Spider-Man: Far From Home
Spider-Man: Far From Home is a 2019 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and the 23rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Jon Watts, written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, and stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, J. B. Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Martin Starr, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei, and Jake Gyllenhaal. In the film, Parker is recruited by Nick Fury (Jackson) and Mysterio (Gyllenhaal) to face the Elementals while he is on a school trip to Europe.
Spider-Man: Far From Home
Matthew J. Lloyd
- Dan Lebental
- Leigh Folsom Boyd[1]
- Columbia Pictures
- Marvel Studios
- Pascal Pictures
- June 26, 2019 (TCL Chinese Theatre)
- July 2, 2019 (United States)
129 minutes[2]
United States
English
$160 million[3]
$1.132 billion[3]
Discussions for a sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming began by October 2016, and the project was confirmed later that year. Holland, Watts, and the writers were all set to return by the end of 2017. In 2018, Jackson and Gyllenhaal joined the cast as Fury and Mysterio, respectively. Holland revealed the sequel's title ahead of filming, which began that July and took place in England, the Czech Republic, Italy, and the New York metropolitan area. Production wrapped in October 2018. The marketing campaign is one of the most expensive for a film ever and attempted to avoid revealing spoilers for Avengers: Endgame prior to its April 2019 release.
Spider-Man: Far From Home premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 26, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 2, as the final film in Phase Three of the MCU. The film received positive reviews with praise for its humor, action sequences, visuals, and the performances of Holland and Gyllenhaal. It grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide, making it the first Spider-Man film to pass the billion-dollar mark, the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2019, and became Sony Pictures' highest-grossing film and the 24th-highest-grossing film of all time. A sequel, Spider-Man: No Way Home, was released in December 2021.
Plot[edit]
In Ixtenco, Mexico, Nick Fury and Maria Hill investigate an unnatural storm and encounter the Earth Elemental. Quentin Beck, a super-powered individual, arrives and defeats the creature. He is subsequently recruited by Fury and Hill. In New York City, the Midtown School of Science and Technology completes its year, which was restarted to accommodate the students who previously disintegrated five years earlier as a result of Thanos's actions; they had reappeared un-aged, thanks to the actions of the Avengers.[a] The school organizes a two-week summer field trip to Europe, where Peter Parker—who is still mourning the death of his mentor Tony Stark—plans to reveal to classmate MJ his attraction to her. Happy Hogan informs Parker that Fury intends to contact him, but Parker ignores Fury's phone call.
Parker and his classmates travel to Venice, Italy, where the Water Elemental attacks. While Parker helps protect his classmates, Beck arrives and defeats the creature. Fury meets with Parker and gives him Stark's eyeglasses, which were meant for his successor. The glasses enable him to communicate with and take command of the artificial intelligence E.D.I.T.H., which has access to Stark Industries' databases and commands a large orbital weapons supply. Beck claims to have entered from an alternate reality within the multiverse, where the four Elementals killed his family and destroyed his civilization. With only the Fire Elemental left to destroy, Beck predicts it will attack Prague, Czech Republic. Parker declines Fury's invitation to join the fight and returns to his class trip, but Fury secretly changes the class's itinerary to divert the students to Prague.
Parker is forced to help Beck fight the Fire Elemental to again protect his friends. Beck manages to destroy the creature with Parker's help. Fury and Hill invite Parker and Beck to Berlin to discuss the formation of a new superhero team, but Parker decides that Beck should go alone and transfers control of E.D.I.T.H. to him. Once Parker leaves, Beck celebrates alongside ex-Stark Industries employees, with whom he had been working to masquerade as a superhero. Beck, who was fired from his position as Stark's holographic-illusions specialist for his unstable nature, is using advanced projectors to simulate his powers and the Elementals. He plans to use E.D.I.T.H.'s orbital weaponized drones to increase the scale of his illusions and fraudulently establish himself as an Avenger-level hero.
