After the wild success “Avengers: Endgame” brought, my expectations for “Spider-Man: Far From Home” were high. However, while watching the 129-minute movie, I realized those expectations did not match the film’s reality.
Centered around, Spider-Man, or 16-year-old Peter Parker (Tom Holland), “Spider-Man: Far From Home” features Peter’s European trip and his plan to woo the girl of his dreams: fellow brainiac MJ (Zendaya). Yet, as complications brought on by new guy Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) drag Peter back into the superhero business, Peter’s plan begins to fade.
In true Marvel fashion, the opening credits after the title scene left viewers giggling through the pang of pain it invoked. With this first scene sparking a mix of emotions, my hopes of this movie being as great as its predecessors seemed possible. However, outside of a couple other lines (E.D.I.T.H.’s acronym fully spelled out had the whole theater laughing), my laughter didn’t make another appearance during the movie.
Although the writers tried to make “Spider-Man: Far From Home” as funny as other Marvel movies, the jokes fell flat. At times, the lines felt too forced. No character stood out as a comedian, like, for example, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) did in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies. Without any truly funny scenes or characters, I found myself disappointed with the writing more than the line delivery.
As the movie progressed, the plot turned from as believable as a superhero movie can be to completely unrealistic, even in superhero terms. Up until the (predictable) plot twist, the progression made sense, with the first problem established and a way to resolve it secured. Yet, after the plot twist, everything felt too rushed. With characters discovering truths quickly and Peter rushing like crazy, I found this progression hard to believably follow.
After watching “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” I couldn’t fathom how the writers of “Avengers: Endgame” created this subpar movie. My Marvel-tingle (those who’ve seen the movie will understand this reference) immediately flared up, and I discovered the truth: the writers weren’t the same. Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus drafted the iconic “Avengers: Endgame,” whereas Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers co-wrote “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” Certainly, the change in authors is a main reason behind the average-ness behind the movie.
On a more positive note, the fight scene and the preparation Spider-Man went through in the scenes leading up to it made my heart swell. Not unlike mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), Spider-Man used his brains and brawn to defeat the villain. In a satisfying fight that showed Spider-Man stepping up, the movie’s ending showcased Spider-Man’s true force and awkwardly adorable charisma.
Perhaps my biggest problem with the movie centered around the post-credit scenes. Until “Avengers: Endgame,” the post-credits scenes centered around Thanos. Now, with that threat in the past, viewers were left wondering what Marvel will build up to next. The first post-credits scene, while interesting enough to lead into another movie, felt cheesy.. In an interesting turn of events, the second post-credits scene left me confused and questioning everything I thought I understood about the movie.
Overall, I found myself underwhelmed with “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” Although Spider-Man’s lovable personality made me smile, the plot and flat jokes left me disappointed.
