Spider-man: Far From Home an evolution from rookie to the real deal

Though definitely a comedown in scale and impact after Endgame, Far From Home is a worthy addition to the Spider-Man canon, niftily balancing the geeky humour and freaky action sequences that showcases the franchise at its best.

Leigh Paatsch

2 min read

July 4, 2019 - 4:58PM

Leigh Paatsch

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Some time soon, the recent mega-blockbuster Avengers: Endgame will nudge past Avatar to claim the mantle as the highest-grossing movie of all-time.

However, if you’re thinking the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is going to down tools on the assembly line to celebrate, well, you are sorely mistaken.

All the evidence needed that the MCU will go on changing and expanding is there for all to see in Spider-Man: Far From Home, a zippy and enjoyable Peter Parker-propelled adventure that starts right up where Endgame left off.

Tom Holland and Zendaya as Peter Parker and MJ. Picture: AP

This means, of course, that the world is back as it should be after Thanos and ‘The Snap’ halved the planet’s population for five long years.

That period is now referred to by both those who kept on living through it, and those who have returned from nothingness, as ‘The Blip’.

In his secret superhero guise as Spider-Man, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) was one of the many who vanished in The Blip.

Peter must now work out how to catch up to a world that has a five-year headstart on him. What’s more, as an impressionable teenager still learning the superhero game as he goes along, Peter can no longer call on the counsel of his key mentor, the late Tony ‘Iron Man’ Stark.

Peter must now work to catch up on the world after his time in ‘The Blip’. Picture: AP

Once Spider-Man: Far From Home has dealt with all the urgent informational housekeeping Avengers fans might be craving, the movie switches gears and focuses exclusively on Peter-Spidey’s ongoing evolution from a rookie to the real deal.

The core action component of Far From Home is activated by Peter’s high school field trip to Europe with best buds Mary Jane (aka MJ, played by Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon).

While Peter has designs on finally doing something about his never-ending crush on MJ, Spidey duties all over the continent keep halting his momentum.

So too does the unwelcome, conscience-tweaking appearance of S.H.I.E.L.D. consigliore Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), and the distracting influence of a mysterious new figure named Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal, supplying some subtly fine work throughout here).