After MJ tells Parker she knows he is Spider-Man, they discover that a piece of debris she retrieved during the battle with the Fire Elemental is a projector and the pair realize Beck's deception. Parker travels to Berlin, Germany, to warn Fury, but he is tricked by Beck with an elaborate illusion, revealing the names of his friends who know about Beck's plan before being hit by a train. Beck is unaware that Parker, though injured, has survived. In the Netherlands, Parker contacts Hogan, who flies him to London, England, where his classmates are. Beck uses E.D.I.T.H. to orchestrate a fusion of all the Elementals. He intends to kill Parker's friends during the staged attack, as Beck is concerned that they will expose him with their knowledge. Parker disrupts the illusions and an enraged Beck attacks him with drones. Parker regains control of E.D.I.T.H. and defeats Beck, who is hit by a misfired gunshot from one of the drones. Before he dies, Beck tells one of his associates to retrieve data from the drones. After returning to New York City, Parker begins a relationship with MJ.
In a mid-credits scene, J. Jonah Jameson of TheDailyBugle.net broadcasts doctored footage of the London incident in which Beck frames Spider-Man for the drone attack and his death before exposing Spider-Man's secret identity to the world, much to Parker's shock. In a post-credits scene, Fury and Hill are revealed to be the Skrulls Talos and Soren in disguise, under orders from the real Fury while he is away in space commanding a group of Skrulls.
Angourie Rice and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. reprise their roles from Homecoming as Parker's classmates Betty Brant, Ned's on-and-off girlfriend,[13][24] and Jason Ionello.[25] Peter Billingsley reprises his role from Iron Man (2008) as scientist William Ginter Riva, a former employee of Stark Industries who now works with Beck.[26] J. K. Simmons appears as J. Jonah Jameson in the mid-credits scene,[27] marking the first time an actor has reprised a non-MCU role in an MCU film after Simmons portrayed a different incarnation of Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy.[28] Ben Mendelsohn and Sharon Blynn make uncredited cameo appearances in the post-credits scene as the Skrulls Talos and Soren, reprising their roles from Captain Marvel (2019);[27] this scene reveals that they have been posing as Fury and Hill during the film, with deleted footage of Jackson and Smulders, originally intended for the opening scene, used in the reveal. Smulders learned about the twist from producer Kevin Feige shortly before the film's release.[29]
Additionally, Numan Acar portrays Fury's associate Dimitri,[30][31] while Remy Hii plays Brad Davis, a popular student whom Parker sees as competition for MJ's affection,[32][33] and Claire Rushbrook portrays Janice Lincoln, a woman working for Beck.[34] Zach Barack, the first openly transgender actor in an MCU film, portrays one of Parker's new classmates, Zach,[35][36][37] while Zoha Rahman also appears as a classmate of Parker's.[38] Dawn Michelle King, an assistant editor on many MCU films including Far From Home, provides the voice for the artificial intelligence E.D.I.T.H.[39] Jeff Bridges and Robert Downey Jr. appear as Obadiah Stane and Stark through the use of archival footage from Iron Man and Captain America: Civil War (2016), respectively.[26][40] Images from previous MCU films of Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, and Paul Bettany as Stark, Steve Rogers / Captain America, Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, and Vision, respectively, are used in the film's opening "in memoriam" segment.[41][42]
Marketing[edit]
Due to Parker dying at the end of Infinity War and not being resurrected until Endgame,[113][114][49] Germain Lussier of io9 noted in May 2018 that Sony would either have to begin marketing this film only two months before its release or spoil the fact that Parker is resurrected for general audiences that may not realize that this would happen in Endgame. Lussier suggested the latter approach be taken, while a representative of Sony said the studio would be working with Marvel to "figure out the Spider-Man strategy".[113] Holland and Gyllenhaal debuted the first trailer for Far From Home at Sony's CCXP Brazil panel on December 8, 2018. The footage does not acknowledge the events of Infinity War or Endgame, with Steven Weintraub of Collider describing it as a continuation of "the Spider-Man universe" only.[115] Holland debuted the trailer publicly on his Instagram account on January 15, 2019.[116] A slightly different "international version" was also released.[117] Several news outlets commented on Parker's appearance in the trailer following the events of Infinity War,[117][118][119] with Zack Straf of IndieWire pointing out that while the trailer reveals Parker's return, it does not explain how.[118]
Adam Chitwood of Collider described the trailer as "cute and fun" just like Homecoming, and approved of the vacation storyline, the addition of Fury, and Mysterio's short appearance. He did think the film looked "the tiniest bit less special" when compared to the acclaimed animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.[90] A teaser poster was released with the trailer showing Spider-Man's mask covered in travel stickers. Chitwood said the poster was "really fun, leaning into the whole 'summer vacation' vibe" while potentially hinting at the film's locations with the stickers.[120] Graeme McMillian of The Hollywood Reporter felt the trailer presented the threat of the Elementals so audiences would be "thrown off the scent" of Mysterio being the villain.[121] McMillian's colleague Richard Newby felt the "main takeaway from the trailer is that Spider-Man: Far From Home is deftly blending old and new school elements of the Spider-Man mythos, for a result that feels surprisingly fresh". Newby was also excited about the inclusion of Fury.[122] Forbes's Scott Mendelson felt the trailer showed "the sheer confidence" of Sony in its Spider-Man films, especially after the successes of Homecoming, Venom (2018), and Into the Spider-Verse.[123] The trailer received 130 million views in 24 hours, surpassing Homecoming (116 million views) as the most viewed Sony Pictures trailer in that time period.[124]
On May 6, 2019, a second trailer for the film was released. The trailer featured an introduction from Holland warning viewers that it includes spoilers for Avengers: Endgame.[7] Watts, who knew the plots of Infinity War and Endgame and worked with the Russo brothers on Spider-Man's appearances in those films, was relieved that the trailer's release allowed him to speak more openly about Far From Home.[7] The second trailer was viewed 135 million times in 24 hours, surpassing the first Far From Home trailer as the most viewed Sony Pictures trailer in that time period.[125] Beginning the weekend after the trailer's release, screenings of Endgame began with a message from Holland telling audiences to stay till the end of the credits, with the trailer played at the end of the film. Marvel previously added a trailer for The Avengers (2012) to the end of Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).[126] United Airlines served as a promotional partner on the film, with one of their Boeing 777 aircraft and several United employees appearing in the film.[76] As done with previous MCU films, Audi also sponsored the film, promoting several vehicles such as the e-tron SUV, while having some of their other vehicles appear in the film.[127] Partnering with several other companies, including Dr Pepper, Papa John's Pizza, and Burger King, the film had a total promotional marketing value of $288 million, the largest for a film ever.[128]
Ahead of the film's home media release, in September 2019, Sony released a "Night Monkey" trailer, featuring footage from the film of Spider-Man in his jokey alter-ego of the same name. Lussier said the trailer was clever, and "in terms of repurposing old footage in fun, funny new ways, you have to give Sony a tip of the cap for this."[129] Later in the month, Sony created a real version of the fictional TheDailyBugle.net website as part of a viral marketing campaign to promote the home media release of the film. Inspired by real-world "conspiracy-pushing" websites such as that of Alex Jones, the website features Simmons reprising his role as Jameson in a video where he speaks out against Spider-Man and in support of Mysterio, before adding "Thanks for watching. Don't forget to like and subscribe!"[130][131] The website includes testimonials from supposed victims of "the Blip", including one complaining that they disappeared in a dangerous situation and were seriously injured when they reappeared. This contradicts a statement by Feige saying that anyone in such a situation would have reappeared safely.[132] Several days after this was pointed out, the website was updated to say this story was faked for an insurance claim.[133]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Spider-Man: Far From Home grossed $390.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $741.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.131 billion.[3] It was the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2019[144] and the 24th-highest-grossing film of all time.[145] On August 18, 2019, the film surpassed Skyfall (2012) to become Sony Pictures' highest-grossing film worldwide.[146][147] Far From Home was the first Spider-Man film to gross over $1 billion.[148] Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $339 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participation, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it seventh on their list of 2019's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".[149]
