“EDITH, is this real?” asks Peter Parker in the denouement of the penultimate
scene. Spider-Man has just seemingly vanquished an enemy that was made up of
intricate and complex technological illusions, something not unlike what you
would see in a Marvel movie. But unlike all those other Marvel movies with spectacular
otherworldly dangers, this one was not really there? Or was it? Peter Parker
can’t immediately tell. This is a line that could not have existed fifty years or
maybe even fifteen years ago. It is very 2019. When the movies can do anything,
when video and photography can be so intricately manipulated, how can you tell
what is real anymore? We usually say, “I’ll believe it when I see it?” What do we
do when we can’t rely on that.
The villainous plot that befalls Peter Parker (played by Tom Holland) on
his school trip is way over his head. All he wanted to do with go on a school
trip to Europe with his friends. He wanted to buy a gift for his secret crush
MJ (played by Zendaya) and give it to her on the Eifel Tower. He really deserves
such a trip too. Put aside that he is superhero doing superhero things around
his friendly neighborhood of Queens. Peter Parker along with half of his high
school class were victims of what is being called the Blip, the five years between
Infinity War and Endgame where half the life in the neighborhood vanished and
then reappeared. The weight of this happening is deftly lifted within the
parody of a high-school news program wherein Iron Man, Captain America, and
Black Widow are shown in montage to the tune of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always
Love You”. A particularly interesting development is that the high school has
essentially been held back five years and are now sharing classrooms with kids that
used to be five years younger. One of the new kids in the class is a guy named
Brad Davis (played by Remy Davis) who seems to have used up all his puberty
overnight and is now a competitor in love for the affections of Parker’s girl
MJ.
This ability to utilize otherworldy and extraordinary events in the service
of minor jokes is the hallmark of two of my favorite writers Chris McKenna and
Erik Sommers returning from Spider-Man: Homecoming. (They are also responsible
for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and several of the best episodes of the TV
show Community). What these two very much excel at is finding a heart of the
story amidst special effects sequences and making sure that it isn’t being
shunted aside or treated as Story B. Spider-Man: Far From Home has two goals
here: Save the Planet and Tell MJ How I Feel. The second story is always as equally
important as the first.
It is such a relief that Peter Parker does not have a crush on the head
cheerleader at his high school. MJ looks like a normal person. She has a
personality, albeit a little dark and sarcastic, but it is her own. It is a
credit to Peter Parker that he would like her. And it is a credit to MJ that
she would be willing to drop her sarcasm for a moment to become vulnerable enough
to like Peter back. I have a running critique of high-school movies where I
simply do not believe that the put-upon nerd male protagonist is good enough
for the hottest girl in the school. This is not that at all. I found both Peter
and MJ endearing as fuck and their entire storyline was really sweet.
Our villain of the week is Mr. Quentin Beck aka Mysterio. He is played by
Jake Gyllenhaal, an actor who is one of the best at walking the line between
affable and super creepy. Mr. Quentin Beck is from another dimension. He does
not seem to be aware of the recent Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, but he
could have explained the situation by referencing that movie. Mr. Beck says
that a powerful natural force called Elementals are afoot and he is attempting
to stop it here before it destroys more Earths. Peter Parker is party correct
in thinking that he is not qualified enough for this particular mission. He
tries to get out of it but the storyline keeps drawing him back in.
Meanwhile because of all the outside forces revolving around Spider-Man,
the school trip gets routinely upset by extraordinary events. In this respect,
the continuing Marvel saga shows its utility by bringing in many old characters
that do not need to be reintroduced. Among them are agents of S.H.E.I.L.D Nick
Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) that had
large roles in the Captain America movies. There is Happy Hogan (played by Jon
Favreau) from the Iron Man franchise. And then there is Aunt May (Marisa Tomei),
side-kick Ned Leeds (Jacob Batolon), and Mr. Harrington (Martin Starr). One of
the more pleasurable aspects of this movie is watching Mr. Harrington and the
newly introduced Mr. Dell (J.B. Smoove) get increasingly frazzled when more and
more crazy shit happens on a trip they are ostensibly responsible for all the young
lives on.
The one thing to talk about left is EDITH. I was not under the
impression that STARK enterprises had this type of technology (basically armed
space drones) and that the whole point of Captain America: Winter Soldier was
that this type of capability was UnAmerican. Why does a corporation have it
now? Why would you will its capabilities to a kid? This isn’t the responsible and
democratic Tony Stark I got behind in Captain America: Civil War. Someone
should do something about this whole EDITH thing. Maybe break the glasses.
No comments:
Post a Comment