Spider-Man: Far From Home

Spoiler-free!

I think Far From Home is supposed to be the last MCU movie of the current phase, but after Endgame, it feels like starting the cycle all over again. All Endgame changed was the change implemented by Infinity War, and now we're back to our regularly scheduled MCU programming. Here come the Marvel jokes, the wasted potential, the overused CGI, and worst of all, the obligation to make the sequel "bigger."

5 years later, and still waiting on a movie worthy of this guy.

So, we get an enhanced rehash of the first movie that lacks the grounding that the Queens neighborhood provided before. Spider-Man (Tom Holland) goes international when Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) hijacks Peter's class trip to Europe so he can help Jake Gyllenhaal fight elemental monsters from an alternate universe. With a little doing from the writers, Peter's class country-hops along with him, getting into danger with every fight so he has something real to worry about. That, and whether he's ever going to find a moment to tell MJ (Zendaya) that he likes her. 

Though the last movie's romance was much more integrated in the story, at least we get to be invested in Peter's crush on MJ because she comes with the promise of a future built in. Tom and Zendaya are a great paring. Very cute; lots of chemistry. I would've happily watched a whole movie about them. But no such luck. The movie does what all MCU movies do and gives us the bare minimum of relationship progress and just enough cute moments to keep people like me from rioting. MJ shares the "sidekick" slot with Jacob Batalon's Ned, and they both play second fiddle to Mysterio and Nick (and even Jon Favreau's Happy Hogan) and the threat that's at hand.

Instead of Peter having to figure out how to superhero during the tour, the tour is catered to his superheroing.

The threat is handled well with only a few corners cut, which is nice since it takes so much precedence. There was one scene of blatantly unnecessary exposition that, as far as I was concerned, didn't do a good enough job conveying motivation to justify the length and detail it goes into. Props to the writers for trying to think so deeply, but it wasn't worth all the trouble. Then the monsters are ho-hum; merely functional as things to fight. There are also some Mysterio-style psychedelic moments that are cool, if overly CGI. One was exactly like the title sequence of a Daniel Craig James Bond movie. As far as classic Spidey-style fight choreography, not much to speak of. The scene where Peter fights in his street clothes was probably the best.

As objectively fine as all this big, expanding stuff is, I couldn't help but miss the down-to-earth quality that Homecoming strove hard to maintain while the franchise breathed down its neck. Now the franchise has taken over, and even threatens to make Pete the next "Iron Man" -- having him use Stark tech for all his superhero needs, and even imitate Tony's style of interacting with the smart computer. At one point he gets stranded, but Happy and a Stark plane is only a phone call away. I missed the moments where he has to work out the problem on his own, without anyone to call or tell him what to do. Because that's what's compelling about Spider-Man.

(They trashed Karen without a word of explanation, but even she is preferable to humans trying to dictate his every move.)

Those are the times you see how smart, capable, and determined he can be, even though he's just a scared teen. Sans those moments, this Spidey is dumber than ever, and hardly seems capable of doing anything that isn't either a giant mistake or cringe-worthy. And in one unnecessary sequence that made me want to die, he does both. He also runs out of webbing for no reason so that the final battle would be an even match. The real-life stunts are severely lacking, the CGI'd suit more distracting than ever, and Tony Stark's name is defamed for the sake of plot; the whole movie is just a mess. Homecoming was a mess too, yes, but smaller and more personalized. 

Far From Home is exactly what you'd expect a more-of-the-same sequel to Homecoming to be, except in one important aspect: Because Homecoming won me over by making his fight personal, and making him face the villain alone and downgraded. There was no such winning hero-moment in this. They rehashed everything but failed to recreate the magic of that film's third act. This one's third act is good; fine. The MCU formula assures that. But it lacks grounding, personality; heart. The movie is bigger, and the winning moments are smaller. They're contained to fleeting moments and occasional one-on-one, CGI-free scenes of dialogue. Peter and MJ. Peter and Happy. Peter and Mysterio. 

Of course it breezes by all the moments that I wanted to linger.

The Peter/Mysterio scenes are quite good. I forgot to mention but Jake Gyllenhaal is dynamic and compelling and an extremely welcome presence here. A little more romance, a little more overall focus, and just one more moment for a little heart, and I may have been won over instead of frustrated. If it seems a small thing; yes. That's exactly my point. Far From Home is too big, too formulated, and too distracted from what matters; missing too many of the small, little, lovable pieces that make Spider-Man great.

