Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Film: Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Stars: Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Jake Gyllenhaal
Director: Jon Watts
Oscar History: No nominations
Snap Judgment Ranking: 2/5 stars

It was probably a decent idea of Marvel to follow-up Avengers: Endgame, an exhaustive & emotional picture, with something a bit lighter like Spider-Man.  After all, of all of the late-breaking stars, one could make an argument that Holland's is the most similar to earlier Avengers hits that were focused on charm & fun rather than moving into a semi-serious role again featuring Doctor Strange or Black Panther.  The film, though, has some impossible weight behind it-it has to find a way to continue your attention after the megastar showing of Avengers: Endgame while also whetting our appetites for what's to come.  Based on the box office for the movie (about the only consistency in 2019 cinemas is that people do not appear to be tired of Marvel movies), the next phase of the MCU feels ready to attack our wallets, but I have stated before that I was considering whether or not it was time for me to end this franchise (in the way many have for The Simpsons or South Park after too many stories that felt too similar) or not after Far From Home.

(Spoilers Ahead) The movie centers in the weeks after the deaths of Iron Man, Black Widow, & Vision (the public seems to think that Captain America is also dead, even though he was seen as an old man at the end of the last picture).  As a result, we're without a lot of obvious heroes, and Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man aka Tom Holland) is kind of done with the idea of being a superhero as well. He wants to go on a class trip with his friends, including the girl he likes MJ (Zendaya), and is ignoring calls from Nick Fury (Jackson).  Eventually Nick Fury finds him, and introduces him to a potential future leader of the Avengers, Mysterio (Gyllenhaal), and we see the two of them attempting to battle the Elementals who have come from a different dimension (which is also where Mysterio has come from), to take over this earth.  Again, we see the world under threat from an alien breed, with a reluctant hero at the center, and he has to team up with another hero to get the job done.

Except, of course, it's not that simple.  Marvel isn't going to just have their villains be CGI-blobs, two of which are almost completely forgotten in the course of the movie, and it turns out that Mysterio is in fact yet another neglected protege of Tony Stark, here to enact his revenge and megalomaniacally take over the world.  It helps that they cast Gyllenhaal, who always looks like a combination of a nerdy boy scout and a puppy as the villain, as he plays well with a bad guy that's clearly over his head. The scene where he toasts and reveals his plan could have been expository hell, but it's actually the best non-action scene in the whole movie as we see Gyllenhaal get his over-actor on.

The problem is that Spider-Man: Far From Home is all territory we've done dozens of times.  Having Peter Parker go after MJ (again) is a total snooze, and I say that with Tom Holland being my favorite of the live-action Spideys.  Of course he's going to get her, of course she's going to find out he's Spider-Man, and of course he's going to still rise to be the leader he was meant to be.  We've seen this story countless times, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to increasingly be a place with limitless budgets & decidedly narrow creativity.  The battle sequences are awesome (particularly the water creature fight in Venice), but there's a sense of, even with good actors and charming movie stars, that this is never going to rise above being dull anymore.

This is a problem for the MCU, and why I'm probably done with the series after this movie, in that the whole point of at least the Infinity Stones storyline was that it had a beginning, middle, and end.  There were stretches that were better (Winter Soldier, Black Panther), there were stretches we'd be better off forgetting (Dark World, Guardians 2), but it was all leading to the final scenes of Endgame, where we had characters like Iron Man, Black Widow, and Vision have real-world implications (they died, and for now appear to be staying dead).  Having yet another round of these stories with similar plot struggles and the same tones...it feels so lifeless and boring.  I've read the good reviews of this movie, and I get where they're coming from, but frequently the good reviews include phrases like "good enough," "comfortable," "charming cast," and "rises above"...indicating that we're all just sort of complimenting the pile of money rather than critically examining that the movies aren't necessary even if they're fine.  The post-credits sequences contained a genuine shock (kudos to JK Simmons for bridging the MCU divide and bringing back J. Jonah Jameson), and then a nonsensical ode to the Skrulls when we learn that Nick Fury & Maria Hill weren't there the whole time, but instead they were shape-shifters.  Perhaps that will be me for the next installment, as unless there's something truly special coming in the next round (and right now none of the announced films scream out "See me!") it'll be a John lookalike that's sitting next to you in theaters.  Endgame was the proper closer to this series, and Far From Home was a reminder as to why it needs to close.