Spider Man Far from home: more humor, less originality (review)

On this Sunday evening, Tom Holland faces Jake Gyllenhaal. Is it worth a look?

Spider-Man: Far From Homethe penultimate opus dedicated to the superhero to date, before the box full of No Way Home late 2022, was released in cinemas in summer 2019. First found it perfectly entertaining. Here is our review, while waiting to see it (again) this Sunday on TF1.

Spider-Man Far From Home: Why Jake Gyllenhaal agreed to star in a Marvel film

After Avengers: Endgame which marked the end of some iconic characters, it is the turn of Spider-Man: Far from Home to add a new part to the Marvel saga. Jon Watts, already director of Spider-Man: Homecomingcoming from genre cinema (Clown, Cop Car) is back in service. And the least we can say is that he has gained confidence.

The film is set right after the end ofAvengers: Endgame. While America heals the wounds of the Eclipse which caused half of the Earth's inhabitants to disappear for five years, Peter Parker returns to high school and his plan to seduce MJ, his classmate. He makes plans to declare his love for her in Paris, at the top of the Eiffel Tower, during a school trip to Europe. Obviously, nothing is going to go as planned and during their first stopover in Venice, the young superhero will join forces with a mysterious vigilante from elsewhere played by Jake Gyllenhaal.

Nick Fury screws up at all costs
The film gives pride of place to humor and second-degree and offers multiple twists and turns. Spider-Man: Far from Home is the very type of blockbuster that seeks to appeal to two audiences. First the original fans of the MCU, adults today, who had clearly criticized the previous part of the adventures of Spider-Man. To do this, the writers went all out on jokes, winks, references and other musical gags. It works pretty well. Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury) and Jon Favreau (Happy) are masters of the little spade blown between two pieces of secret defense information. Where it is more dangerous is that the film constantly denounces itself by demystifying the concept of superheroes and making their exploits, and even their enemies, artificial. We won't tell you any more… As the stakes of the story (saving the world!) become more and more secondary, the film ends up biting its tail.

Romantic date in sight
What is certain is that Spider-Man: Far from Home is perfectly calibrated to appeal to the young audience who are fans of the genre. Those who were born with the Avengers. For them, the film is a fairly classic teen movie where the hero is torn between a very early 20th century romance and his need to assume his responsibilities as a providential rescuer. Tom Holland is perfect in this register. Probably the best Spider Man performer. Not too tortured, just teenage enough… His partner Zendaya (also seen in the series Euphoria on OCS) succeeds in taking MJ out of the cliché of the lover and gives her real depth.
Let's not shy away from our pleasure, this Spider-Man is certainly the most successful since the reboot of the Spider-Man franchise. What's more, it offers many avenues following the Avengers, including two rather unexpected scenes in the post-credits.

Trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home :

Too much fan service in Spider-Man: No Way Home?