It took a
while for Marvel and Columbia Pictures to get the “Spider-Man” franchise right.
First they had three films in the classic Toby McGuire led films, in the early
2000s, then they rebooted it randomly with Andrew Garfield in two films
directed by “500 Days of Summer” director Marc Webb. Now they have the Tom
Holland led reboot, which started with “Spiderman: Homecoming” in 2017. While I
would argue that the Toby McGuire films are still the best, with “Spiderman 2”
in 2004 being one of the best superhero pictures ever made, directed
brilliantly by Sam Raimi. Yet, there’s still something charming about director Jon Watts’s version of the “Spiderman” movies. With a boost by the absolutely
brilliant “Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse”, which won best animated picture at
the Oscars, Columbia has proven that they aren’t ready to give up Spiderman to
the now Disney owned Marvel Studios just yet.
Tom Holland is wonderful as
Spiderman. He does a great job portraying what makes Spiderman so charming.
Spiderman is more Peter Parker than he is the superhero, Spiderman. That’s what
always made Spiderman so different than the other superheroes in either the Marvel
or DC universes. Holland is dough eyed, and looks like a young kid. However,
the biggest change in this version of the “Spiderman” movies wasn’t so much
that the characters come off more like John Hughes teenagers, or that Peter
Parker is still a charming screw up, but some of the things that the new “Spider-Man”
leaves out, and I like to talk about it before I talk about this film. One is
Aunt May is more young and well, attractive, for lack of a better word. Marisa
Tomei is fine as Aunt May, but have you ever visualized Aunt May that way?
Another is the back story isn’t shown. It’s briefly mentioned in “Spider-Man:
Homecoming”. I mean, Peter mentions he was bitten by a spider like it wasn’t a
big deal.
Also there’s the absence of Uncle
Ben, who never says one of the most famous lines in the history of comic book
and even would say, western pop culture history. Anyone who has read the comics
knows that Uncle Ben told Peter Parker that with great power comes great
responsibility. Never mentioned, nor is Uncle Ben ever mentioned. Odd. So, in
this version, Peter Parker isn’t doing this Spider Man in memory of his father
figure, Uncle Ben. He’s doing it to impress Iron Man, or Tony Stark, played by
Robert Downy Jr. I know this is a long recap of “Spiderman: Homecoming” in a
review of “Spiderman: Far From Home”, which is the squeal, but Marvel movies
and comics are interconnected, and we need to talk about this. Now that I’m out
of breath giving a overly long nerd rant, lets get to the review of “Spiderman:
Homecoming”.
We pick up right after “Avengers:
Endgame”, where the events of that film heavily lie on this film. Peter Parker,
fresh off his last adventure, where everyone has re-appeared after Thaos, the
villain in the Avengers film, made everyone disappear and reappear. Some have
reappeared as themselves, while others have reappeared older than their former
selves. Poor Peter Parker, that nerd who just wants to impress MJ (Zendaya),
who is now a Daria like goth girl, as opposed to the girl next door we know
from the comics and older films. However, this isn’t a bad thing. It’s fresh. I
can see the girl next door trope feeling a bit outdated, and there’s even a
scene where MJ makes fun of this trope, after Peter tells her she is pretty.
Well, Peter has some competition
for MJ, as a new boy Brad (Remy Hill) has gone from little boy to new hot high
school guy all the girls are after. He aged through the events of “Avengers:
End Game”. However, at least Peter has his best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon),
who is a good new edition to the Marvel universe. Ned, named after a character
who appeared as a supporting character in the Marvel Comics in the 1960s as a
reporter at the Daily Bugle, is a overweight nerd. One of the best qualities I
like about Ned is his total joy at being best friends with Spiderman. Even the danger
that comes with this position makes him even happier. He could be anyone in the
audience watching a Marvel film. He’s a nerd who finds this awesome.
However, things go sour for Peter
as their class trip to Europe begins. Peter just wants to be a kid, and have a
fun time. He is already shocked at his aunt seeming to have a thing with Happy
(Jon Fareau), who himself is reeling from the death of Tony Stark, AKA, Iron
Man. He was his best friend and assistant. As Peter tries to make his vacation
fun, it’s interrupted by two main friends and foes. Nick Fury (Samuel L
Jackson) who needs Peter Parker to suit up and take on a monster attacking
Europe. While the monster is attacking Europe, a new hero, or so we are led to
believe, Mysterio appears and appears to be going after the bad guy. Mysterio
is played by Jake Gyallenhaal with the nice guy persona Jake Gyallenhaal is so
good at playing. However, something does seem a bit off about him, and even in
the trailer, and if you haven’t read the comics, you can figure out something
isn’t quite right.
The death of Tony Stark hangs
heavily after the film. Tony Stark was a major figure in the comics, but with
the major success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he becomes even more iconic
that he ever was before. A large part of that is due to the off the wall and
surprise deep performances Robert Downy Jr has given this character over the
years. We see that from the beginning of the film where the high school does a
cheesy video tribute to him to the part where Peter talks to Happy.
Something that is different about
this film from every “Spider-Man” film is we really get into Spiderman’s head
in this one, with a villain who really messes with his mind. Peter Parker, as I
said, isn’t really Spider-Man. He’s really more of that insecure teenager from
Queens. He is a bit lost with the death of Tony Stark, and the second phase of
the Marvel cinematic universe, which this film introduces. Not only is Peter
Parker lost without Tony Stark, but he is torn between being a normal kid and
being something more. Peter always turned down being an Avenger, and opted to
be your friendly neighborhood Spiderman.
The visuals of Europe are nice
enough in this film. There’s even a scene in the Netherlands which was
basically put in there to have Spiderman stand in a rose garden. It’s a nice
shot. However, one of the things that this film nails is how powerless Peter
Parker feels having the double whammy of responsibility to fighting the bad
guys and just being a kid. The last film fought with these themes too, but this
even more so. The villain is a master at illusion, and thus really screws with
Peter’s insecurities by creating tricks.
This all leads up to a shock of an
ending, and really sets the stage for the next chapter in the Marvel cinematic universe.
Comic books and comic book films are always setting the next chapters, as they
are really just never ending stories. Marvel movies are a blast, and Spiderman
is my favorite of the Marvel characters. These Spiderman movies are fun. Yes,
“Black Panther” film making wise, is still the best movie Marvel has ever made.
Some say that “Avengers: End Game” might be nominated for best picture at the
Oscars this year, but right now, it’s just “Black Panther”. However, what
“Spiderman” movies and comics have that is special is sharing that screw up
mentality with it’s own audience. A lot of comic book fans are screw ups, and
Spider Man is there right along with them.
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