Review + Notes for Parents for: Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019, Rated PG-13, 2h 9m)
Last night, I saw #SpiderManFarFromHome, which is currently at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 223 reviews. Here are my thoughts/notes, especially for #parents considering this film for little #kids.
I enjoyed FFH for the most part because, come on, IT'S SPIDER-MAN!! But in the end, I was disappointed my hopes were dashed for certain plot points/cameos I wanted to happen, based on my love of Avengers: Endgame and/or the tone set by the FFH trailers. I also could not help but compare FFH to the other Tom-Holland-Spidey installment, 2017's Homecoming, which I think(?) I liked more. (If you do want to watch Homecoming before seeing FFH, a quick reminder, as I mentioned in my post yesterday, it's currently streaming at no charge on Starz if you use their 7-day free trial.)
Perhaps I have too-high expectations for movies or for MCU movies, specifically. I am sure most people will love FFH and it will definitely appeal very much to tweens and teens as it's an endearing teen-romance/road-trip-adventure movie with a superhero layer on top. I understand the need to focus on that angle because a lot of the conflicts/problems Peter faces every day have always been teen first, superhero second. I just did not like the overall plot with Mysterio. It probably did not help that I did not like the casting of Jake Gyllenhaal in that role.
For parents of little kids, I wanted to share that FFH is often a barrage of seemingly-non-stop CGI scenes with more action/fighting/peril than Homecoming. Large-monsters-destroying-buildings-type scenes. Lots of futuristic machine guns fired by flying drones.
It is not a spoiler to say in FFH, Mysterio is a master illusionist. This is where the aforementioned CGI is relentless and super-convincing. I think parents who normally re-assure their little ones that what's on the movie screen is "not real" should be prepared to additionally explain how a lot of what Mysterio does is not real in our world, nor real in the world the movie characters are in either. This distinction might be confusing or scary for some children.
Common Sense Media recommends Homecoming for ages 10+ and the FFH sequel (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/spider-man-far-from-home) for ages 11+. I think I would agree about those approximate ages +/- some years, depending on the child, of course. Seeing these reviews confirmed my take that FFH is for older kids and Homecoming for younger. Perhaps families can watch Homecoming first to determine if they want to level-up to FFH.
FFH's sexy stuff: Regular PG-13-ish flirting/dating as expected for teens, plus some awkward, almost-seeing-someone-in-mid-clothes-change-type scenes. A quick mention of a pay-per-view/adult movie and a comment about a "male escort" that will likely go over the heads of younger kids. Language: Normal PG-13 level. Alcohol: An underage character tries to enjoy a drink, but is caught. Funny enough, like in Homecoming, Peter is offered a drink anew and once again, he turns it down because he says he is underage. Attaboy, Petey!
One final note to parents: The trailers played before FFH are Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and Joker which each have some intense/violent scenes for little kids, in my opinion.
Anyway, I am more than happy to answer any questions about what's in/not in Spider-Man: Far From Home from fellow parents/comics fans, so let me know.
P.S. FFH has two great post-credit scenes. I would love to hear your thoughts about one of them in particular.
P.P.S. This is a fantastic movie poster!
#parenting #family #children #kids #media #animation #movie #review