Spider-Man: Far From Home is now in theaters, and the cast of the movie recently visited Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Tom Holland (Peter Parker/Spider-Man) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Quentin Beck/Mysterio) were both there in their superhero costumes alongside Zendaya (MJ).
Holland pulled off a backflip for the young fans (who had been treated to an early screening of the sequel shortly beforehand), and then recorded a touching "I love you 3000" video with them.
It's a great watch and fantastic to see both Holland and Gyllenhaal don their Spider-Man and Mysterio suits in order to brighten things up for these kids. They clearly appreciated it, and it definitely won't be an experience any of them will forget for a very long time to come, that's for sure.
Check out the video (and our interview with director Jon Watts) in the players below:
Hit the "View List" button for a spoiler-free breakdown of everything
that did and didn't work in Spider-Man: Far From Home!
Did Work: More Than A Friendly Neighbourhood Superhero
Spider-Man: Homecoming made it clear that Peter Parker wasn't exactly ready to be a full-fledged superhero, hence why we watched him come to terms with an apparent fear of heights and make some
big mistakes.
Well, after heading into outer space to battle Thanos, this Spider-Man is a lot more confident and doesn't shy away from taking action. He's definitely still learning on the job, but the wall-crawler is doing more than hanging around Queens and is clearly ready to step up in Iron Man's absence.
Much to the delight of many fans, this includes swinging between skyscrapers in the Big Apple!
Did Work: MJ
At the end of
Homecoming, we learned that Michelle likes to be known as "MJ" to her friends and it was a moment which felt more than a bit forced, hence why fans seemed to reject the character.
Well, while she may not be the Mary Jane Watson from the comics, MJ is definitely redeemed in
Spider-Man: Far From Home and quite possibly the web-slinger's best love interest to date. Smart, funny, and fun to watch, Zendaya steals the show here and you will definitely fall in love with both her and the budding romance between MJ and Peter Parker.
Didn't Work: The Second Post-Credits Scene
Don't worry, we're not getting into spoilers! While I'm sure a lot of fans will love this, I personally found that it devalued a lot of what we saw earlier in the movie and, in many ways, it feels like a leftover from another Marvel Studios release.
I may be making it sound worse than it is, though, because it's played for laughs and legitimately funny.
However, I wasn't a fan and think it would have been better to leave us with just the mid-credits scene, as that's bound to have a far more memorable and lasting impact on moviegoers.
Did Work: The First Post-Credits Scene
This really is something else because it's not only a game-changer, but possibly one of the best post-credits scenes Marvel Studios has delivered over the past decade.
Without getting into specifics, you can expect this to not only shake up the status quo of Spider-Man, but the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sure, that sounds like hyperbole, but this ballsy decision is going to leave fans talking for a very, very long time to come.
After this, the sequel really can't get here soon enough. Roll on 2021!
Didn't Work: What About The Sinister Six?
As I noted in my interview with
Spider-Man: Far From Home director Jon Watts, the Sinister Six (and Norman Osborn) do not appear in the sequel despite rumours claiming otherwise. That means cameos from familiar faces you're expecting to see may not actually happen, and there's really no indication here that Marvel Studios is planning to pit Spidey against that team of villains.
Needless to say, that's going to disappoint a lot of comic book fans, and while it could still happen somewhere down the line, it doesn't appear as if it's a priority for the time being.
Personally, I wouldn't get your hopes up about Spider-Man battling the Sinister Six until at least a fourth or fifth movie. Then again, perhaps they'll hold off until the sixth chapter!
Did Work: The New Costumes
In the previous
Spider-Man movies, Peter Parker mostly donned the same costume with some minor cosmetic changes from adventure to adventure. Well, he gets two brand new suits in
Far From Home and they're both spectacular.
The Stealth costume is functional in terms of design but also looks very cool in action, and is used in a clever way to hide the wall-crawler's secret identity when he's battling the Elementals overseas. As for the new "Upgraded" suit, that really does result in the best looking Spider-Man on screen to date and I hope that red and black colour scheme sticks around for a long time to come.
Did Work: The Elementals
I've seen some reviews take aim at the CG Elementals and while they may not have personalities, they're definitely more than just forgettable monsters used as an excuse for some big action scenes.
While it's true that they do fill that role in
Spider-Man: Far From Home, they're an interesting addition to the proceedings and definitely visually unique enough that you'll enjoy watching them.
Ultimately, they serve a purpose and are by no means any sort of weak link here.
Did Work: Mysterio Unleashed
I can't say too much here for fear of spoilers, but rest assured that we do get a proper display of Mysterio's powers in
Spider-Man: Far From Home and they do not disappoint. In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb by pointing out that this is actually one of the best sequences ever seen in the MCU.
That may sound like a stretch (especially after
that scene with Captain America and Mjolnir), but just wait until you see it because it's one of those moments that will leave your jaws on the floor.
Didn't Work: Time To Move On From High School?
It's fun spending time with Peter Parker's classmates, especially when they're such a likeable bunch. However, an argument could be made that they receive a little too much screentime and it would be no bad thing for Spider-Man to now graduate from high school.
We've spent a lot of time there both in this franchise and the previous movies, moving him into college or even just the real world would be a nice change of pace and not something that would necessarily mean we'd have to say goodbye to the likes of Ned and Betty. They could also take on different roles, and possibly head down similar routes to their comic book counterparts.
This really isn't a big deal because the scenes with these kids are great fun, but it might be worth considering as I do think seeing Spidey swinging out of high school will lead to better stories.
Did Work: Tom Holland IS Spider-Man
Spider-Man: Far From Home's entire cast is excellent, but if you had any doubts about Tom Holland as Peter Parker, prepare to have them completely wiped away by this spectacular sequel.
Whether it's the typical Parker Luck or the inclusion of a certain superpower, this feels like the definitive Spider-Man, and Holland really has grown into the role and is now full inhabiting the character. Needless to say, that should make fans of the comics very happy.
I just can't wait to see where both Holland and Jon Watts take the wall-crawler next.
Continue reading below to check out a roundup of Spider-Man: Far From Home reviews!