Spider-Man: Far From Home Review - 9 Ups & 4 Downs

5. MJ And Peter Parker

While MJ didn't have a whole lot to do in Homecoming, she's elevated in Far From Home to a more key role and that means we get to see more of Zendaya's subtle, brilliant performance. She is dark, awkward and has a vulnerability behind her cool exterior that balances Peter and Ned's more brazen dorkiness perfectly.

What Zendaya does with this performance may well be overlooked a lot because of the showier elements of the story, but that doesn't make her any less worthy of note. She has layers that peel themselves away satisfyingly and it's almost like the writers and the actor have studied the anatomy of a crush (and how fantasy gives way to reality) to build her up.

And even though it's often deemed unnecessary for strong female characters to have a romantic subplot, MJ and Peter's dynamic is as wholesome and rewarding as it is goofy and awkward and that makes it feel far from cynically plotted. They are the heart of the narrative as much as Peter's ghosts from Endgame are.