Danielle Solzman
Spider-Man: Far From Home has the main responsibility of dealing with the after effects of Avengers: Endgame, including the Midtown High students.
If you’ve seen trailers for the film, you have probably already shown a good part of what’s going on. Regardless of that, there’s a certainly lot of film not seen in the trailers. Let me warn you now: there’s a mid-credits scene and a post-credits scene. Also: if you read nothing else before seeing the film, please make sure to stay to the very end!
Even in death, Tony Stark/Iron Man looms largely over Peter Parker (Tom Holland). Peter is dealing with grief in his own way but Iron Man’s face is everywhere. Spider-Man: Far From Home deals with the Avengers: Endgame fallout in a way that only this film can. We have some new terminology for this five-year period of people coming back to life. It’s being referring to the phenomenon as “the blip.”
One of the biggest questions upon leaving Endgame was how will they explain why everyone is still the same age in the new Spider-Man film. Another question dealt with what would happen upon people being “blipped” back to life. The film certainly manages to have some bit of fun with this, especially with Brad Davis (Remy Hii). They might only play with it for a bit but this concept could be explored in an entire film. But for now, we can rest easy knowing that Paul Greengrass directed a film about The Snap. Similarly, a documentary was made about Tony Stark. This are blink-and-miss it Easter Eggs.
What we know is that The Snap tore a whole in the Multiverse. The main Marvel Cinematic Universe is Earth-616. Quention Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), who becomes known as Mysterio, is from Earth-883. Anyway, the Elements tore through his Earth and he’s somehow made his way to the main Marvel Universe. The Elemental Creatures come from Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. Not surprisingly, some of them appear in the form of Magnum, Hydro-Man, and Molten Man. A license plate at one point reads ASM 28965. The Amazing Spider-Man #28, published in September 1965, marks Molten Man’s first appearance.
The Avengers are unavailable so Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) require Parker’s help. These two are finding themselves in a very different world. Neither one of them were around for the past five years so something has to give. Meanwhile, Parker is about to leave for an European vacation so he’s not about to leave his friends behind. Fury is a man who does not want to be disappointed. Parker certainly does everything he can to enjoy this school trip to Europe. Unfortunately, the Elementals means that he cannot just enjoy himself. He’s due for a vacation after everything that he went through as a result of the previous two Avengers films.
Visually speaking, the effects are quite stunning. Parker gets a new gadget that was left to him by Tony: EDITH (Even in death, I’m the hero). This gadget is one that comes with some of its own toys. Again, Peter certainly thinks he isn’t ready for this responsibility. It’s this idea that he’s not ready for the big-time that looms over the film. This really is a question that he must answer on his own terms. All the while, he is just hoping to reveal his feelings to MJ (Zendaya). This becomes easier said than done.
On the diversity front, out trans actor Zach Barack becomes the first transgender actor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For the record, the film makes no mentions of his character being trans. It was previously reported that two trans actors were cast in the film with another playing an extra.
The biggest thing that Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers have to work around is keeping this film tonally along the lines of Spider-Man: Homecoming. Dealing with the grief of losing Tony Stark only makes this job all the more harder. How do you deal with the grief while keeping the lighthearted tone that helps make Tom Holland to become the best Spider-Man on screen? The other thing that the film does is give us an Avengers-level threat with none of the major players around. Similarly, what does a world look like without Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, and Vision? Spider-Man: Far From Home is able to close the chapter on one book while laying the foundation for another.
DIRECTOR: Jon Watts
SCREENWRITERS: Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers
CAST: Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, JB Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Martin Starr, with Marisa Tomei and Jake Gyllenhaal
