Nostalgia not enough in ropy remake
Toki
There were lots of great‘run and gun’games released in the Eighties, like Contra and Rolling Thunder, but Toki, released right at the end of that decade, may well have passed you by. This new version is a faithful remake of the arcade original, as you leap, climb and spit your way through jungle and cave as the titular ape. It looks beautiful and the love lavished on such an obscure retro title is to be commended but it’s so joypadchewingly difficult that only the hardened gamer will see much past the first few levels. Some things, like Clause 28, monetarism and one-hit kills, are best left in the Eighties.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) third phase comes to an end with a welcome return for Tom Holland’s webslinger.
Kicking off with a clever recap of the fallout from Thanos’ snap – sorry, “blip” – returning director Jon Watts maintains the bright and breezy tone of 2017’s excellent Homecoming.
The lighter mood – crammed with teenage hijinks, hilarious dialogue (“witches”, what the acronym EDITH stands for) and Martin Starr and J.B. Smoove’s best-worst teacher chaperones ever – is a welcome relief after Endgame’s weighty resonance.
It’s not all fun and games, though, with Holland’s hero tested to the limits, whether it be trying to court Zendaya’s MJ in an incredibly sweet romance, dealing with his aunt May’s (Marisa Tomei) burgeoning love-life or coping with the loss of father-figure Tony Stark.
This was a role Holland was born to play and his reluctant hero Peter Parker is everything a teenager thrust into such imposing responsibility should be.
Not counting space, the aptly titled Far From Home marks the first time we’ve seen Spidey out of his neighbourhood; Peter’s very own Euro trip – which admittedly drags a little and should really have his classmates clambering for return flights home – is more in keeping with the type of passportstamping we’ve seen from James Bond.
Fifteen years after nearly playing Spider-Man, Jake Gyllenhaal is in sparkling form as Peter’s magical mentor Mysterio.
The Elementals laying waste to Venice and London is a treat for the eyes – but, crucially, never loses sight of the human peril at the heart of the action – and there’s a wonderful fever dreamlike sequence that’s like a comic book come to life.
The movie’s big bad is an ingenious creation and the midcredits scene among the MCU’s best ever, setting up a tantalising next step in Spider-Man’s saga.
The evil doppelgänger tale gets a freaky fresh coat of paint in Lee Cronin’s slow-burn Irish horror.
Cronin expertly builds dread until a creepy climax full of surprises.