This Review Contains SPOILERS
In the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame, Peter Parker tries to focus on his school vacation in Spider-Man: Far from Home. Reeling from the recent death of his mentor Tony Stark, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is ready to take a break from being Spider-Man and focus on his upcoming class trip to Europe, where he hopes to reveal his feelings to MJ (Zendaya). However, soon after arriving, Peter discovers that the cities that they visit are being attacked by large elemental creatures, who are fended off by Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), a mysterious man claiming to be from an alternate dimension, who is quickly nicknamed Mysterio by Peter’s classmates. Peter finds himself approached by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to assist Beck in destroying the remaining elementals before they destroy the planet.
Spider-Man: Far from Home is the web-slinger’s second solo outing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which also serves as an epilogue of sorts for Phase 3, before we enter the still-mysterious Phase 4 next year. Taking place a few months after the events of Avengers: Endgame, the population of the world is still adjusting to an event now known as “the blip,” where half the population was snapped out of existence, only to return five years later. After fighting with The Avengers, as well as being a victim of the blip, Peter Parker is content with returning to be a Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man and coming up with an extravagant plan to reveal his feelings to his crush MJ, while they are on their class trip to Europe. However, the unexpected arrival of Nick Fury and the mysterious Quentin Beck results in Peter having to decide if he is willing to step into Tony Stark’s shoes.
It is hard for me to discuss Spider-Man: Far from Home without delving into spoiler territory, both for the fact that the film takes place in the direct aftermath of Avengers: Endgame, as well as the fact that the marketing for the film purposely played coy with the true intentions of Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio. However, most comic fans would know Mysterio as being one of the core members of Spider-Man’s rogue gallery, who is a master of illusion. As such, it is not surprising at all when this turns out to be the case in the film. As a big fan of the character, I thought that Mysterio was executed near-perfectly, complete with costume and trademark fishbowl head.
When it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Far from Home is a relatively stand-alone film, though there are some vague hints about what’s to come in the obligatory credits scenes, including one that features the surprise return of a fan-favourite character that is too good to spoil. Ultimate, while the film is a bit predictable plot-wise, I still found Spider-Man: Far from Home to be an entertaining European romp for the web-slinger.