WRITING (Chris McKenna/Stan Lee/Steve Ditko/Erik Sommers): The story of Far From Home is different from the other Marvel movies in that it seems grounded while being about more cosmic force than the rest of the Spider-Man movies. The story was surprising and felt fresh and had the characters’ motivations make sense. Spider-Man’s romance also felt real and believable because we’ve all had those awkward high school years of falling in love. The use of Mysterio’s powers was great as well. They were utilized perfectly. The dialogue was all consistently great and the comedy was on point. The problem I had with the story, though, just like any Marvel movie, is that the plot would sometimes hold so that they can deliver a funny joke or just cause some comic relief when they don’t need to. 9/10
PERFORMANCES (Jon Watts): The performances were all fantastic in this movie. As always, Jake Gyllenhaal is amazing just like in everything else he’s in. Everyone brings their A-game and I never found any moment where an actor slacked off. 10/10
CINEMATOGRAPHY (Matthew J. Lloyd): The cinematography was surprisingly amazing in this movie. It flowed just as you’d expect from a Spider-Man movie. The acrobatic shots were incredible because they made you feel like you were in Spider-Man’s shoes. Some shots were also incredibly stunning, such as the illusion scenes. 10/10
EDITING (Leigh Folsom Boyd/Dan Lebental): The editing was a bit funky in this movie. Some sequences were edited so that we were looking at the backs of characters’ heads while they were talking, but not in a creative, artistic way. It affected the sound mixing of the film and made it feel off. It didn’t happen very often, but it was noticeable when it did happen. Otherwise, the fight scenes were very well-edited, giving minimal cuts for the action. 7/10
VISUAL EFFECTS (Doug Appleton): The VFX, for the most part, was great when it was combined with the real world. When the VFX were in a completely CGI landscape, it felt as if I was watching a PS4 game. It didn’t feel terrible, but it didn’t feel real. There was something about it that felt super digital. 7/10
ENJOYMENT: It’s a Spider-Man movie and I’m a huge Spider-Man fan, so how could I not really enjoy this movie? The subplots are all fun and easy to get invested in, and the comedy didn’t feel cheap or stupid at all. 10/10
MUSICAL SCORE (Michael Giacchino): The music felt fun as hell in this movie. It had “Spidey” written all over it with its fun vibes while also fitting in with the Avengers aesthetic. 10/10
SOUND (Chris Diebold): The sound for this movie was great, the mixing overall was wonderful. There weren’t any hiccups with the sound and it overall sounded like a great experience. 10/10
PRODUCTION DESIGN (Claude Paré): I loved the production design of this film. The costume designs were all fantastic, especially Spider-Man’s stealth suit and Mysterio’s suit. The set designs also were fantastic, with the European sets feeling genuine and real. 10/10
OVERALL: “Spider-Man Far From Home” felt like an amazing addition to the MCU. It felt like a more genuine addition to the Spider-Man movie backlog that has me really appreciating Tom Holland as Spidey.
Marc Mifsud 