I went to the cinema last weekend to watch the new Spider-Man movie, two days after release and I wasn't quite sure what to think about the film at the beginning, so I waited a bit before writing a review. Of course the spoiler effect is also a reason why I took some time with the review so I don't take your fun away. This film is already something, well, how should I say? Something like an end, but also something like a new beginning but also something in between. The conclusion of a saga and the beginning of something new - a link or a connection, so to speak, between old and new, old and young, between comic and film, telling and seeing and above all: reality and illusion.
The Story:
Peter Parker, victim of the snap of Thanos, was not there for five years when the world continued to spin. He suffers from the enormous pressure that superheroism brings and he needs a break from it all, a pause. So the big school trip with his class to europe is coming just right.
His buddy Ned wants to let the young one hang out and MJ makes eyes out of Peter. That can only be good. Unnoticed Aunt May smuggles Peter's superhero costume into his suitcase, because she suspects that he might need it.
And she was right, because hardly arrived in Venice, the first danger makes itself in form of an elemental noticeable, a water monster, which threatens to destroy the city. And when that wouldn't be enough, a mysterious superhero appears, who pretends to come from another universe. Under Nick Fury's leadership, the heroes unite to fight the evil, but is the evil really real?
My Opinion:
Spider-Man: Far from Home, a film that marks the end of an era. A film that has the bar high up and brings with it many expectations after Avngers Endgame. And yes, nearly 2 weeks after watching the movie i can say that it also fulfils the expectations. Not in the sense I personally hoped it would be, but it's worth closing the chapter about the Inifinity Stones and opening a new door. Because that's what this film does, and it does it extraordinarily well.
If you have been deceived by the trailer of Spider-Man, you will understand after watching the movie, why Marvel didn't show certain things or why the trailer was out to deceive the viewer. For this you have to know the character of Quentin Beck alias Mysterio, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who appears in Venice and fights the water elemental. Mysterio is the master of illusion and so with that also the master of deception in the comics and this is exactly what we are confronted with all the time in Spidey's new movie.
The deception is so surreal but also real, damn well done and very deceptive for us viewers, because it gives us some twists we wouldn't have expected. Also the SFX and the CGI, which are used for the illusions in the film to deceive the film characters, are so damn good and convincing, that not only the film characters are deceived, but we viewers as well, to such an extent that you almost feel it. And that makes the film in its own way a little masterpiece of illusion. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a very convincing Quentin Beck, who in turn is a perfectionist in the art of illusion and is a worthy mysteriuous Mysterio. So the actor shows once again how good he is in what he does.
Of course, the story is almost only about Peter Parker and how he has to take on the responsibility as Spider-Man, how he fights against it at the beginning and the first half of the movie is all about it. During this time something is built up, as if the movie is about to start, only to hit with full force. And that's exactly what we get to feel in the second part and especially towards the end, when the twists are dissolved and the illusions and deceptions seem to end, it seems that it's over, but the seeming deceives, because both Mysterio and the film itself have more illusions and deceptions in store than you might think.
The backdrops, the actors, the costumes, the locations, the score, even the jokes that steer the dramaturgy in a certain direction, show how experienced the Marvel Studios meanwhile are in their work and that they create something that is not only really good, but goes so far that you can't stop watching and that the whole thing stays in your mind.
The film is of course a kind of coming of age film, but it is certainly not only intended for a younger audience. Besides the kids you also have enough humour and scenes, which are definitely intended for the adult audience.
Spider-Man: Far from Home is not only a must for MCU fans but also a must for every Spider-Man fan, because the film has a lot of fan service to offer and there are many references to the comics, although the Mysterio from the comics is a bit different from the one in the film, the whole thing has been solved very well and is again a testimony to how well the MCU can film and realize stories from the canon, in their way.
Actually, there is still so much to say/write about the film, but I will do that in other articles, because that wouldn't fit into a review either.
The movie is a little masterpiece of illusions, which also in its own way is a tribute to the fallen heroes against Thanos, a worthy conclusion to a saga and a really super good start for what's to come. It's not a perfect movie but much more better than some other MCU movies and so it got 8 out of 10 Stars from me at IMDb.