Upcoming Movie Roundup - October

As I predicted, I didn't go to the theater in September. I am still interested to see The Magnificent Seven and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children though, in spite of the not-fantastic reviews, and Deepwater Horizon a little more than before, because of the not-at-all-bad reviews.

I may not get to the theater again this month, (unless I make a point to go, which I may try) as there are no must-see-in-theater releases, but there certainly are a few very interesting releases that may become must-sees if they turn out as good as they look.

Did you see anything in September? Anything look good to you in October?



The Girl on the Train
Oct 7th; R
I read the book. And I enjoyed it, which was nice since I've been having bad luck with books lately. But after reading it and rewatching the trailer, I have very little interest and very little confidence in this film. Emily Blunt and Haley Bennett are well-cast I think, but otherwise -- even though I love Luke Evans and Rebecca Ferguson -- it's kinda off. Also the film isn't set in England, but NYC, which takes away a LOT of appeal for me. And what's the point of doing that, anyway? Unnecessary changes are indicators of bad adaptations for me. They've also amped up the sexiness a whole lot. So maybe they're trying to increase appeal and tweak it to be more exciting. It is an introverted story, and the book's strongest aspect was the writing style, which can't translate. If it releases to acclaim I'll probably watch it someday, but as of now they've lost me. We'll see if I'm the only one.



The Accountant
Oct 14th; R
This is an excellent trailer. And it looks to be a very unique story, and Ben Affleck is always at his best when he does the trifecta of writing directing and starring, so I'm pretty confident about this film's quality already. Based on the title only I was wondering how exciting it could be, but after watching the trailer, I think it's got that covered too.Very interested to see how this does.




The River Thief
Oct 14th (limited); NR
Ever since I saw Super 8 I've been waiting for Joel Courtney to be in more movies, and finally one has crossed my path. You can't tell much about plot from this trailer, but the write-up makes it out to be interesting and promising. And it certainly has a beautiful look to it which you can see from the trailer -- lots of great shots. In a lot of ways it reminds me of Mud, which is very appealing to me, since that one of favorite films. If it turns out half as good a Mud it'd still be a good movie!




Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
Oct 21st; NR
(I can't find a MPAA rating, but I'm assuming it'll be PG-13.) The first Jack Reacher film didn't impress me much, but right now the sequel's actually looking to be an improvement! Firstly, Tom Cruise doesn't just do sequels for the sake of doing a sequel. The way I heard it he wasn't even interested in a sequel until he had a good idea for one. Then there's the addition of Cobie Smulders who is excellent at being an action heroine. She might be the biggest appeal of this actually. And of course there's the fact that there's no Mission: Impossible film this year, so why not? You gotta have you Tom Cruise action flick fix!




Keeping Up with the Joneses 
Oct 21st; PG-13
I'm gonna go ahead and include this movie since I've watched the trailer twice now, though I'm not very interested in the film. And by "not very interested" I mean "really really not interested almost at all." The most interesting part is Gal Gadot who is cool, and it would be neat to see her play a spy... and comedy for that matter too. The premise is not bad, if typical, and could make for a fun action comedy, but based on the trailer, it's not gonna be of good quality in either the comedy or the action sides.




In a Valley of Violence
Oct 21st; R
I like the look of this movie. The trailer is very simple, exposition-heavy, and not terribly eye-catching, but that is actually what got my attention. It feels classic, like an honest-to-goodness straight-forward western tale of old. Ethan Hawke is the lead, John Travolta is the baddie, and Karen Gillan's there too. Yeah. I'm liking the look of this movie. A lot.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I've never disliked Captain America. But in the same way that Superman is impossible to kill, it's pointless to tempt Captain Rogers to do evil, or even to not do what is right. The result is predictable, and predictability in movies commonly results in boring movies. The First Avenger fell victim to this conundrum a bit, and made identifying with Cap an effort. He seemed too good, too nice; almost self-righteous; I now realize that wasn't a flaw in the character, but rather the film's representation of his goodness that was slightly tongue-in-cheek. I never noticed until I was able to compare The First Avenger with The Winter Soldier.

Captain America. The First Avenger. Steve Rogers. 95 years old, and still sprightly!

In The Winter Soldier, Cap is still unswayable and upright, but there are no longer underlying hints at his being a Mr. Goody-two-shoes. He fights hard to win, not timidly as to not step on any toes. His morality and justness is not a hindrance, but goes hand in hand with his heroism, and Chris Evans, with the help of the makers of this film, finally make that loud and clear. I've never disliked Captain America, but now, finally, the character resonates with me.

