"Spider-Man: Far From Home" is equal parts superhero movie and awkward teen comedy, much more so than "Homecoming" was a couple of years ago.
Set a few months after the events of "Avengers: Endgame", Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is back at school, and swooning over MJ (Zendaya). However, a new threat arises that prompts Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to call Spider-Man back to duty, whether he likes it or not.
And, then, there is Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), who presents himself as a survivor from another dimension's earth, and, to this point, is filling the hero void created by events in "Endgame". However, as any Spider-fan worth his salt will tell you, nothing is what it seems with Beck, who is repackaged here as a former Stark Industries employee with an axe to grind. Gee, there's a shocker. NOT! The disgruntled employee turned villain isn't so much a popular literary trope, but, in truth, very common in the real world, giving rise to the phrase, "going postal", over the last 20 years.
It's not a coincidence, of course, that, after the Amazing Spider-Man newspaper strip suspended original publication after the passing of Stan Lee several months back, the first reprinted story arc featured Mysterio.
There's some legitimately funny subplots, including Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) being courted by Tony Stark's former bodyguard, "Happy" Hogan (Jon Favreau), who's now Spider-Man's handler. Of course, Stark himself flirted with May not long ago......! New York cable personality J. B. Smoove turns up as one of Peter's teachers. Stunt casting, yo.
Hang around for the in-&-post-credit scenes, and some old friends drop by.
Here's the trailer.
I'm convinced that the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon (2012-18) served as at least a partial template for how Peter is presented in these films. It was there that the narrative was begun that Spidey would be working for SHIELD.
Rating: B-.
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