‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ is far from perfect

Marvel officially concludes its massive Infinity saga with “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” the highly anticipated sequel to 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” Now that the popular Marvel character has been established in the MCU with his smaller scaled start up, along with several appearances alongside the Avengers, its time to raise the stakes and bring the adventures of our favorite web slinger to new heights.

The film, taking place after the events of “Avengers: Endgame,” focuses on Peter Parker who is going on a class vacation to Europe, doing his best to leave behind the stresses of being a superhero, especially after the tragic loss of Tony Stark, which has left many questioning if Spider-Man will take his place. Trouble doesn’t take long to rear its ugly head, however, as a series of threats made of Earth, wind, water and fire, known as the Elementals, begin wreaking havoc where Peter’s class is staying. It is then up to Peter, S.H.I.E.L.D and a new ally known as Mysterio to take down the threat, but there may be more to these attacks then meets the eye.

In some ways, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” improves upon its predecessor, but never elevates to anything spectacular, making for a somewhat disappointing viewing experience given all the potential this sequel had. The characters, while enjoyable and quirky in their own right, never felt to have much depth and are rather a collection of comic reliefs. Tom Holland continues to impress as Peter Parker and Spider-Man, but the character feels to be repeating some of his arc from the previous entry and the true down-to-earth reliability of the character never feels fully realized. Despite this, his naive and vulnerable ways are charming enough to remain endearing. Zendaya is as deadpan as ever playing MJ, and her contrasting personality balances out perfectly with Peter’s to create far greater chemistry between the two than the first go around. Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio is a mixed bag. The actor does his best with the material and truly seems to be enjoying himself, but his origin is sloppily explained through a massive exposition dump and it never feels like the story takes enough time to explore him as a character.

The narrative itself had a tone that felt largely inconsistent. The film intends to be a laugh-a-minute comedy, but at this point in the MCU, the jokes are seriously doing harm to the narrative and any potential to develop drama. This is most evident in how the film handles the post “Endgame” dilemma. When scenes are allowed to breath and tackle the emotional weight it holds on Peter and the others are dealing with from this event, it can be truly captivating. However, more often than not, the movie would rather spend its time making jokes about the situation and using the comedy to cover up weak plot elements. On top of this, the comedy itself is very hit and miss, with a good chunk of the jokes being very forgettable this time around. In particular, the film’s first act is hard to find engagement in, being nothing much more than a glorified slideshow of events before the actual plot kicks in.

The production has also remained as bland as ever. Jon Watts’ direction itself rarely elevates beyond average. The cinematography, lighting and color grading remain flat and washed out, giving the film a lack of visual flair. The editing had its choppy moments, particularly during the first act which felt distractingly cut down in some places. However, it is worth mentioning that Watts has improved in the action sequences. While a lot of it is clearly done in post production, the effects are given more time to shine, even if they’re not perfect. In particular, a truly fantastic battle scene towards the end of the second act is an absolute sight to behold for comic fans and may be the single best battle in any live-action Spider-Man movie.

While nothing terrible, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is a disappointing venture from Marvel. The overall development of the narrative and characters never go beyond surface level, leaving this as nothing more than a breezy viewing experience. For those in love with this rendition of the web head, this sequel is not a bad watch and sure to delight, just don’t expect anything truly spectacular.