Spider-Man: Far From Home (5 Stars)

I've finally got round to seeing "Spider-Man: Far From Home", the 23rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's sad that it has to continue without Stan Lee. I was hoping that there might be a cameo that he filmed before his death, but none came. He's gone.

It's still too early for a full review, because I don't want to give away any spoilers. I'll just make a few points for now.

Mysterio says to Spider-Man that he's come from Earth-833, and Spider-Man's universe is called Earth-616. This is definitely a mistake, but whose mistake is it? Did the script-writer make a mistake, or did he deliberately put false words into Mysterio's mouth? Everyone knows that the Marvel Cinematic Universe takes place in Earth-199999, not Earth-616. Apart from that, where did Mysterio get the number from? Did he read it in a comic?

The girl in Peter Parker's class, MJ, confuses me. She's not Mary Jane Watson, but she's still Peter Parker's love interest. Curious.

It's good to see a romance finally developing between Ned Leeds and Betty Brant. After all, they got married in Amazing Spider-Man #156 (May 1976). This assumes that they're even meant to be the same characters. In the film they've swapped hair colours, they're younger, and Ned's even a different race.

You see what I mean? I've never understood why screenwriters need to change so much of what was written into comic book canon by Stan Lee. Oh yeah, it's a different universe, so they can write whatever they want? That's a lame excuse.

I'm so happy that J. K. Simmons has returned to play J. Jonah Jameson, the chief editor of the Daily Bugle. He last played the role in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films from 2002 to 2007, which supposedly took place in Earth-96283. Nobody else could possibly play the role.

I was surprised to see that most of the cinema audience stood up and left after the mid-credits scene. Usually German audiences are better educated and know they should wait for a post-credits scene. In this case it was an important scene which will have repercussions for the future films.

Happy Hogan is dating Aunt May? I'm sure every comic book fan has a sick feeling in his stomach.

Overall the film has a more juvenile atmosphere. It seems to be written for teenagers, which couldn't be said of the previous Spider-Man films, even "Homecoming". That's not necessarily a criticism. It's a good film. I can't wait to see where the MCU will go next.