massive emotional weight that such an action (literally handing over the key to controlling death drones) would carry. Later on, though, there’s the moment when Peter gets the glasses back and turns off all the drones. Now, I once saw a HISHE video joking about how Beck never transferred control back to Peter, but that’s a very good point. If Peter needed to transfer control to let Beck use them, why didn’t he need Beck to do the same? And if Beck is really as unstable and paranoid as the movie portrays him, then why didn’t he think to create failsafe so no one other than him could use them? It’s not that big a deal, but sometimes explanations and consistencies in a story can mean everything to a fan.
Conclusion
This movie was a lot better than I remembered! It’s not “Top 10” worthy, but it still deserved more credit than I originally gave it. And it’s that recognition that makes me look forward to re-examining every movie and show Disney has made since Endgame, even for content I utterly despise. Even so, I’m not looking to change my opinion or anyone else’s; but even though Marvel isn’t what it used to be, I at least want to make the most of it.
