Thursday, July 4, 2019

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Movie Name: Spider-Man: Far from Home
Year of Release: 2019
Director: Jon Watts
Starring: Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Cobie Smulders, Zendaya, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon, Tony Revolori, Angourie Rice, Remy Hill, Martin Starr, J.B. Smoove, Peter Billingsley, Toni Garrn, J.K. Simmons, Michael de Roos
Genre: Action, Adventure
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
View Trailer

Synopsis and Review:
In what appears to be the omnipresence of Marvel at every turn (and almost every month), director Jon Watts returns with a sequel to the 2017 "Spider-Man" feature, which rebooted the uneven franchise (which has had three versions thus far, starting with Sam Raimi's, followed by Marc Webb's and the current one under the tutelage of Jon Watts). The film takes place after the events that took place in the last "Avengers" film ("Endgame"), which has seen everyone brought back to life after the collective demise brought on by Thanos. Peter looking to get back to his every day life, has the opportunity to go with his class to Venice and Paris. He hopes the getaway will allow him the opportunity to share with Mary Jane a special moment, finally letting her know his feelings. His plans are derailed when these powerful entities start popping out of nowhere and wreaking havoc everywhere they go. They go by the name of Elementals, and Peter is caught in a dicey situation in Venice, but much to his surprise, an unexpected ally by the name of Mysterio pops up. Peter who has questioned his Iron Man legacy, and what he has been left behind with, decides to trust this person, and grant him access to the technological legacy from Tony Stark. But people aren't always what they seem, and Peter learns it the hard way.
Jon Watts has quickly and deftly learnt how to handle big budgets and large canvas storytelling, since this latest iteration of Spider-Man is a surprisingly limber and enjoyable film, even more so than the first one. The film manages to have the right amount of teenage angst and relationship development, combined with the more typical super hero action set pieces, which are quite impressive in this case. The film also benefits from the fact that the cast is uniformly completely at ease in this environment and inhabit these roles with a sense of ease and relaxation, which makes the film more enjoyable and definitely less contrived. It's a film that also wears its heart proudly, deals with the aftermath of loss, all the while showcasing thinly veiled nods to the spirit of John Hughes (the European vacation, the high school rivalries). If the whole cast is uniformly good, high marks should be given to Jake Gyllenhaal, who once again proves just how interesting of an actor he has become, with his character going through a very interesting and nuanced transition. The cinematography from Matthew J. Lloyd is solid, as is the score from Michael Giacchino. An entertaining film worth watching.

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