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Spider-Man: Far From Home early reactions -- 'Perfect Endgame epilogue'

Social media reactions are out, and your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is already scoring big with this summer release.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, generational studies. Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper
2 min read
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Spider-Man is about to swing back on screen.

Jay Maidment

It's almost summer, and Peter Parker is going on vacation. Spider-Man: Far From Home opens soon, and the embargo on social media reactions lifted Wednesday afternoon. The film doesn't open until next month, but it's already looking good for those who are still in Marvel withdrawal after Avengers: Endgame.

CNET's Sean Keane called the film "pretty much the perfect Avengers: Endgame epilogue -- reminding us that the MCU goes on in a joyous, emotionally fulfilling ride."

Brandon Davis, of CNET sister site ComicBook.com, also raved about the film, teasing that it's "huge in itself and for the future of the MCU in the most surprising ways."

Davis also urged viewers to stay through the film's closing credits for a couple of "brilliant sequences."

Other critics echoed similar thoughts. Writer Mike Ryan notes that the film explains the post-Endgame universe in a clever way.

And Kevin Ryan has praise for both Tom Holland as Spider-Man ("best Spidey to date") and co-star Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio. ("Gyllenhaal is incredible.")

Singer Zendaya also earned praise for her role as MJ. "Zendaya's MJ is just as cool as Shuri," wrote Brian Truitt, referring, of course, to Black Panther's tech genius sister.

Better see if your theater offers some kind of season-ticket plan, because many critics note that this is the kind of film that should be seen more than once.

You really need to have X-ray vision (sorry, wrong universe) to find some negative remarks or constructive criticism. Angie J. Han of Mashable suggested the film "could maybe have gone a bit harder on (Peter's) emotional arc."

And Ben Pearson notes that "some of the comedy falls flat," but calls that aspect of the film "ultimately beneficial because it mostly distracts from stuff that doesn't land quite as well."

Spider-Man: Far From Home opens July 2 in the US and UK, and July 4 in Australia.

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Originally published June 19, 2:38 p.m. PT. 
Update, 3:23 p.m. PT: Adds more reactions.