Spider-Man: Far from Home

[4.0 stars] [IMDb Link]

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Pun Son and I decided it was time to see at least one more summer blockbuster. (Mrs. Salad begged off.) And with the heat and humidity outside, it was a good evening to spend in air conditioning that someone else was paying for.

(Well, technically and indirectly, we were paying for it. It's easy to delude yourself.)

The movie describes the travails of Peter Parker, smitten by his smart/funny/dark classmate MJ. He has concocted a romantic scenario for their class trip to Europe. Will he be able to implement it?

Peter doesn't even want to take his Spidey suit along on the trip. But superherodom raises its inevitable head, as "Mysterio" appears, battling the "Elementals", huge monsters threatening the existence of Earth itself. Nick Fury and Maria Hill get into the act; they welcome Mysterio's help but also enlist Spider-Man as kind of backup.

People who remember the comic books will realize that Not All Is What It Seems.

Marisa Tomei returns as Hot Aunt May. Am I wrong to feel disturbed when the movie's "Aunt May" is actually younger than I am?

Not too much of a spoiler: the first post-credits scene has an appearance by … J. Jonah Jameson, played by J.K. Simmons, perhaps the most perfectly cast actor in a comic book role, ever. (Is there an Oscar for that? There should be.)


Last Modified 2024-01-24 6:02 AM EDT