Review Roundup: What Do Critics Think of SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME?

In Spider-Man: Far From Home, following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man must step up to take on new threats in a world that has changed forever. Spider-Man: Far From Home stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jake Jake Gyllenhaal.

Find out what the critics thought of the film ahead of its release on July 2, 2019.

---

Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter:

As a result, one must be content with enjoying the passing wit of the screenplay by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, which is agreeable if hardly dazzling, and the charms of the young leading actors, about which the same is true. When in doubt, the writers as well as the director fall back on their talents for smarty-pants humor, and reasonable mileage is gotten from the talent the four main young actors display for expressing both the awkwardness of initiating intimacy and a blasé knowingness once it's achieved.

Owen Gleiberman, Variety:

Where does "Far From Home" fall on the scale of "Spider-Man" movies? It's more urgent than the last one (and should be even bigger at the box office), with a richer sense of malevolence, and Holland's kid-in-over-his-head hero - awkward and ingenuous, romantic and quicksilver - is alive inside in a way that Andrew Garfield's Peter never was. "Far From Home" gets closer, in spirit, to the good Tobey Maguire films. (It has a kiss worthy of the first "Spider-Man.") By the end, this Spider-Man really does find his tingle, yet coming after "Into the Spider-Verse," with its swirling psychedelic imagery and identity games and trap doors of perception, "Spider-Man: Far From Home" touches all the bases of a conventional Marvel movie. It doesn't take you out of this world. But it's good enough to summon the kick - or maybe just the illusion - of consequence.

Darren Franich, Entertainment Weekly:

I wound up liking Far From Home more than any Spider-Man film this decade. There's something eerie in the constant assertion of Tony Stark as Tycoon SuperJesus - but don't underestimate the shifty layers the final act. The hero worship has a slippery quality here, with a less cheerful purpose than the sincere devotion of Homecoming or Into the Spider-Verse. The teen characters really are a blast, even if one key person skips a whole movie of development between scenes. Some digital effects look good in a boring way, and then some digital effects look bad in a perfect way. "Is this real?" asks Spider-Man. In the end, I really didn't know. Far From Home succeeds with an unusual, troubling virtue: The best parts are the most fake.

Chris Klimek, NPR:

Would it be better if it were 15 minutes tighter? Yep. Would it be more welcome if it had arrived two years post-Endgame instead of two months? For certain. But the movie has a bunch of winning performances from 22-year-olds still credibly playing 16, it tells a complete-ish yarn while dutifully laying track for further sequels, and it shows more visual brio than your average Marvel joint. Jake Gyllenhaal's malefactor, Mysterio, is a fishbowl-headed illusionist. The film is at its most graphically inventive when Mysterio uses his tools of deception to convince our Peter he can't believe his own teardrop-shaped eyes.

Brian Truitt, USA Today:

"Far From Home" has a lot more boxes to check than "Homecoming" in terms of storytelling, and while it's always enjoyable, the film feels unfocused in parts. Everything changes when a major turn happens - of the story-exploding, can't-talk-about-it-at-all variety - and the last half takes on a very meta vibe with some of the craziest visuals Marvel has unleashed in a while and a stellar understanding of what Gyllenhaal can do so well on screen.

Khal, Frazier Tharpe, Zach Frydenlund, Complex:

The thing is, with solo films this satisfying, it's hard to tell how far down the line we get these. Far From Home perfectly showcases how Marvel's mastered the ability to tell self-contained stories that also answer questions about the larger MCU; not all Marvel flicks can pull that off, certainly not as magically as Far From Home has. That's why it's top tier in my book: they're building a franchise that mirrors the major players in the MCU in importance. It's seeing the future now and enjoying each brick's placement on the wall. Like, I know Anthony Mackie was gifted the shield, but until he can carry a film as Holland's Peter Parker does, my money is on Spider-Man being the savior of the MCU.

Alexis Nedd, Mashable:

Spider-Man: Far From Home is about a kid with great power who is struggling with the whole great responsibility thing, so it serves as a satisfying second chapter in Peter Parker's march towards adulthood and heroism. As the last movie in Phase 3 of the MCU, it works hard towards tying up the loose threads of the previous 21 films while looking optimistically forward to the twists to come. To that end, its mid and post credits scenes are some of the most gratifying since The Avengers.

Even though the next phase is still shrouded in mystery, Spider-Man: Far From Home does a fantastic job of latching the door that Endgame closed, while opening a whole new universe of possibilities for Marvel.

Matt Goldberg, Collider:

The biggest drawback to Far From Home is that there are times where it seems like the story wants to move faster than the film will allow. What I mean by that is how some scenes run on just a little too long even though there's nothing wrong with the content of the scene. It's a movie that just needed a few nips and tucks to keep the momentum moving. There were times where I was checking my watch not because the film was bad, but because the pacing felt a little off and I was ready to get to the next story beat. It doesn't cripple the movie, and it's hard to argue against stuff like more MJ when the character becomes more layered and Zendaya is so good, but there are other scenes (can't talk about 'em!) where I was having fun but also wanted to move on.

Alex Abad-Santos, Vox:

Throw in the earnest sweetness of Peter and MJ's growing friendship, and Far From Homeleaves us on as strong of a high as the low that its first act takes us to. That warm and fuzzy feeling makes it impossible not to think of how great a movie Far From Home could've been had it not tripped over its own feet in setting the stage, or unspooled itself from that tangled-up beginning. Because when the movie is at its best, it is so effortlessly engaging. It's such a shame, then, that so much of the movie feels like (home)work.

Jim Vejvoda, IGN:

Spider-Man: Far From Home is a grandly entertaining culmination of the MCU wall-crawler's journey so far. Thanks to its sweet humor, clever commentary, and deft action set-pieces, Far From Home continues the journey of Peter Parker from kid hero to Tony Stark's successor. The movie sets the table for some exciting new adventures ahead for Spider-Man and his place in the MCU, pitting him against an antagonist who preys on Peter Parker's fears and insecurities in ways no other villain quite has yet. Far From Home ends Marvel's Phase Three with a hell of a bang, thrusting its young wallcrawler into a treacherous but hugely exciting new era.

To post a comment, you must register and login.

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!