By Harlly and Jeaun Lewis
Spider-Man: Far from Home, directed by Jon Watts, is the twenty third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a co-production between Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios. The film stars tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Zendaya Coleman as Michelle Jones, also referred to as MJ, Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury and Jake Gyllenhaal as the enigmatic Quentin Beck/Mysterio.
Continuing on from the events of Avengers Endgame, Peter Parker just wants a holiday, a chance to recover and tell MJ that he likes her, ultimately, a chance to be normal for a change. But while on a school trip to Europe, Peter is dragged into a fight against a threat from another dimension in the form of the Elementals, beings of destruction that symbolise fundamental elements of creation. Joining him on this fight is Quentin Beck, who claims to be a warrior from a destroyed earth that wants to save this world from the same fate.
The performances in the film are top notch with the standout performances coming from Holland, Colman and Gyllenhaal. The relationship between Peter and MJ is very believable as a relationship at its start, full of awkward looks and insecurity. The believability of the relationship comes down to the great chemistry of Holland and Colman. Outside of that it was good to see a more developed side to MJ’s personality apart from the snarky loner. I for one prefer this version of the character as she has more agency and a rebellious streak. This is probably Holland’s best outing as Spider-Man as you can feel through his performance that he is more comfortable as the character, which translates to Peter seeming more comfortable as Spider-Man. He still has doubts, but he knows who he is. Gyllenhaal as Mysterio was an inspired choice, he embodies everything that audiences could want from Mysterio. Other great performances came from the supporting cast, that most obvious being the teachers that are on the school trip as well. These two characters are the source of much of the comedy in the film, from Julius Dell, a science teacher paranoid about witchcraft played by comedian JB Smoove, to Roger Harrington, a perpetual punchline hilariously set upon by an indifferent universe played to perfection by Martin Starr.
The movie is visually stunning and goes to great lengths to show off the on-location shoots in Venice, Prague and London. The cinematography and action have also improved since Spider-Man Homecoming. The costume design is where the film shines with all of Peters Spider-Man costumes showing up in some form and with the design of Mysterio. It was great to see Mysterio with the full fishbowl shaped head. If there is anything that I can compare this to it is the design choice for Black Manta in Aquaman. Hopefully in future filmmakers continue to embrace the more outlandish design choices stemming from the comic book source material. The CGI in the movie, as it’s the case with most films in the MCU, was very polished with the final scene of the second act being a remarkable showcase of CGI and design.
The score for Spider-Man: Far from Home by Michael Giacchino shows a growth from Homecoming with the theme becoming more confident and embodying more purpose, reflecting Peters own confidence. The use of more rock instrumentation such as electric guitars and synthesizers adding extra texture to returning themes and providing more diverse instrumentation to new leitmotifs. The score acts like an encapsulation of the variety of sounds found in other Spider-Man scores with the use of electronics and precise percussion which create a subconscious link to Han Zimmer and Danny Elfman’s previous themes. The two most significant new themes are Mysterio’s theme as heard in “High and Flighty”, “Multiple realities” and “And now this”. Mysterio’s theme, much like Vulture’s in the previous film, is twisted and turned to signify different mindsets for the characters and the shifting line between villain and hero. The other major leitmotif that has been added is a romance theme for Peter and MJ that can be found in “Its Perfect”, “Personal Hijinks” and “Bridge and Love’s Burning”. The theme has characteristics of a European waltz with flutes, chamber strings and a piano and is indicative of Giacchino’s work on films such as Up and Inside Out.
How is it that the second Spider-Man films are always the best ones? From Sam Rami’s magnum opus Spider-Man 2, to the severely underrated Amazing Spider-Man 2, Far from Home carries on this trend with, dare I say it, a spectacular second solo outing for Holland’s Spider-Man.
On The Brightside 