A ChucksConnection Film Review

 

Zendaya wears black high top Converse “Chuck Taylor” All Stars in the film.
J.B. Smoove wears red high top “Chuck Taylor” All Stars in the film.

 

Spider-Man: Far From Home

by Marcus Angulo

 

MJ and Peter walk along the canals of Venice.

 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is now over ten years old and spans across 23 blockbuster films. The overarching narrative of the “Infinity Saga” concluded this past April with Avengers Endgame, which saw every hero in the MCU become Avengers to defeat Thanos. That film somehow lived up to and exceeded expectations, creating emotional and powerful moments that capped off the story of a lifetime. So if you’re Marvel, how do you follow it up? You turn to your greatest and most popular hero Spider-Man and showcase what life in a post-Endgame world means for the MCU. Spider-Man: Far From Home is the sequel to 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. It sees Peter Parker deal with the aftermath of the events of Endgame, while trying to find his way through high school romances and figure out his place in the super hero community. The film stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and sees much of the cast from the first movie return, including Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Martin Starr, Tony Revolori, Jon Favreau, and Marisa Tomei. Samuel L. Jackson, Colbie Smulders, and J.B. Smoove are new additions. Jake Gyllenhaal also joins the cast, with Gyllenhaal bringing the villain Mysterio to life for the first time in a Spider-Man movie.

Close up of MJ’s chucks and mace.

 

The film begins a few months after the end of Endgame. The world is reeling from the deaths of Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, and Vision, and the five year gap many experienced after what is now being called “The Blip”. They’re looking for a hero and many think that hero is Spider-Man. However, Peter has his focus set on a more personal problem. Since Homecoming, Peter has developed feelings for MJ and has really taken to being a “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” like Tony wanted. He has a plan to tell MJ how he feels on their school’s European trip, but those plans go awry when new threats to the world emerge.

 

Even Peter’s new teacher (played by J.B. Smoove) wears chucks in this movie.

 

The threats are four “Elementals” (earth, water, fire, air), evil creatures said to be from another dimension by a new hero: Quentin Beck aka Mysterio. Spider-Man and Mysterio team up to take on these threats, but Spidey may be a bit too trusting of his new friend. Mysterios turns out to be a disgruntled Stark employee trying to fill the hero void left by Tony after his death who is using illusion technology to fool people into thinking he’s a hero. Spidey must overcome his doubts about himself to prove he is the hero ready to take over for Iron Man, and that he truly is the best of all of them.

 

Drop the mace and go for the embrace!

 

The film was the perfect epilogue to the “Infinity Saga”, and sets up the next era of the MCU. Spider-Man is the right choice to lead this new decade, and it’s great that Disney and Sony were able to work out a deal to keep the character a part of this rich universe. Tom Holland embodies Peter Parker and Spider-Man like no actor before him, and he gives an emotionally stirring performance that has left everyone anxious as to what comes next for the Web head. Mysterio is brought to life in incredible fashion with his illusions being ripped straight from the pages of the comics. Gyllenhall gives an outstanding dual performance that has placed him in the upper tier of Marvel villains. The special effects are top notch as always, and Mysterio’s illusions are mind bending. This film may be the best live-action Spider-Man movie, and it has left everyone eagerly awaiting what comes next for not only the Wall Crawler, but the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

 

Best Chucks Scene

 

No one ever thinks their first kiss will be in front of burning rubble but here we are.

 

The best chucks scene comes at the climax of the film and features a favorite here on The Chucks Connection: Zendaya. In this scene, as Spider-Man battles Mysterio on the Tower Bridge in London, MJ, Ned, Betty, and Happy are chased by one of Mysterio’s drones into a vault. MJ is wearing black high top chucks when she picks up a mace and smacks the drone to the ground, allowing everyone to take cover behind the steel vault doors. After Mysterio is defeated by Spider-Man, MJ runs to the bridge to embrace Peter, and we once again see her in her chucks as they share their first kiss. MJ wearing chucks shows how much influence Zendaya had when it came to how the character should look since we know Zendaya loves her own pair of black high top chucks. Subtle touches like this really help flesh out the characters and make them feel like real people.

 

 

MJ ready to do battle against a drone army.

 

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