Evans is, as always, great in the role. He leads the film with likeable charisma, conviction, and more complexity than ever. A better lead for a better leading character for these movies you could not hope for. Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow is very welcome, and fits in perfectly -- right at home whichever franchise she finds herself in. And she just keeps getting more and more complex and deep with each fresh look at her characterization, and it's awesome.

Who would've thought these two could work together so well? Well... somehow, it's obvious.

Other returning characters include Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, who gets to do more than just boss people around this time. His sense of morality (or lack thereof) clashes with Cap's to great results. Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) shows up to help out from time to time -- still waiting on a real character for her.

(Spoiler warning!)
And then there's the Winter Soldier himself, played again by Sebastian Stan. He is a great antagonist, upping the stakes for Cap for added layers, but this film (in spite of being titled in his honor) does not appear to be his main event. So what, I wonder, will the next film be called? Captain America 3: The Winter Soldier 2?
(End spoilers)

"Yikes." And also, "cool!"

The team newbie is the talented Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson. He is maybe a little stereotyped as the plucky sidekick with a fun sense of humor but is still a good and helpful addition and will hopefully get some solid development as the Cap stories continue. Emily VanCamp as "Agent 13" didn't get as big a part as I imagined she would, but she'll be back, guaranteed. My favorite addition to the Marvel universe though has to be Frank Grillo as Agent Brock Rumlow -- maybe partially because Grillo is breaking into more mainstream roles (I only recognized him from Warrior) with this cool character, but mostly because he's simply a very, very cool character.

Favorite scenes include:

"The elevator scene" hands down wins coolest, most awesome, scene. And coolest buildup to an action scene. It was a highly anticipated scene for me, and didn't disappoint.

All the scenes between Cap and Natasha. They are almost complete opposites, so they complement each other perfectly. They develop an easy friendship that is very fun to watch -- whether they're joking and flirting, clashing wit, confiding in each other, or just kicking tail side by side. I wish there were more scenes of cheerful banter between those two, and less of a few of those dull scenes. Mostly the ones in which Robert Redford's character holds droll meetings to discuss plot developments. Those scenes also include dull lighting, and no interesting camera work to pep things up; it was as if the directors (Anthony and Joe Russo) felt the same about these scenes as I do. A second viewing should prove them more interesting, but if not, they'll provide a perfect window for snack-fetching.

Your mouth is moving, but all I can hear is "blah, blah, blah..."

All other action/fight scenes. The elevator scene may be the best, but there are super cool fight scenes everywhere. Action can get dull very fast, but not here -- here it's consistently exciting, and timed perfectly to not overstay welcome. The innovative fighting style of Cap and his companions were fantastically original, awesomely choreographed, and super fun and exciting to watch. Occasionally the tight filming and cutting style let a movement slip by, but mostly it complemented the action very well.

Added up, I think my favorite scenes total to about four fifths of the movie... so... that's nice.

(Mild spoilers) I'm glad they included the scene with Cap and Agent Carter. Two old folks -- one having been affected by the progression of time and the other not -- reminiscing. It added nothing to the plot, but concluded that loose end sweetly. (End spoilers) And while Winter Soldier was pretty dark and serious compared to other Marvel flicks, and also didn't have any side-splitting "Hulk is destroying Loki like a kid in a temper tantrum" moments, there were plenty of those great witty lines, and slick winking moments that you should always find in a Superhero flick.

Finding a balance is important. The light side and the dark side should be evenly matched.

You may recall from The First Avenger a problematic climax where Cap crashes the plane in ice, and no number of re-watches inform us of exactly why. That situation was necessary to get Cap where he needed to be -- in the 21st century, and in the status of selfless hero -- but it was contrived. The Winter Soldier, however, gives him more meaningful, more solidly written situations where his selflessness and heroism comes out naturally -- because it's who he is, not who he needs to be. There are still moments of predictability, (what Marvel movie is without them?) but as with the best of Marvel, the storytelling transcends all that, and allows us to have an absolute blast watching our heroes fight against evil for the sake of others. Captain America, I salute you.

The Avengers

Marvel's The Avengers. If you haven't heard of it, you've probably been living under a rock. Ever since the first Iron Man movie in 2008, we have been teased with the promise of this movie. Now, after four years, two Iron Man movies, two Hulk movies, (each with a different actor as the title character) and a movie each for Captain America and Thor, the Avengers have assembled. And what an assembly they make.

