Spider-Man: Far From Home

     After seven Spider-Man films, including an Oscar-winning animated film, the latest installment in the webhead's never-ending battle to make Sony as much money as possible has a lot to live up to, especially since it continues the story after the epic juggernaut that was Avengers: Endgame.  This time around, the responsible friendly neighbor leaves his neighborhood to embark on a class field trip to Europe, in the hope that he'll win the heart of the girl he loves.  He should have stayed home.
     The movie was a letdown for me.  It's disappointing after the very humorous and surprisingly captivating Spider-Man: Homecoming, and that is the first reason why this movie doesn't fully deliver--it's not a comedic comedy.  Marvel Studios's reboot of the character made it very clear that this new iteration would take inspiration from teen comedy films like Ferris Bueller's Day Off, giving the character a youthful and whimsical atmosphere to exist in.  Homecoming pulled this off with its clever uses of gags and jokes mixed in with all of the superhero antics we've come to expect from a Marvel movie, but the newest film just doesn't do this well at all.  There were only a couple of times where I chuckled during the film, compared to multiple fits of laughter when I first watched Homecoming, which is not good since the movie is chockfull of "jokes."  By "jokes," I mean failed attempts at humor by saying or doing awkward things on screen.  For example, a secret agent tells Peter to take off his clothes so he can put on his new superhero uniform.  She stands there.  Peter hesitates.  She strongly insists he changes then and there as she watches.  This was meant to be funny.  This scene does lead to, admittedly, an hilarious scene on a bus, but that particular moment to make the audience chuckle felt weird and out-of-place, as if we missed the punchline somewhere...or the setup.  Overall, the film fails at being a teen comedy.  Now, I get it.  It's an action-packed superhero film, but it's trying to add elements of a teen comedy.  Thus, it fails in its attempt to make this movie stand out from all the other 20+ Marvel movies and makes itself look like a first-time standup trying out some jokes and hope something sticks with the audience.
     The second way this film disappoints is in its execution at a compelling villain.  When the Vulture was announced as the villain to Spider-Man: Homecoming, I thought that was a horrible choice.  Who cares about an old geezer in a bird suit?  I was pleasantly surprised by how compelling the character turned out to be, thanks to his portrayal as an average Joe who struggled to keep a job due to those in bigger companies, mainly Tony Stark, and so he turns to a life of villainy to steal from Stark and make money to use towards the betterment of his family.  From his point-of-view, his methods make sense, and at times, he is questionably a villain.  Criminal, sure, but an evil villain who wants to rule the world or even kill someone?  No.  But in Far From Home, we are presented with a measly villain-of-the-week bad guy who wants to rule the world through fame and glory because...he's driven by jealousy I guess?  The point is he's being a bad guy to better himself, not for anyone else, and we have seen this kind of selfish ambition time and time again, especially in Marvel movies.  He just comes off a bit boring because of his motivation.  It's just not a gripping conflict like the other film.
  But what is the movie ultimately about, and does it succeed in getting its point across?  Sort of.  The plot centers around Peter trying to impress Michelle and enjoy a romantic getaway with her in Europe, but he gets tangled up in some shenanigans with Nick Fury and some monsters, making his plans very difficult to come to fruition.  It's a simple story, but honestly, it's just not that interesting.  Michelle is not that compelling of a character outside of her little nuggets of historical fun facts that involve the deaths of people.  Not someone I personally gravitate towards, but maybe Peter enjoys depressing fun facts more than me.  But the main take away from Peter's journey to get the girl is his overwhelming knowledge that he's responsible for protecting people, now more than ever.  The world is not the same, and there are less heroes to protect it.  He just wants to be a regular teen again and have fun in life, instead of having to deal with saving the world from evildoers.  It definitely challenges Peter emotionally, and we see him examine his heart and finds it within himself to pursue what he deeply desires most for his life.  The problem with this is that we've seen Spider-Man do this before--more than once!  We get it.  He has powers.  He doesn't want to use his powers for a time.  He doesn't get what he wants, but he becomes the person he was meant to be because he has to use his powers for the greater good.  Got it.  Great.  Does he not go through any other challenges in his life?  How about the stress of planning out his future like college and a career?  What about dealing with criminals who are breaking the law in order to just live one more day?  What about a kingpin manipulating the government system to better his own business?  Why is it always about him learning he has a responsibility to uphold and struggling to get the girl in between fights with bad guys?  Thankfully, the end of the movie teases a major change to the character, and hopefully the inevitable third installment presents a new, life-changing obstacle for Peter to face and learn a new lesson in the process.
     With humor that isn't very humorous, an uninteresting villain, and a plot that doesn't offer anything new, Spider-Man: Far From Home is far from hitting a home-run.  It's not a bad film per se; it offers some great fight scenes and excellent performances from all the actors, which ultimately does keep the movie entertaining from start to finish.  However, you're better off watching this one at home.