Posted July 16, 2019 by Amy Smith Uncategorized

Spoiler Discussion: Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Note: This is not a review of the film. I have already reviewed Spider-Man: Far From Home and you can read it here.

Spider-Man: Far From Home was truly a great film, and an important one to end Phase Three of the MCU on. However, like most Marvel films, I couldn’t talk about everything I loved in my non-spoiler review. This is the place where I will highlight some of my favourite moments from the film, and go into detail on what I think this film means to the MCU going forward.

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) – source: Sony Pictures

The major thing that I wanted to talk about in my review, yet couldn’t, was the character of Mysterio. Whilst it is clear for comic book fans that Mysterio is a villainous character, there will be people going into this film expecting him to be a hero. It is a twist that they reveal in the film that he is evil, so I did not want to explicitly say villain with him on my review. As a villain, he works incredibly well in terms of motive, power and style. In terms of villains in the MCU, I would argue that the Spider-Man franchise has the strongest villains to date (with both Mysterio and Vulture).

What really makes Mysterio work for me is his power, which is illusion based. Not only did Sony and Marvel find a great way to implement the villain’s power of illusion into the continuous story, but the visuals were gorgeous. Some of the sequences gave me Into the Spider-Verse vibes, and they might just be some of the best action sequences I have ever seen from a Marvel film. It was incredibly bold of the team to have Iron Man coming out of the grave as an illusion, but I am glad that they took the risk because the reaction was emotional and hard-hitting.

I am extremely glad that the multi-verse plot ended up also being part of an illusion and stopped at this film. I did call it, but Mysterio knew exactly how to trick everyone into believing that he was from another dimension. I have never liked the idea of Marvel doing the multi-verse, and this was a good way to reference that storyline in the comic books without actually doing it. Whilst I am still wondering how Marvel Studios are going to handle the implications of the Blip for the next five years, I am glad they aren’t also having to deal with the multi-verse on a huge level.

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) – source: Sony Pictures

Another aspect of the film that I could not go into depth about in my non-spoiler review was all of the relationships that were on show in the film. Of course, the main focus point was the relationship between Peter and MJ, and how that relationship formed due to MJ finding out about Spider-Man. This worked incredibly well, and I completely bought their relationship. Their first kiss was adorable and exactly how I pictured two awkward teenagers to react.

Speaking of teenage relationships, I was shocked when it was revealed that Ned and Betty were having a cute summer relationship. Not only was their relationship believable for their age, but it was cute and cringe and everything that it needed to be. It felt important to the story, yet authentic and real for the situation. I also adored the relationship between Happy and May, even if it does only end up being a summer fling. It was so sad to see Happy’s reaction to May calling it a fling, and I hope they end up working things out and staying together as it was a nice touch.

There were people at both screenings I went to that left as soon as the first credits begun, which they will regret. This is the first Marvel film in ages that I would not only recommend people to stay back for the mid and end credit scenes, but tell them that they have to. The mid-credit scene continues on right from the end of the film, but gives away some major points about the next potential Spider-Man film. Not only is Spider-Man’s identity as Peter Parker revealed, something which has been very secretive in previous incarnations of the hero, but we get a cameo from J.K. Simmons reprising his role as the head of The Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson. This is going to be a moment where everyone’s mouths are left hanging and freaking out, as there is truly nobody else that can be cast in the role of Jameson.

Whilst not as important as the mid-credit scene, the end-credit scene is a lot of fun and could potentially lead to some interesting storylines. I was confused as to why Fury was acting strangely throughout some of the film, so to have him and Maria Hill be Skrulls was an interesting creative choice to take. It’s a nice, humourous end-credit scene to have right now, but I feel they could be hinting at something bigger coming up in the next few years. Secret Invasion anyone?

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) – source: Sony Pictures

This is a film that becomes even more enjoyable once you know what you are going to see. It’s great not only to re-visit some of the locations on the European tour (The Netherlands was a great surprise and a fantastic scene), but also watch the characters grow. Mysterio still works as a character, even when you know the twist that happens with him, and the action sequences are just as fun. This is a film that holds up and I believe that I will continue to like it more and more in upcoming years.

Now that we can discuss spoilers, what did you think of how they implemented Mysterio’s character into the film? Were you as shocked as most people at J.K. Simmons returning into his role as Jameson over a decade after Spider-Man 3? Let me know in the comments below and let’s have a discussion.