It was either amazingly brilliant, or unbelievably lucky when Joss Whedon was hired to script and direct this film. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say it was brilliance. Because it was. Whedon was creator and director of this little cult tv series called Firefly that was canceled after only 14 episodes, but was still so popular, he made a movie (Serenity) which was way more and better than just wrapping up the plot for all those loyal fans. When I heard Whedon was writing and directing the Avengers I knew it wouldn't be the mashed-up jumble full of miserably underdeveloped characters I was previously worried it might turn out to be. I saw Firefly/Serenity, so I know; Joss Whedon is king of ensemble casts. He successfully defined, developed, and meshed nine main characters in the tv show. "But," you might say, "The Avengers isn't a tv show, it's for the big screen!" Yes, a really big screen. It's gotta have lots of explosions. And fighting. And the using of amazing superpowers. And you can have all that, but it's not worth anything without a good script. A script with plot. Character development. Drama. Just cause it's a superhero movie doesn't mean it should be all pow, bang, and Hulk smash with corny lines. No worries. Whedon and co. deliver in all departments.

Some plot aspects from Captain America and Thor continues for this movie. Loki, (the ultimate of sneering baddies you'll just love to hate, played by Tom Hiddleston) Thor's brother comes to earth and steals the Tesseract (that blue cube that was on the bottom of the ocean at the end of Captain America) from the SHEILD base, giving him the power to summon an alien army to help him conquer the earth. This forces Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to restart... the Avengers initiative. And the avengers are...

Robert Downey Jr. As Tony Stark/Iron Man, Downey Jr. is as good as - or possibly better than - his solo outings. The hilarious script gives him his sarcastic, bone-dry one-liners, that he delivers with his signature style, but also remembers to give the character... well, character, even if he hides it most of the time. But Stark doesn't get all the good lines by any means...
Chris Hemsworth as Thor says the line I laughed the most at. Thor has matured since his last movie, making him a lot more likable. He feels responsible for his brother's evil deeds, and is the only one who doesn't need a kick-start from Fury to try and bring Loki to his senses, or justice.
Chris Evans is Steve Rogers/Captain America, who is still thawing and in culture shock from his 70-year slumber buried in ice. He's a natural born leader who holds on to his morals and ideals of his time. Which causes him to clash with Stark, and his loose, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants attitude. But he is not resentful, and helps Tony out when he needs to, even if he annoys him.
Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk is the new guy, the third to tackle the role of the Hulk, too big (ha) for his two predecessors. Ruffalo slyly slips away with scene after scene, as the understated Dr. Banner, trying to keep his cool, and, once he loses it, gives suspense, terror, and then a bunch humor to his angry side, "the other guy."
Scarlett Johanson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow is more fleshed out than she was in her Iron Man 2 role, here she's more than just the obligatory hot girl in a leather suit. Her mysterious background is slightly more explained, but it only makes her all the more intriguing. Even without superpowers, Natasha can hold her own with, and be just as useful as the men. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets her own movie soon. Or maybe she can costar in a film with her assassin buddy...
Jeremy Renner. Renner plays Agent Clint Barton/Hawkeye, master at archery. He had a small cameo in Thor that anyone who didn't know of the upcoming Avengers would've missed. But he's just as important as the rest of them, both in terms of adding to the plot, and adding to the group in general. Unfortunately, his adding to the plot subtracts from his screen time, but gives his character more depth later, which almost makes up for it. Renner is a great actor, who's been nominated for two Oscars, and plays Barton in a ultra cool Bourne sort of way, (he's staring in The Bourne Legacy this summer) and makes me wish he had more screen time. I guess I'll just have to wait for Avengers 2.

You've probably by now got a good sense of what I thought of the script, but let me just add that it was truly funny. I don't often laugh out loud at movies, but this had as many good laughs as almost any comedy I've seen. And the action sequences - there's a lot of them - had all the pow, bang, and yes, Hulk smashing you'd ever want, all the while staying comprehensible and involving. The plot is perhaps a tad simple, just an excuse to fight, but this is, after all, a superhero movie. Don't worry. Certain giant flying aliens crashing through skyscrapers may be slightly reminiscent of Decepticons, but Transformers this is certainly not. The Avengers is how Transformers should have been; blowing you away with dazzling action sequences, cheer-able moments, and a truly fun movie experience.

The Avengers flew away with $200M this weekend, completely shattering records, and nothing could be more deserving. This is an action-packed, visual feast of a superhero pic with heart... and a brain. A real blockbuster. And easily the best two-and-a-half hours I have ever spent in a movie theater. Avengers Assemble!
-5/5 Stars