Review: Peter Parker Tries To Escape From Iron Man's Shadow In 'Spider-Man: Far From Home'

Next week's release of Spider-Man: Far From Home will mark the eighth solo movie adventure—eleventh if you count his three major appearances in other recent Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films—for the IP known as Peter Parker. Those films have come over a relatively compact 17 year period, but it's been greatly accelerated in the Tom Holland-era of Spider-Man, which has spanned five movies in the last three years alone (and that doesn't include the god-level cartoon Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse). If it feels like you've been dosed with radioactive spider juice every six months at your local multiplex, it's understandable.

But the Powers That Be at the MCU have worked very hard to try to stave off Spider-Man fatigue by pretty radically reimagining the character, as compared to the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield iterations, while still capturing that essential comic book core. As with 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, that concentration on the smaller scale moments of Parker's adolescence (crushes, class field trips, first kisses, awkward math teachers, vlogging, etc.) pays off wonderfully in Spider-Man: Far From Home. But in attempting to reimagine Parker as more integrated with and integral to the techno-obsessed MCU universe, that also weighs the movie down, putting the character in a position where he is constantly in the shadow of his pseudo-father figure Iron Man—to the point where he runs the risk of becoming Tony Stark Jr.

[You truly deserve a No Prize if you already assumed there will be light spoilers ahead for all the various MCU and Spider-Man movies]

The new movie is one part epilogue to the cataclysmic events of Avengers: Endgame, one part goofy high school vacation flick, and one part evidence that Jake Gyllenhaal makes everything he's in better. Reeling from the events of Endgame (the film starts with a very funny tribute to the fallen heroes), all Parker wants is to go on a European summer trip with his classmates, tell MJ (Zendaya, who is very good at playing teenage awkwardness) how he feels about her, and maybe take a little break from superheroing. But Parker isn't the only one suffering a case of PTSD due to the aftermath of Thanos' attack—everywhere he goes, people seem shell-shocked and in desperate need of heroes. Especially the 50 percent of the population who returned after "The Blip"—the name given to those who were blipped back into existence after five years without having aged.

As you can imagine, superhero shenanigans ensue: Parker gets pulled back in pretty quickly by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and the mysterious Mysterio (Gyllenhaal) to fight a bunch of elemental creatures around Venice, Prague, Berlin, London and more. The dynamic between Parker and Fury is the inverse of that of Stark and Parker from Homecoming. Before, Parker was the overeager kid desperate to join The Avengers, with Stark the hard-to-please mentor trying to keep him grounded. Now, Fury is the one trying to force Spider-Man back into the game, while all Parker wants to do is be a teen.

Mysterio acts as a big brother type who empathizes with the toll being a superhero takes on Parker. Of course, if you're at all familiar with the comic book character of Mysterio, then you already know that not everything is as it seems with him—and Parker has to learn a lesson or two about trust as a result. While Mysterio's backstory is somewhat sketchily laid out (some of the writing in the film is...not so great), Gyllenhaal is typically bonkers and compelling in the role, like a slightly less insane version of his character from Okja. The CGI fight scenes are somewhat forgettable and incredibly heavy on the CGI (although there is a spoilery reason why that works for the story), but the conception of Mysterio and his "powers" is perfectly realized and straight outta the comics.

Holland is still charming, fumbling and overenthusiastic as Parker, and nails a mix of hormone-addled awkwardness and balletic physicality. The other younger actors—especially Angourie Rice as Betty Brandt, who is a huge standout here—are also a funny delight onscreen. Like its predecessor, this is the rare Marvel movie that seems as directed toward kids/teens as it is toward 30 and 40-something comic nerds who demand continuity, world-building and easter eggs. (But don't worry, there is at least one major, amazing one of those in the post-credits.)

My biggest problem with the film at this point is that I wish the Spider-Man movies could just be about Spider-Man going on Spidey adventures, instead of everything—from the costumes to the mentors to the villains' motivations—revolving around Iron Man. After Endgame, audiences might be wondering how the MCU moves forward without Tony Stark, its first central character, the person around whom the entire universe seemed to orbit—and it seems everyone in this film is anxious about that question as well. The ghost of Tony Stark is the uncredited character shoved into almost every scene here.

So Parker lands next to a building, and boom, there is a giant piece of Iron Man graffiti behind him—it's a metaphor for how Parker misses his mentor, but also the burden he feels to pick up where he left off, see? A pair of Stark's glasses serve as both a MacGuffin and a literal passing of the torch from Stark to Parker. Stark is the Uncle Ben this Spider-Man never had, even if the words "with great power comes great responsibility" are never uttered (note: Parker is carrying around a piece of luggage with Uncle Ben's initials? It's not commented on). There is no situation in the film which isn't caused by Stark technology, nor any which apparently can't be solved with more Stark technology.

Here's the thing: if you enjoy the Marvel house style, then you're probably going to really enjoy this film, which is closer to the low-key vibe of Ant-Man & The Wasp than any of the heavier Avengers movie. Marvel doesn't really make bad movies—they don't always make exceptionally amazing films, and they can be accused of a certain blandness, but they rarely strike out at the genre, especially compared to the likes of the DCEU. Their films are colorful and sarcastic and care about continuity; they're filled with great actors doing interesting things, and they generally have strong story structures. Spider-Man: Far From Home is a minor Marvel film, but it mostly nails its emotional beats, it's generally is a fun time, and it finally acknowledges that web-slinging seems really nauseating.

And hey, if nothing else, it gave us this perfect clip: