SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME

Serving as both a lighthearted coda to the decidedly serious and momentous Avengers: Endgame and the exciting kickoff to the next phase of the MCU, Spider-Man: Far From Home is an extremely fun, cleverly executed, and frequently hilarious adventure film. Peter Parker may have been given a new lease on life in Endgame, but that doesn’t mean it’s all rosy now or that the sort of ethical challenges that have oft-tried the wall-crawler’s sense of personal life vs. superhero duty have diminished. Peter Parker’s realization of that particular cross to bear is at the heart of this highly entertaining new romp.

Tony Stark is dead, but his memory literally looms large in Far From Home. Peter (once again energetically played by the irrepressibly likable Tom Holland) is frequently within sight of some shrine to or oversized image of his fallen mentor, the hero who gave his life to stop Thanos. Peter struggles to be who Tony wanted him to be even as he remains painfully aware that he’s just a local hero — or, at least he’d prefer to stay that way, his recent cosmic adventures notwithstanding. But there’s no kinda-sorta being an Avenger: you’re either one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes or you’re not. Far From Home sees Spidey tested by a new out-of-this-world threat that will determine whether he is truly worthy of Tony’s high hopes for him or not, a grand challenge that sees this battle-tested wall-crawler confront a global danger in a way that his friendly neighborhood Homecoming self would have been ill-prepared to face.

To reveal more about the plot and villainous machinations of Far From Home would be to risk spoilers, but suffice to say the circumstances of Peter’s new mission — which coincides with his school trip to Europe — perfectly dovetail with the lessons this teen hero needs to learn. After the universe-saving scale of Endgame, it’s a relief and a bit of a respite for MCU fans to see Peter get to be just an awkward, sweet kid who wants to tell the girl he likes how he feels and hopes that she — the morosely funny and equally awkward MJ (a delightfully droll Zendaya) — feels likewise. That’s what makes this Peter so relatable and lovable; that he also happens to be a fledgling superhero is what mucks up his adorkable romantic plans. Far From Home is - like its predecessor, Spider-Man: Homecoming - an ‘80s movie at heart. If Homecoming was a John Hughes movie then Far From Home is a hybrid of European Vacation, WarGames, and Gotcha!, meaning it’s a fish out of water comedy mashed up with a teen romance and espionage adventure. The latter element is courtesy of Nick Fury (the perpetually gruff Samuel L. Jackson), who is less a mentor for Peter here than a proverbial principal, always on his case about not screwing up if Peter knows what’s good for him.

With Tony gone and Fury of a one-track mind, it falls to another adult to serve as Peter’s quasi-mentor: Quentin Beck (a suitably dashing Jake Gyllenhaal), a bold superhero from an alternate Earth — dubbed Mysterio by our world — who any true comics fan knows is more than meets the eye. Again, to say more is to risk spoilers, but Mysterio’s inclusion is a perfect pick and sly commentary on our reality-questioning and truth-challenging times. Beck understands the power of image and perception on both the personal and grand scale, a persuasive skill that doesn’t require superpowers so much as a keen understanding of human fallibility and needs. Marvel fans will also get a kick out of the Easter eggs included in the film and all the care the filmmakers have given to this particular installment, while both fans and general audiences alike will be left with plenty to keep them amped for what lies ahead for the web-slinger in Marvel’s Phase Four.

On a technical level, this film’s homestretch boasts some of the MCU’s most impressive visuals this side of Doctor Strange while also addressing some longstanding fan pet peeves about this Spidey’s powers and shortcomings. This is a grander, more ambitious film than Homecoming in many ways, yet it owes that well deserved accolade to all the groundwork laid so far in Tom Holland’s past appearances as Spidey. It’s been great fun to see this new take on the beloved character evolve to such a pleasing extent over the last few years.

Overall, Spider-Man: Far From Home is a grandly entertaining culmination of the MCU wall-crawler’s journey so far. Thanks to its sweet humor, clever commentary, and deft action set-pieces, Far From Home continues the journey of Peter Parker from kid hero to Tony Stark’s successor. The movie sets the table for some exciting new adventures ahead for Spider-Man and his place in the MCU, pitting him against an antagonist who preys on Peter Parker’s fears and insecurities in ways no other villain quite has yet. Far From Home ends Marvel's Phase Three with a hell of a bang, thrusting its young wall-crawler into a treacherous but hugely exciting new era. FULL PRICE!!!

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

The Manson murders seem like an odd, even impossible entry point for an artist in 2019 to craft a personal and self-reflective film about aging and the inevitability of creative obsolescence. But for better and worse, Quentin Tarantino has never come at a thing straight, and in "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood" he’s using the final waning rays of sunlight shining on Hollywood’s golden age and the unsustainable peace and love ideals of the hippie movement as a backdrop to grapple with his love for a changing industry and his role in it. It's downright romantic. That shouldn't work, given the horrors that end the era.

Tarantino’s presumed analog is Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), an aging actor past his prime whose sad bragging right is that he was maybe (he’s not sure) on the shortlist for Steve McQueen’s part in “The Great Escape.” Now, he’s reduced to playing TV cowboy villains while younger bucks play the heroes, chauffeured to and from set by his faithful hype man and sometimes stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt, who shines in his full charismatic oddball glory). Dalton is grappling – drunkenly, fumblingly – with his looming exit from an industry he loves and that is evolving beyond him.

Dalton also lives on fated Cielo Drive, next door to new tenants Roman Polanski and his wife Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), who herself is on the opposite end of the creative spectrum from Dalton, having just made her promising Hollywood entrée. While Dalton is mournful and beaten, Tate is all youthful, luminous hope. Knowing what we know, it’s almost unbearable. As for Manson and his gang, they exist on film the way they would have for these characters in life – peripherally. Manson’s half-feral hippie girls hang menacingly at the edge of things, dumpster diving and flashing peace signs at passing cars driving through the neon-lit streets of LA. Rarely has the city looked so beautiful, filled to bursting with pristine film paraphernalia since consigned to antique stores: 35mm film prints in metal canisters, drive-in screens, blazing white and cherry red marquees, looming billboards the size of gods and movie posters hung like fine art. It’s also rarely been so fun, with appearances by a riotously arrogant Bruce Lee boasting on set and the aforementioned McQueen lusting after Tate at a Playboy Mansion party. Tarantino has always worn his love of cinema on his sleeve, fetishistic and in the form of homage. But here, that love is reverent. He’s also pointedly recalling his own oeuvre:  a multicolored tiled wall from “Jackie Brown” makes an appearance, Nazis are barbecued with a flamethrower a la “Inglourious Basterds," etc. He’s not just taking us on a tour of film history, he’s taking us on a tour of his film history.

Tarantino has long said his tenth film would be his last, a self-imposed limit meant to send the director off at the height of his powers rather than in the twilight. He credits “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” as his ninth, and watching it in that context – as the possibly penultimate work from a man who loves movies as much as Tarantino does – makes the film play all the more bittersweet.  And it’s the first of his films this decade that has really found its rhythm and nailed its tone since the 2010 death of his of longtime editor, Sally Menke. This isn’t an artist creatively spent, but one hitting a new groove. Tarantino may have set the finish line at 10, but after watching “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” it’s impossible to believe he only has one more good movie in him!!! FULL PRICE rating!!