Spider-Man: Far From Home

~SPOILERS AHEAD~

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Marvel returns with its third MCU film this year, introducing a new chapter of Peter Parker`s challenging life; one without Iron Man in it. A new colossal danger is threatening to destroy the Earth and everyone seems to be helpless in the absence of a real hero, such as Tony Stark. Is Peter going to live up to their expectations and become that superhero? 

`Spider-Man: Far From Home` is bigger than `Homecoming`, but occasionally humbler. The previous installment was a pleasant surprise-it had it all: good story, action, Tony Stark, hero choosing to do good even though that might turn against them, reveal (The Vulture), hero single-handedly defeating the bad guy. `Far From Home` doesn’t fall much farther from the `Spider-Man` tree. It has action (fantastic visuals!), Tony Stark, hero choosing to do good even though that might *surprise* turn against them, reveal and hero single-handedly defeating the bad guy. However, while `Homecoming` felt fresh and natural, `Far From Home` took a while to get the ball rolling and felt a tad forced- the jokes and little awkward nuggets were too much at times. Maybe this had to do with a perceivable lack of chemistry between Peter (Tom Holland) and MJ (Zendaya). 

Tom Holland proves once again that he is the obvious top choice out of the three actors who played the character so far. His effortless charm made him resemble the clumsy teenager and the heroic friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. Perhaps being the youngest actor to play this character is yet another reason why Holland was compatible with the story. Another noticeable aspect about Tom Holland's performance was how well his American accent has blended in the speech, making me forget he is in fact, British. 

The exquisite Zendaya made her return to the Infinity Saga as well, reprising her role as Peter's love interest-the secretive MJ. While her acting was nice and subtle, her romantic moments with Holland mostly felt forced and uneven. Individually, their acting was believable and enjoyable, but put them together in the same take and even the purposeful character awkwardness is too much. Unfortunately, the film is filled with such moments that make it quite hard to fully appreciate the stiff excessive humour. If you are not a big fan of awkward teenage summer romances then it will take a while for you to adjust to the plot. However, the other teenage romance that buds in the film is refreshingly hilarious. 

Whilst taking a break from his typical roles, Jake Gyllenhaal makes his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the villainous Mysterio. His portrayal remains truthful to the comics while bringing forth a series of personal improvements that are meant to make the character much more relatable. He gives Mysterio a father-like appearance to trick Peter into trusting him, but it felt as if the script failed to deliver that message adequately. Peter meets Mysterio, Mysterio compliments Peter, they shake hands, Mysterio gives Peter a hug and a pep talk and...voila! One unit of mentor, stat! Their relationship develops way too quickly to be credible- all it takes to replace Tony is a quick chat on a bridge? Ah man, if I had known I would have started climbing bridges a long time ago. This sudden development does not do justice to Mysterio, it makes his relationship with Peter improbable and thus weakens the plot development. 

The special and visual effects department did an incredible job by designing a visual maze that can fool even the most attentive viewer- what is real and what is an illusion? The fight scenes are beautifully crafted and the structure of illusion upon illusion upon illusion is a delight. 

A delightful feature of the film was seeing Samuel L. Jackson reprise his iconic role as Nick Fury. As always, he delivered his lines so smoothly, generating ripples of laughter in the audience. But what about the post-credits scenes? Does it mean that Fury was on that spaceship on a possible mission (with Captain Marvel, I assume) all along? It is amazing what you can do with a few friendly skrulls that are willing to help! Oh, and everyone knows Spider-Man's true identity now that Mysterio revealed it in a short clip, insinuating that Peter was responsible for the horrendous attacks that took place in London, marking the beginning of Phase 4 in Marvel's evolution process.

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