I’m not sure whether it was the European locales, or another fresh performance by Tom Holland as Spider-man, that had me most looking forward to this movie. Having the kids from Spider-man: Homecoming head to London, Venice, Prague, Berlin, etc. for their class trip may have seemed unrealistically extravagant, but how else do I get to visit some of my favourite places vicariously while enjoying some MCU action, eh? (I heart Europe.) Of course, Tom Holland is back portraying our friendly neighbourhood wall-crawler with his trademark teenage enthusiasm and earnestness. He just wants to have a fun summer trip with his best-bud Ned, and his crush, MJ. Unfortunately, a bunch of elemental monsters end up wreaking havoc along the gang’s itinerary route (hmmm…) and it’s a good thing that Spider-man is ready to help fight them, along with new hero Mysterio (played by Jake Gyllenhaal). One of the big themes of this movie is the idea of Spider-man (aka Peter Parker) being tasked to fill the big metal shoes of Iron Man (aka Tony Stark), who met his self-sacrificing end in Avengers: Endgame. This burden weighs heavily on Parker’s mind and it’s a good thing that Mysterio (aka Quentin Beck) is around to give him some grown-up advice and encouragement.

As much as I enjoy these lessons in growing up heroic, another theme that I generally hate in super-hero movies is when the hero is pre-occupied with maintaining his or her secret identity. I understand that this would probably be a reality to many costumed avengers, but so’s going to the bathroom, and we sure don’t need to spend movie-time talking about that! I find the secret-identity stuff is such a detracting plot that really should not be part of a super-hero’s story. I want to see them fight bad guys, not sneak back in through windows or toss their super-suits quickly under the bed. This time, Parker finds it extra-challenging to maintain his secret identity, especially when SHIELD boss, Nick Fury (again played by Samuel L. Jackson) comes calling (though I enjoyed the scene where he shoots a tranq dart into buddy Ned’s neck) and doesn’t seem to care how much hot water he puts Parker in. Thankfully, Tom Holland is good at charming-up the bumbling and makes this secret-identity thing more fun than it should be.

What’s also fun about this movie is that there are a number of twists to the plot (especially in the post-credit scenes, so don’t you dare leave until the final final credit). I will not spoil any of them, but it’s a nice way to add another dimension to the story and take it even further. I will, however, tease that while it’s not quite as big a shocker as the end of The Sixth Sense, it will definitely have you rethinking some of the scenes in the movie. Admittedly, it’s still far from being as inventive as Into the Spider-verse, but it’s definitely an excellent effort at mixing things up, plot-wise.

Jake Gyllenhaal is well-cast as Mysterio/Beck. He is good at playing the straight-up hero and adding some more depth to the character as well. Realistically, this is not one of those brooding super-hero character-portraits, but it’s nice to see a bit more made of a character who I’d always remembered only as the guy with an upside-down fish-bowl on his head. By expanding Mysterio’s role and making him more formidable, he’s also a lot more memorable (for more than his kooky costume).

What’s also enjoyable about this movie is the humourous tone. It’s not just from the kids, but even from some of the adults (in particular, Jon Favreau returning as Happy Hogan, and Marisa Tomei as Aunt May). One of the things that has made the recent MCU movies more fun is the ingredient of humour that has played a big part in their success. As I mentioned, I also loved seeing the European locales (even though they got trashed by monsters). I am amazed at the visual effects and how they were able to use known sites, such as Tower Bridge in London, as the backdrop for the comic-book mayhem.

Spider-man: Far From Home is a lot of fun and a nice counter-point to Avengers: Endgame. Even though the movie contains some significant changes in the life of Spider-man, there is also some clear indication that there is more story to come (so, again, stay for the post-credit scenes). I’m hoping that Tom Holland (whose star is clearly on the rise) will stick with the role, and that we’ll get at least a few more Spider-man movies with him. (4 out of 5)