Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
I'll hold my hands up straight away: I'm not the biggest fan of the modern superhero industrial complex. There's a formula, and almost everybody sticks rigidly to it. You get your quippy hero, your globe-trotting set pieces, and then, inevitably, a third act that dissolves into a maelstrom of pixelated light and weightless CGI destruction. I keep hoping something will surprise me. Spider-Man: Far From Home does not.
Jon Watts' 2019 outing is, unfortunately, standard fare even by those rather forgiving standards. It's a film that mistakes a change of postcode for a change of pace. Pack your hero off to Europe, drop him in front of a few famous landmarks, and apparently that counts as freshness. It doesn't. Beneath the pretty backdrops, this is the same film you've already seen a dozen times, just with a slightly nicer view.
The core issue, for me, lies squarely with the central performances. I know Tom Holland is the darling of the Marvel machine, and I know I'm not supposed to say this, but I'll say it anyway: he is simply not a believable actor. There's a woodenness to his line deliveries that I can never quite shake. When the emotional beats arrive, and they do arrive, right on schedule, I just don't feel anything. You need me to be invested in this kid's teenage angst, and I'm not. That's a problem. Throw in Zendaya, who is equally stiff and somehow even more out of place as MJ, and you've already got the makings of a profoundly average film. When your two leads generate no real spark or chemistry between them, the romantic subplot stops being a highlight and starts being a chore.
Then there's the story itself, which does absolutely nothing to push any of the overarching lore forward in any meaningful way. Beyond the superficial gimmick of the European setting, the narrative treads water. There are recycled high-school tropes, predictable villainous reveals, and zero narrative stakes that feel genuinely fresh. You're watching a film that is entirely content to coast on the goodwill of its predecessors, offering up a glossy, hollow spectacle that asks nothing of you except to sit still and consume the brand. I found myself checking how much time was left more than once, which is never a great sign.
It's worth saying, for the sake of balance, that the film isn't offensively bad. It moves along well enough. There are a couple of sequences that show some visual imagination. If you want to switch your brain off on a Saturday afternoon and you're an undemanding fan of the franchise, you'll probably get along fine with it. But I'm not sure "gets the job done for the least demanding audience" is much of a recommendation.
What frustrates me most is the sense of wasted potential. Spider-Man, as a character, has genuine heart and wit in the right hands. There's a reason he's been one of the most beloved figures in popular culture for decades. When you strip all of that away in favour of a by-the-numbers studio product, you're left with something that feels like a betrayal of the source material, even if it's all perfectly functional on the surface. I had considerably more fun with Spider-Man: No Way Home, which at least manages to generate some genuine warmth and a few actual stakes, even if it has its own issues.
Far From Home is exactly as average as a blockbuster can possibly be. Watts delivered a perfectly functional, deeply forgettable slice of studio product, and I walked away with very little to hold onto. Two and a half stars, and that's being generous.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 2019 | Watched: 2026-07-26
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
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Watch in the US
Stream: Disney Plus · fuboTV · YouTube TV · FXNow
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Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
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