# Far From Home Brings Spider-Man Home

> Review: Spider-Man Far From Home Starring Tom Holland, Samuel L Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, and Jake Gyllenhaal

By Jonathan Foye · 23 October 2019 · Reviews / Gaming

Canonical: https://insights1.uca.org.au/articles/far-from-home-brings-spider-man-home/

**Review: Spider-Man Far From Home**
 
 **Starring Tom Holland, Samuel L Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, and Jake Gyllenhaal**

After the character’s MCU debut in *Captain America: Civil War*, his own Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in *Homecoming* (and two subsequent Avengers films), *Far From Home* sees Spider-Man in an interesting arc where the character must stand on his own without being overshadowed.

Having well and truly introduced the character to the MCU, *Far From Home* marks a much needed evolution in the character, who to date has been portrayed as a young and inexperienced hero. Long term fans who have missed key aspects to the character’s mythos will be pleased with the way that this film progresses things.

*Far From Home* stands out as perhaps the best live action Spider-Man film. With the character (re)introductions out of the way, the film’s team have a much wider canvas to work on, taking the story to Venice, Prague, and London among other locales. While Spider-Man is a traditionally New York-based superhero, the film manages to make this shift work.
 
 Set after *Avengers Endgame*, *Far From Home* sees Peter Parker/Spider-Man taking a much-needed overseas holiday with his school class. Hoping to get away from it all and tell his classmate/love interest MJ how he feels, the trip takes an unexpected detour when it is interrupted by the Elementals, giant element-based monsters that tear up the ground under Peter’s feet, literally and otherwise. Working with S.H.I.E.L.D, he is introduced to Mysterio, who claims to be from a parallel universe the Elementals destroyed.

The film portrays Peter Parker mourning some heavy losses in his life. The Spider-Man character has always been linked to the subject of grief, and *Far From Home* portrays this in a variety of interesting ways. The film’s plot divides nicely between the more serious, quiet moments and the action sequences that force the narrative to advance. With its globe-hopping story, there are some big set pieces in popular landmarks. 
 
 *Far From Home* has quite the amazing cast, all of whom deliver their roles with aplomb.
 
 Tom Holland delivers well as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, a character away from his home city and out of his element.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s take on Mysterio is perhaps the film’s best performance, delivering all dimensions of a character that promised to be one of the most difficult to translate to the silver screen. 
 
 Zendaya returns as MJ, delivering on a character that is similar in vein to the comics’ Mary Jane while adding some additional humour. The character is a good deal more fleshed out than the brief glimpse *Homecoming* offered.
 
 *Far From Home* also has plenty of hidden references and in-jokes, with everything from a hidden reference to the first issue of *The Amazing Spider-Man* **[to the recent PlayStation 4 Spider-Man game](https://www.insights.uca.org.au/reviews/a-spectacular-game).** A mid-credits scene had audiences cheering at the screening *Insights* attended. There is also a post-credits sequence that may have implications for the MCU’s as yet-unannounced fourth phase.

**Jonathan Foye is *Insights*’ Editor**