Movie review by Dennis D. McDonald

As far as Summer popcorn movies go SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME is pretty good. The main characters are likable, plenty of humor is spread amongst the chaos and destruction, and we get to see Prague, Venice, Berlin, and London from some unusual perspectives. While I’m not a fanatical Marvel fan I think this one compares favorably to Spider-Man: Homecoming and Ant-Man and the Wasp.

The story: Spider-Man (and the world at large) are still recovering from the events of the last Avengers movie. The death of Tony Stark, Peter Parker’s mentor, has left a major emotional vacuum in Peter. He’s eager to ditch the superhero stuff and just hang out with his high school buddies on a class tour of Europe. He gets away but boss Nick Fury tracks him down and demands his support against a new menace since other Avengers are “away.”

As luck would have it, Aunt May packed his spider suit for the trip. Adventure and CGI-heavy action sequences follow as Peter learns that filling Iron-Man’s shoes is not going to be easy.

What saves this movie for me from the by-now-boring barrage of over-the-top CGI action and destruction are Peter and his friends. Zendaya as the awkward and shy target of his affections is just plain charming. His best buddy played by Jacob Batalon is infectiously enthusiastic. Jon Favreau turns in an affecting performance as Stark’s former associate who now has an almost fatherly interest in Peter’s well-being. Another positive: we get to see major European cities bear the brunt of mayhem instead of the usual US locations. Prague especially looks wonderful.

Review copyright (c) 2019 by Dennis D. McDonald

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