Will ‘Spider-Man Far From Home’ be the last?

Spider-Man, again. As the third actor to have played Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Tom Holland is now in his fourth feature-length film as the red-suited superhero, two in the “Avengers” and now second as the solo action hero. The trick is to keep it fresh, but we’re not sure the fans really care, as long as they get their spidey-fix every year or so. Thank you Spider-Man!

As expected for an MCU blockbuster (the 23rd), this picture is overloaded with CGI action, but heavier and “spacier” with the effects than prior flicks. One extended scene could be subtitled, “Welcome to My Nightmare!” However, overall it is much lighter than the last Avengers movie. It’s actually kind of fun and the wholesome kids have terrific chemistry amongst themselves, in their awkward romance or one-line zingers.

The downside is the extended fight scenes are not only getting longer, but more repetitious and even tedious. We understand why some of the CGI illusions needed to become creative and even wildly esoteric, but the hallucinogenic images were eventually somewhat overblown and even annoying.

Director Jon Watts and writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers return from “Spider-Man Homecoming” (2017) to create this sequel, which also serves as a sequel to “Avengers: Endgame” from earlier this year. It will be a challenge to not reveal spoilers from this or the prior two movies, but we will do our best.

The opening credits feature Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” sung in memoriam to the fallen superheroes in the prior movies. Oops, can we say that? Whatever, we now find Peter Parker picking up the pieces (say that three times fast) and trying to get his life together with his high school buddies; like every other teen.

Joined by Ned (Jacob Batalon), Flash (Tony Revolori “Grand Budapest Hotel”) and MJ (Zendaya “The Greatest Showman”), these dorky teens (all are really 23-years old) fumble over their adolescence with broken sentences, insecure body language and goofy facial expressions, but always keep the tone light and upbeat.

A class field trip to Europe provides a sufficient excuse to give Spidey a vacation from all that heavy stuff in the prior flicks but also gives the filmmakers some new settings for the storyline and prodigious landmarks to destroy in their skirmishes. We visit Mexico, NYC, Venice, Prague, Switzerland, Berlin and London. Seen through the eyes of these awkward teens is kind of like seeing again for the first time.

As luck would have it, as soon as the class arrives in Venice, a water monster (Water-Man?) attacks the city. So, Peter Parker is reluctantly forced back into action. As he dons his black Spidey disguise, the Italians dub him the “Night Monkey.” Fortunately, another superhero, Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), shows up to help win the day.

Maybe, just maybe, the flying Mysterio could become the “Air Apparent” and Peter could return to MJ and his class field trip. Just as all seems to be going so well, a major plot twist turns everything upside down. Peter Parker must grow up quickly to take on the new threats in a world that has forever changed. Samuel L. Jackson, Marissa Tomei, Jon Favreau and J.K. Simmons join the supporting cast.

“Spider-Man Far From Home” is a long 129 minutes and rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, language and suggestive comments. Peter has grown from “I’m just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” to international man of Mysterio. Even Peter admits, “The world needs the next Iron Man.”

Holland is much younger than Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were in their stints as the red-suited web-slinger. However, Holland now owns this role, he is Spider-Man. Although we rarely recommend the mid-credit scenes, you’ll want to stay tuned for this one, which will leave you hanging. Surprisingly, there is no “next” Spider-Man movie announced. So, will there or won’t there be another? Answer: Ka-ching!

Ron’s Rating: B
Leigh’s Rating: C