New Spider-man movie the best yet, says reviewer

EXCLUSIVE FILM REVIEW: SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (12A)

SHOWCASE CINEMA DE LUX PETERBOROUGH, OUT NOW

CAST: TOM HOLLAND, JAKE GYLLENHAAL, ZENDAYA, SAMUEL L JACKSON, COBIE SMULDERS, JON FAVREAU, JACOB BATALON, JB SMOOVE, TONY REVOLORI, ANGOURIE RICE, REMY HILL, MARTIN STARR, JORGE LENDEBORG JR, NUMAN ACAR & MARISA TOMEI

RUNNING TIME: 2 HRS 9 MINS

DIRECTOR: JON WATTS

Not only is this the best Spider-Man film ever – it easily spins its way towards the upper echelons of the Marvel Cinematic Universe web.

That’s due to the inventive use of likeable characters and a twist storyline – with arguably the biggest curveball since Iron Man 3 – and Far From Home being one of the funniest films ever in the MCU, up there was the likes of Thor: Ragnorak and Guardians of the Galaxy.

It nicely ties up the loose ends up from Avengers: Endgame too, explaining what is now known as ‘The Blip’ – with some school kids being five years older than their class mates who were part of ‘The Vanished’ that re-emerged when the Avengers reversed Thanos’ destruction – and the heroics of the deceased superheroes such as Iron Man and Black Widow.

In fact, the movie starts off with Peter Parker’s Spider-Man anxious with the pressure put on the shoulders after the death of his millionaire mentor Tony Stark – which leads to him needing a ‘break’ to gather his thoughts with his school friends on at trip to Europe.

In fact, trying to getting romantically involved with MJ (The Greatest Showman’s Zendaya) – with the ultimate show of his affection at the top of the Eiffel Tower – clearly seems to be his primary concern over any future superhero endeavours.

But alas, extra-dimensional humanoid Hydron, as part of the Elementals – a team of immortals who use the power of natural forces to wreak havoc – turns the waterways of Venice into a destructive weapon, and soon Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) is requiring Spidey’s services with these ‘presences’ emerging across the continent.

Fortunately Fury and his team – including Cobie Smulders’ Agent Maria Hill – have help in the form of Jake Gyllenhaal’s Quentin ‘Mysterio’ Beck, a master of trickery and illusion who has battled the Elementals before on an ‘alternate dimension’ Earth – and the duo must combine forces to face their leader, Hellfire, in Prague.

But Parker’s relationship with his new best pal Beck isn’t all that it seems – and soon Stark’s protege will have to ‘come of age’ when his friends are put in danger during a thrilling London-set finale.

And watching Holland battle through his teenage angst to ‘find himself’ is one of the most compelling parts of Far From Home, especially with amiable characters such as MJ, Ned (Jacob Batalon), Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) all adding to a constantly engaging script, which boasts a perfect balance of action, comedy and captivation.

After the solid start that Holland made in his first solo outing with Homecoming, Far From Home takes it to another level, and with a few major ‘ripples’ left by the close – this proves to be the perfect ‘endgame’ to Marvel’s Phase Three.

Which shows Holland’s Spider-Man is going to play a major part in Phase Four – and should be more than enough to get anyone’s ‘Spidey Senses’ tingling.

As long as you don’t call it the ‘Peter Tingle’ like it is in the movie... as that’s just not cool. Rating: 4.5/5

By Gavin Miller