Three weeks before its domestic release, official industry tracking had the film grossing around $170 million over its six-day opening frame. Some had the film reaching as high as $200 million, while others were at a conservative $165 million; Sony was predicting a $154 million debut.[150][151] By the week of release industry estimates lowered to $140 million, with the studio expecting $120 million, due to the recent underperformance of other sequels.[152] Far From Home made a Tuesday-opening record $39.3 million, including an estimated $2.8–3 million from midnight previews at about 1,000 theaters.[136] It then made $27 million on its second day, the best-ever Wednesday gross for an MCU film, and $25.1 million on the 4th of July, the second highest ever total for the holiday behind Transformers ($29 million in 2007).[153] In its opening weekend the film made $92.6 million,[154] and a total of $185.1 million over the six-day frame, topping the $180 million made by Spider-Man 2 over its six-day July 4 opening in 2004; it was the number one film for the weekend.[155] In its second weekend, the film made $45.3 million, again topping the box office with a 51% decrease from the first week; lower than Homecoming's 62% drop in its second box office weekend.[156] Far From Home grossed over $21 million in its third weekend but was dethroned by newcomer The Lion King.[157] It completed its box office run as the seventh highest-grossing film of 2019 in this region.[158]
Far From Home was projected to gross around $350 million worldwide by the end of its first week of release, and about $500 million over its first 10 days.[159][152] In China and Japan, where it was released a week prior to its U.S. debut, the film was expected to gross around a combined $90 million in its opening weekend.[160] In China, where pre-sale tickets were less than Homecoming's, the film made $35.5 million on its first day, including $3.4 million from midnight previews (the fourth-best of all time for a superhero film in the country).[161] It ended up slightly over-performing, debuting at $111 million including $98 million in China, the fourth-best-ever superhero opening in the country.[162] Far From Home ended up grossing $580.1 million worldwide over its first 10 days of release, including $238 million from international territories in its opening weekend. In China, the film had a 10-day total of $167.4 million, and its other biggest debuts were in South Korea ($33.8 million), the United Kingdom ($17.8 million), Mexico ($13.9 million) and Australia ($11.9 million).[163]
Critical response[edit]
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 90%, with an average score of 7.4/10, based on 459 reviews. The website's critics' consensus reads, "A breezily unpredictable blend of teen romance and superhero action, Spider-Man: Far From Home stylishly sets the stage for the next era of the MCU."[164] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 69 out of 100 based on reviews from 55 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[165] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale,[166] while those at PostTrak gave it a 76% "definite recommend".[136]
Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised Holland's performance and wrote, "By the end, this Spider-Man really does find his tingle, yet coming after Into the Spider-Verse, with its swirling psychedelic imagery and identity games and trap doors of perception, Spider-Man: Far From Home touches all the bases of a conventional Marvel movie. It doesn't take you out of this world. But it's good enough to summon the kick—or maybe just the illusion—of consequence."[167] Writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, Richard Roeper gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, calling it "zesty, sweet and satisfying" and praised the performances of the cast.[168] Bernard Boo of PopMatters praised the film, commenting, "Spider-Man: Far From Home is technically the final film in Phase [Three] of the MCU, and it's hard to think of a better way to send off the most successful run of one of the highest grossing franchises in history."[169] Alonso Duralde of TheWrap said that the film feels like "a charming teen road-trip comedy that occasionally turns into a superhero movie", which he said was a compliment. He highlighted the cast, including the chemistry between Holland, Zendaya and Batalon, and said that Gyllenhaal "nails his character's earnestness but also clearly enjoys a few moments that let him channel every exasperated-sigh, I-just-want-to-get-this-right male diva director he's ever known."[170]
Writing for IndieWire, David Ehrlich gave the film a grade of "C" and, despite complimenting the cast, called the film an "unadventurous bit of superhero housekeeping that only exists to clean up the mess that Avengers: Endgame left behind". He criticized the character development of Spider-Man, feeling that he does not change throughout the film beyond becoming more confident. He described the action as "plastic", and felt that the film did not give enough attention to its teen elements. Ehrlich said it might be enough to satisfy fans but called it a "failure when compared to the remarkable artistry of Into the Spider-Verse or the raw pathos of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2."[171] John Anderson of The Wall Street Journal praised Holland and Zendaya's performances, but described the film as "a visually incoherent, effects-heavy superhero movie", and called the dialogue "dire".[172]
at Sony Pictures
