'Spider-Man: Far From Home' - Movie Review

You can feel the production line behind this one. This is the 23rd "Marvel Cinematic Universe" film: I'll give them credit for having better writing staff and better chosen actors than most sequels, but it's a formula nevertheless. Looking back, it was "Ant-Man" that set the comedic tone for this one (and the success of "Thor: Ragnarok" that locked it in). Action-comedy: buckle up for way more of it than you want to see. Not just this movie, but every MCU movie to follow.

This time, Peter Parker (still Tom Holland) is on a class trip to Europe. Nick Fury wants Spider-Man to take over for Iron Man, while Peter mostly just wants to enjoy his trip and get a date with MJ (Zendaya). Of course "with great power comes great responsibility" rears its ugly head. A new superhero who is eventually named Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) fights an Elemental in Venice, and Peter gets dragged into the action. Both Fury and Mysterio manipulate Parker's class trip, making his life harder and endangering his class-mates. The outcome is a foregone conclusion because Marvel doesn't kill off its stars (unless they've really had enough, see Robert Downey Jr.).

It was fun, cute, clever, and ... the same as always. I'm glad I'm not paying for these - the library is a great service.