So when it comes to my favorite superhero it's not exactly a secret that I'm a fan of the Spider-man character. This is a superhero that I've been able to relate to the best and have found his and adventures to be worth following (in movies).
Indeed, especially when it comes to the first two Sam Raimi films that starred Tobey Maguire, those movies were like they were made for me. Especially when it comes to the second one in the series, that film really managed to impress me.
At the same time, once we were done with those two movies, things started to get considerably worse in the series. The third film was already a mess and when it came to the Andrew Garfield ones that came soon after, those movies were almost completely unwatchable.
So not surprisingly, when I noticed a couple of years ago that the franchise was being rebooted again - the second time in less than ten years, I wasn't getting excited. I didn't have my hopes up, because I didn't think these films in the franchise would get any good again.
Nevertheless, a couple of weeks ago me and my friend decided to give these new spidey-films a chance. We thought that maybe we should check them, because even though we had our doubts, there wasn't really anything else that we had in mind to watch.
So when it comes to these 'new' films, the first Spider-man movie that we watched naturally was 'Spider-man: Homecoming'. The film stars Tom Holland as our beloved Peter Parker/Spider-man who is trying to sort his problems and save the world from the bad guys.
Character-wise, it has to be said that right from the start the film manages to get something right. Once we're introduced to our protagonist, we notice that our spider-man is a likable character instead of being an unlikable jerk (the Andrew Garfield films).
Soon after, we're also introduced to the rest of the cast - the side-kick, the villain (Michael Keaton as Vulture) and Parker's crush. We get the usual beats like Parker being a student, the villain doing his things and spider-man trying to save the day - which seem promising.
However, as the movie keeps progressing, goes past its midpoint and is about to reach its climax, it becomes more and more apparent that there's isn't much of a real story here. Even though the story beats keep coming, these short five minute cycles don't add up to much.
Indeed, the biggest problem with the movie is that there just isn't any overarching plot or theme that would make it memorable or meaningful. The story just plods along without giving you anything that would make you feel (the film has seven credited writers).
Quality-wise, the movie also suffers otherwise from the script being all over the place. The jokes are too crass, they don't fit in and there are even some problems with over the top 'virtue signaling' (Keaton's daughter is black, Lincoln statue racism 'joke' references etc.).
So not surprisingly, once me and my friend were done with 'Home-coming', we weren't that excited about watching 'Spider-man: Far From Home' as our next movie. Even though Holland as spider-man was pretty good, we thought that the next film wouldn't be that great.
However, having now seen 'Far From Home' too, it has to be said that this spider-man film turned out to be a much better movie than the first one was. Both me and my friend were pleasantly surprised over the quality of this movie.
Indeed, the second film - that this time takes place in Europe (in Prague, Paris, Venice, Austria, London & Berlin) - is way better written as a whole. It manages to learn from almost all of the mistakes that it made in 'Home-coming' both story- and theme-wise.
In practice, what this means is that 'Far From Home' does its best to keep things as positive as possible. Almost everyone in the cast seems to be having a good time (the characters are more likable too) and you can't help but to be invested in what happens to them.
Story-wise, we have much clearer and better arcs that not only involve Mary-Jane and Peter Parker as a couple, but also our hero's struggles with the villain. There's a lot more (emotional) interaction between the characters that give the story meaning.
In hindsight, the only real problem in the film is that the villain by Jake Gyllenhaal doesn't make enough sense and there are some plot contrivances too. Some of them were a bit too lazy for my tastes (like Mary Jane finding the villain's broken device) and were a bit lacking.
Still, when it comes to the the film as whole it has to be said that 'Spider-Man: Far From Home', quality-wise was a positive surprise. It turned out to be much more entertaining than what I had expected based on the first part in the 'new' re-rebooted series.
In that sense, if you haven't seen the latest Spider-man film in the franchise yet, I think it's safe to say that you should give it a chance. If you're a fan of superhero films and especially the Spider-man character, you should give this one chance and not be discouraged.
After all, even though the second Sam Raimi film with Tobey Maguire is still the best in the series, this latest movie is a pretty good one too. It's a pretty solid film and despite my initial low expectations managed to keep me entertained and thrilled me from its start to its finish.
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