Empire Australasia – August 2019

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Hughes-inspired teen comedy that also happened

elementalcreaturesalongsideJakeGyllenhaal’s

newlyarrivedheroQuentinBeck,aka

Mysterio—purportingtohailfromthesame

alternatedimensionasthemonsters.Wattsnailed

thelocalisedQueenssettingofHomecoming, but

clearlydelightsinthepossibilitiesoftakingthe

friendlySpider-Manoutofhisneighbourhood

—Parkernowcontendingwithcrumbling

architecture,crowdsofsightseers,andenemies

unaffectedbyhiswebs.Thedirectorgets

maximummileageoutofSpider-Man’sstatusas

themostacrobaticAvenger,punctuatingthe

actionset-pieceswithdizzyingflipsandthwips,

mosteffectivelyina slickshowdownon

London’sTowerBridge.

AfterHomecoming saw Parker working

tobeaSpider-Manmovie,FarFromHomewould

flybywithoutthesuperheroics.Theimpeccable

Spidey-senseofhumourfromthepreviousfilm

isn’tquiteaswell-honedhere(arecurringgag

aboutJ.B.Smoove’steacherbelievinginwitchcraft

neverlands,whileNedandPeter’sdouble-actgets

lessscreentime),butreturningdirectorJonWatts

clearlyrelishesthecoming-of-agetouchstones

affordedbyhisteenhero,thistimecombiningthe

HughesinfluencewithaEurotrip-inspiredvision

ofEurope(abriefjaunttotheNetherlandsis

improbablypopulatedwithwindmills,tulips

galore,andkindlysportshooligans).

Butsuperheroicsdo,inevitably,interrupt

whenNickFury(Jackson)hijackstheschool

trip, recruiting Spidey to battle destructive

Above:Spidey,

havinga swinging

timeinEurope.

Left:Mysterio

(JakeGyllenhaal)

findsoutwhata

greengastariff

really looks like.

ON SCREEN

VERDICTIt’snotquitethehome-runof

Homecoming, butFarFromHomeisn’tfarfrom

matchingit,withheapsofhumour,energetic

action, and the answersEndgame left you craving.

underthetutelageofTonyStark,theIron

Man-shapedvoidbringsthreenewpotential

father-figuresintohislife.Mysterio,ina typically

non-traditionalMCUtwistonthesource

material,is nowhisco-workerandconfidante,

offeringcompanionshipandempathyfor

Parker’slatestloss.Andthenthere’sFury,

Jacksonbackonmischievouslyimperiousform,

bothlamentingthatEarth’smostavailablehero

is a literalschoolkidandrelishingthechanceto

brandishhisconsiderableauthorityoverhim.

AndafterspendingmuchofHomecoming

fieldingParker’sneedyvoicemails,JonFavreau’s

HappyHogannowbondswiththeyoungster

throughtheirsharedgriefandfearofFury—all

whilestrikingupa secretrelationshipwithAunt

May(Tomei).It’stestamenttoWattsthatthese

characterthreadsdovetailneatlywithoutjostling

forscreentime,bringingevenmoreemotional

depthtotheMCU’sSpidey-verse.

IfthebuddyrelationshipbetweenParker

andBeckinitiallyfeelsbland,Gyllenhaallater

shakesuphisvanillaheroism,thefilmswitching

upa gearjustasit appearstobegoingthrough

themotions.There’snoequivalentrug-pulltothe

VulturerevealinHomecoming—anyonewho

tookSpideyComics 101 willseea major

developmentcoming—butWattsstageshis

upping-of-the-stakesmomentwitha joltof

energythatspursa wickedlyfunsecondhalf,

boastingsurprisingtiestotheminutiaeofthe

MCUthatreachrightbacktothefranchise

beginnings.Notonlythat,butFarFromHome

unexpectedlydeliverstheseries’mostthrillingly

mind-bendingimagerysinceDoctorStrangehad

histhirdeyeopenedbyTheAncientOne.

Despiteeverythingelsegoingon,FarFrom

HomecharminglyneverlosessightofPeter’squest

toaskoutMJ.Thecouple’swould-be-romanceis

sweetandendearing,butnotsicklyintheslightest

—andZendayashines,droppingrazor-wire

zingerswithdeadpandelight.TomHolland

remainsa note-perfectSpider-Man—stillfunnier

andmorebelievablyteenagethanTobeyMaguire

andAndrewGarfield’sincarnations.WhileFar

FromHomefindshimdesperatetotaketheweight

oftheworldoffhisshoulders,Hollandneverloses

theebullientsparkthatmakeshimoneofthe

MCU’smostendearingfigures.

FarFromHomeis a looserfilmthan

Homecoming, withpacingthatoccasionally

slackens,anda compulsiontogiveeveryminor

charactertimetoshine.Butit’sa light-footed

summerblockbusterthatfacesEndgame’s

monolithiclegacyhead-on,beforeleavingit behind

toembarkonitsownglobetrottingadventure.

TheMCUdoesn’tneeda newIronManyet—

FarFromHomeprovesit’smorethansafeinthe

web-slinging hands of Spider-Man.BEN TRAVIS