This is a Spider-Man movie that pitches Spider-Man as somebody elses franchise extension.
Tony Stark is dead, and so he is everywhere.
There is a wall of Iron Man art in Peters classroom.
Credit: Jay Maidment/Sony Pictures
European street artists spraypaint Starkfaced graffiti.
And this continues a new trend in Spidey cinema.
InFar From Home, that messianic awe has viralized global.
I need a break, Peter says.
Tonys sacrifice inAvengers: Endgameleft me cold.
The reverential mode of superhero storytelling doesnt interest me, or maybe I prefer another kind of religion.
(My favorite Marvel sagasare about righteous cleansing patricide.)
Peters high school class is going on a Eurotrip.
Its a teen getaway!
Peters pal Ned (Jacob Batalon) finds love on the road.
JB Smoove and Martin Starr play unprepared chaperones.
Remy Hii steals scenes as Brad, an infuriatingly dashing rival for MJs affections, such a Brad.
He is earnest, and awkward in a chatty way.
The gag lands because you couldkindabuy this Peter as a secret gigolo.
InFar From Home, Holland is a fun member of a chipper teen ensemble.
The schism between these plot strands is violent.
Fury enters the movie by shooting Ned in the throat.
Its only a mild tranquilizer, the spymaster swears.
Coincidentally, the presence of S.H.I.E.L.D.
is usually a mild tranquilizer for me.
Do you love scenes where people wear black to discuss plot points in front of computer mainframes?
Furys got a surprise, for Peter and for us.
Enter Gyllenhaals Quentin, known as Mysterio.Far From Homescrambles the comic book characters history.
Now hes a multiversal refugee from a destroyed Earth.
Quentin wants to help Spider-Man defeat rampaging elemental monsters.
Gyllenhaal gives a clever, careful performance.
Hes another mentor figure, a shadow-Tony teaching tricky new lessons.
He looks charismatic and kooky-cool in green-gold exo-armor, flying around with the jangly grace of a busted biplane.
Director Jon Watts has fun with the foreign locations, though he films every dialogue scene with shot-reverse-shot repetition.
The screenwriters are Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, onetimeCommunitystaffers who pepper the dialogue with laughlines.
LikeHomecoming,Far From Homeis another champagne superhero movie, airdropping high-tech wonders into puny Parkers life.
Its fun to play with all the cheatcodes, I know!
Lost in some European country, this Spider-Man calls for help, and a jet arrives.
Confession: Nothing Ive written so far really matters.
Or maybe thats off the mark?
Im aiming through fog.
Waves of meta crash through the final act.
This is a giant-sized megamovie, full of costume changes and ravaging blorbsters, obvious turns and unsettling surprises.
I wound up likingFar From Homemore than any Spider-Man film this decade.
