Film: Spider-Man: Far From Home

GENRE: Action Adventure

RATING: PG-13 for action violence, some language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 9 minutes

STARRING: Tom Holland (Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War)

Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners, Nightcrawler), Zendaya (Greatest Showman)

DIRECTOR: Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Cop Car)

WRITERS: Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers (Homecoming, Jumanj 2)

PLOT: Peter Parker doesn’t want to save the world; he just wants to get close to MJ on the school Europe trip.  

FULL DISCLOSURE: Tried to keep expectations low.

STORY STUFF: After a good first half, this sequel gets pretty awesome. I don’t want to spoil things though. Let me just say that the trailer does not do the film justice. I had some added enjoyment having been to London recently and been to Venice before. Solid action, solid acting, solid jokes. For my wife's sake, I enjoyed their comments on perfume allergies and large crowds. Also, the Netherlands are well represented. 

ACTING STUFF: Holland is fantastic. He’s hands down the best Peter Parker (sorry Tobey). Zendaya plays the awkwardness and strength of MJ perfectly. I felt she outshone Jacob Batalon’s Ned this time around. Gyllenhaal does a great job; better than I thought he’d be. Martin Starr (Silicon Valley) and JB Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm) are far too inept to be chaperons on this ‘science’ trip. Also, some awesome cameos.

ARTISTIC STUFF: The visual effects are awesome, especially at the midpoint of the film. Also great use of European locales I thought the music wasn’t as good this time around, but that’s a minor point.

VERDICT: Five stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like Spider-Man and a good time at the movies.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Lion King; Once Upon a Time in Hollywood