Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

7/10

Starring

Tom Holland

Samuel L. Jackson

Zendaya

Directed by Jon Watts

This movie is the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and the twenty-third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It also marks the end of Phase Three of Marvel’s Infinity Saga.

The story picks up after the death of Tony Stark/Iron Man, and with his death comes the heavy responsibility he carried as the de facto leader of the Avengers. Stark believed Peter Parker was the one he could trust to carry on his legacy, and this film explores that idea throughout.

The movie is fun, but it felt like a case of delayed gratification. I had to sit through a long intro and spend over eighty minutes getting to know what was going on before the movie, in my eyes, finally kicked off. This delayed approach worked, though, because once things started happening, they happened fast, and I was completely engrossed. Compared to the previous movie, I really enjoyed the character dynamics and depth in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Here, that depth was replaced with stunning visuals.

It’s like, “Hey, you already know these characters, and here’s someone new named Mysterio (Quentin Beck).” His backstory is quickly summarized, and the movie gets going.

The film takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame (2019). Tony Stark is dead, and the five-year period when half the universe was gone is now called the Blip. Peter Parker is struggling with the aftermath. Meanwhile, Aunt May is busy helping people, with Peter lending a hand as Spider-Man to help everyone recover from the Blip.

Peter’s school plans a trip to Europe, and he’s excited to get away from everything for a while. He’s been ghosting Nick Fury and just wants to focus on his trip, hoping to use the opportunity to win over MJ. Of course, things don’t go as planned. Fury hijacks Peter’s trip to suit his own agenda, and Peter meets another supposed superhero, Beck/Mysterio. Beck claims to be from another Earth, fighting a group of supervillains known as the Elementals, who destroyed his world.

There’s so much chaos in Europe that no one sees Mysterio coming—especially Peter, who trusts him so much that he hands over Tony’s high-tech glasses, E.D.I.T.H., to Beck. This isn’t a spoiler; if you follow the Spider-Man comics, you already know Mysterio is a villain.

In the end, I felt the relationship between MJ and Peter Parker was a bit forced. It didn’t click as naturally as it did in Spider-Man 2 (2004) with Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. Also, the movie relies too much on familiar superhero tropes, making the plot feel predictable. Plus, the pacing’s uneven too, especially in the middle, where it drags before finally picking up in the last act. 

That said, I enjoyed the movie, and it’s worth watching. Happy Hogan’s role is a standout, and I think all the actors delivered solid performances while clearly having a good time with their roles.

ARQ (2016)

ARQ (2016)

4/10

Starring

Robbie Amell

Rachael Taylor

Shaun Benson

Gray Powell

Directed by Tony Elliot

The movie feels half-baked and delivers an exhausting Groundhog Day-style scenario. The biggest challenge is the first act—it’s dull and uneventful, and then imagine that same dullness repeating over and over again. Personally, I think the movie could have been more interesting and worth watching if they nailed the intro. The first act doesn’t last long enough to deliver a punch of intrigue or thrill. Instead, we get straightforward events unfolding in a chaotic, almost random way. Then, we see the repercussions of small changes play out similarly to the first loop, with our supposed protagonist trying to outsmart time.

The movie is set in a future where humanity is suffering from food shortages and a deteriorating atmosphere. Humans live in isolation, struggling to protect their food rations from thieves. A man named Renton wakes up next to his former lover, Hannah. Soon after, three men break into his bedroom, capture them, and tie them to chairs. They demand Renton reveal where he’s hidden his rations, but after a series of events, he’s killed—only to wake up and relive the same day all over again.

Every time he’s killed, he wakes up to the same day. Eventually, he figures out why they’re stuck in this time loop: they’re reliving a home invasion gone wrong. Now, he’s racing against time to break the loop and escape the consequences of his past actions.

The disappointment in this movie is that it states its own problem: “You can’t expect a different outcome by repeating the same actions over and over again.” Ironically, the writers seem to forget that watching someone repeat the same dumb mistakes can be boring and exhausting. Instead of learning from his mistakes, the protagonist often repeats the same actions, only tweaking small details. The writers made him so naïve and overly trusting that it’s hard to believe he thinks these minor changes will make a difference. How the director thought this would be fun to watch is beyond me.

Imagine figuring out the intentions of the people around you and what they’re capable of—twice over—and still trusting them to make critical decisions that could change the outcome, even though they’ve already failed in similar situations. By the time the movie gets to its deeper secrets, you’re already too exhausted to care. 

This is a sci-fi movie about the future that just fails to entertain. The actors do not feel invested enough to deliver convincing work. Do yourself a favor and skip this one on Netflix.