Spider-Man: Far From Home

Spider-Man: Far From Home – After a recent traumatic time, Peter Parker is looking forward to his school’s summer vacation to Europe where he hopes to forget all about Spider-Man for just a short time. However, when a creature attacks Venice where Peter and his group are, he is reluctantly brought back as an Avenger by Nick Fury. With a new hero, Mysterio, joining the fray, Peter confides his hopes for the future in him. But despite constant battles, Peter learns that the fight isn’t over and he has to put all his skills to the test to stop a dangerous evil from hurting his friends.

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) – Director: Jon Watts

Rating: 12

Running Length: 129 minutes

Starring: Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhall, Zendaya, Samuel L. Jackson

Genre: Action, Comedy

REVIEW: ‘SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME’

Please note this review contains some spoilers relating to Avengers: Endgame.

Avengers: Endgame was a movie event that was always going to be a struggle to follow. The first movie post Endgame story is ‘Spider-Man: Far from Home’ a deceptively titled movie hinting that every one’s favourite web slinger may have been stuck somewhere in the universe before Endgame was released but now we know he winds up back on Earth, ‘far from home’ is the much closer… Europe. Tom Holland’s excellent portrayal of the superhero easily carries the story ensuring that this isn’t a forgettable instalment of the franchise juggernaut.

It would be easy to ignore the large supporting cast and focus solely on the ‘important’ characters, but it is nice here that many incidental characters are given lines that at least support the plot, if not advance it in natural ways. The plot is complex but is introduced at such a good pace that it makes sense every step of the way. With a full plot, multiple locations, numerous characters and a follow-on from Endgame, it is a credit to the director and writers that all of this comes together in an excellently tight story that never feels rushed.

The movie may be too complex for younger kids who prefer a more simplified Spidey story but what they miss in the more complicated parts, the movie more than makes up for in exciting action and the light-hearted humour we know and love. Endgame may have been a tough act to follow but ‘Spider-Man: Far from Home’ has proven itself to stand alongside the giants.

CONTENT: IS ‘SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

There is a brief ‘In Memorium’ video which shows photographs of those killed by Thanos during the events of ‘Avengers: Endgame’. The photos are accompanied by Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Loved You’. This is a little sad but it is brief so isn’t too emotional.

MJ’s favourite flower is the Black Dahlia, Peter explains this by saying ‘because of the murder’.

A huge water creature attacks Venice while Peter and his classmates are there. This is a prolonged and exciting scene although as no deaths are shown and there is no blood or gore, any scares should be kept to a minimum.

Peter enters a room occupied by a female agent. She impatiently instructs him to ‘take off (his) clothes’, this makes him very uncomfortable but when she insists again, he quickly starts to take off his trousers. This isn’t done in a sexual way but another character walks in on them and he jumps to conclusions, taking a picture of the pair and vowing to share it with another classmate.

Spider-Man fights against an illusionary but deadly foe and there is a 5 minute scene full of obscure, bizarre and frightening visuals which he struggles to get to grips with. At one point, he is faced with a loved ones gravestone, a metallic hand bursts out of the grave, followed by the decomposing remains crawling out and a close-up of the character’s decomposing robotic face. There is a hole where an eye should be a spiders crawl in and around it. This moment is brief but graphic and could be scary for younger viewers.

Peter is suddenly hit by a speeding train, he clutches to the side of it with bloody hands. He is seen after, injured but not dangerously so.

Happy tells Peter that when staying at a hotel, he knows that the Pay-per-View film he bought was an ‘adult movie’.

A character decides to kill several members of Peter’s school group, some of the dialogue includes ‘the kids are in the killzone’ and ‘I’ll just kill the kids myself’.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME’ FOR KIDS?

A fantastic second movie for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is full of action, suspense and light-hearted humour and is bound to be a hit for Spidey fans of all ages. Although the movie is rated 12A due to some swearing and a few scenes that could be frightening, we recommend ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ for generally appropriate for kids aged 6 and up although advise parental supervision for younger children.

• Violence: 3/5 (lots of comic book style action. The action sequences involving illusions are quite violent)
• Emotional Distress: 2/5 (mentions of deceased characters and being missed by their loved ones)
• Fear Factor: 3/5
• Sexual Content: 2/5 (vague references to an ‘adult movie’ and male escorts. A character wanting to share a compromising photograph to other students – although he is shamed by others when he tells them of his plan. When complaining about a new suit, Peter says ‘It’s a little tight around the old love shooter!’)
• Bad Language: 2/5 (infrequent mild cursing and blasphemy throughout. A couple of moderate words and one strong word is entirely bleeped out, this character is told ‘no swearing!’. A character holds his middle finger up at another)
• Dialogue:  2/5
• Other notes: Deals with themes of friendship, craving a mentor, correcting a mistake, seeking help and advise, wanting a normal life and coping with loss.
• There are two extra scenes after the initial movie, both are worth waiting for as they hint at future Spider-Man and Marvel Cinematic Universe plotlines.

Words by Laura Record