Tag: into the spider-verse

Review: ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ is an Animated Work of Art

by Manuel São Bento
June 5, 2023

Regardless of the reasons, whenever I miss a new release, I still try to look at the situation from a positive perspective anyway. In 2018, I couldn’t catch Sony Animation’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse on its opening weekend. With the incessant amount of new movies that year, as well as the “hurry” to comment that the world of film criticism insists on, I ended up postponing it until it would be time for the inevitable sequel. Well, the day has finally arrived – now playing in theaters is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the first of two parts that will complete the epic journey of Brookyln’s Spider-Man, Miles Morales. Both movies got a tremendously positive reception, with many ranking them as the best film adaptations of the Webslinger’s story. Usually, out-of-the-theater reactions are to be taken with a grain of salt – we’ve all had that heightened enthusiasm only to later, after taking time to process it, offer a more accurate opinion of what we really think & feel – but the truth is that the Spider-Verse saga deserves this hyperbolic praise.

I will never refute anyone who names any of these animated flicks as their favorite Spider-Man movie, just as I will never stop defending Raimi’s first two films or Watts’ No Way Home – that’s what happens when there are so many great adaptations to choose from. I have practically the same compliments and very few criticisms for both new movies. That said, it’s impossible not to address the incomparably intricate, utterly dazzling, genuinely impressive quality of the animation itself. Hundreds of visual artists and animators worked together to create authentic works of art. It’s hard to escape hyperbole, but every *second* of Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse can be individually framed and placed in an unique museum of jaw-dropping digital paintings. I’m talking about tens of thousands of gorgeous illustrations, with lots of different, thematically rich styles. The amount of visual information in each frame is such that multiple viewings are needed to notice all the elaborate details in the four corners of the screen.

Honestly, it’s quite overwhelming, which for some viewers could be the equivalent of too much chaos. If Into the Spider-Verse already asks for very sharp eyes, Across the Spider-Verse pretty much requires that you bring company with you to divide the work needed for visual and narrative understanding. In the latter flick, the complexity of these two storytelling components increases immensely, with even more characters, more secondary storylines essential to the main plot, more universes, more animation styles, and so on…

Somewhat miraculously, writers Phil Lord & Chris Miller (also from The LEGO Movie, “The Afterparty”, “Clone High”), and David Callaham manage to structure the screenplay in an incredibly efficient manner, saving moments of true surprise in character developments and shocking revelations, despite the mix between the energetic pace and the epic duration of the sequel not being as balanced as in the original – the second act takes its time. Visually, there are also a couple of moments that are difficult to follow, but these are mere nitpicks that, in the end, don’t impact my overall enjoyment of the film.

Another equally miraculous execution in this sequel is the screenwriters’ genius ability to take plot points from the original and brilliantly expand on them without generating narrative inconsistencies or raising problematic issues regarding certain characters. Across the Spider-Verse dives deep into the multiverse, featuring literally hundreds of Spider-Man cameos, something that will leave the most knowledgeable comic book fans in complete awe. In terms of entertainment and fan-service, this sequel strikes the perfect balance between maintaining an interesting thematic focus on Miles & Gwen simultaneously with adrenaline-charged action sequences and amusing references to the source material.

The number of narrative layers and deep character arcs is what separates the two movies within the saga, with Across the Spider-Verse being much more complex than the first film. Still, the themes remain the same, as Miles’ (voiced by Shameik Moore) journey of self-discovery as a young Spider-Man continues to take the reins of the overarching story. Topics like parenting and destiny fulfillment are addressed, but it’s the study of what it means to be a hero or villain that really grabbed my attention in this sequel filled with emotionally powerful storylines.

Directors Joaquim Dos Santos (Into the Spider-Verse), Kemp Powers (Pixar’s Soul), and Justin K. Thompson (his directorial debut) play with the ease with which viewers attach labels to the characters as soon as they appear on screen, mixing characteristics normally associated with a specific archetype with the opposite. From a certain point onwards, it becomes a great challenge to differentiate each role. Across the Spider-Verse contains a range of understandable, relatable motivations for a vast group of important characters, creating a strong connection with the audience that feels captivated by every scene throughout the whole film since they actually care about everyone in this story.

Personally, Gwen Stacy’s (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) arc fascinated me the most, being the character with the most significant link to all of the movie’s themes. Truth be told, the fact that they’re all Spider-Man / Spider-Woman makes the core, character-defining events common among them – something that is actually a crucial plot point – but both Gwen’s universe and her emotional conflicts stand out. Miles remains an equally intriguing protagonist, with a rather predictable coming-of-age story that confronts the ideologies behind the concept of a superhero.

There are many new & old characters, but it would be difficult to talk about them without resorting to minor spoilers. However, I can mention that Oscar Isaac (Miguel O’Hara), Jake Johnson (Peter B. Parker), Issa Rae (Jessica Drew), and Daniel Kaluuya (Hobie) stand out, though the film’s entire cast delivers extraordinary voice-over performances – some through more comedic moments, and others through eye-popping action set pieces. I challenge viewers to find an animation flick with more vivid colors than this one – but all with very serious, dramatic dialogue, too. It’s the first of two parts – prior public knowledge, but the sequel makes that clear – so we’ll have to wait for Beyond the Spider-Verse to draw any final conclusions.

As mentioned at the start, I don’t have any major issues with Across the Spider-Verse. In addition to those mentioned throughout so far, the only thing left is one of those aspects that are technically wonderful and award-worthy, but also raise a different problem… In this case, the issue is seen the most in Gwen’s universe, although it happens occasionally throughout the film. The animation style of Spider-Woman’s world is visually arresting, but it literally changes everything on the screen with every new frame. From backgrounds to colors, both around and on the characters, the constant change becomes a highly distracting element that diverts attention from what is really important.

Final praise for Daniel Pemberton’s fantastic score. If there’s one aspect that absolutely no one can criticize, it’s the composer’s phenomenal symphony. From the song choices to the background music itself, there aren’t any sequences across the 140 minute runtime that aren’t somehow elevated by the memorably epic soundtrack. The in-crescendo moments transform build-ups into crazy rollercoasters of emotion, especially given the nature of the third act and the end of the movie.

Final Thoughts

Sony Animation’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the epitome of incredibly detailed, gorgeously unique, undeniably epic animation within its medium. Separately from enjoying this movie or not, any or all cinephiles should bow to the ridiculously talented artists and animators behind this pure work of art. That said, the attributes and issues are more or less the same as the original. The various animation styles are overwhelmingly stunning, but also to the point of creating confusing moments. Gwen Stacy stands out from the rest of the pack – both the character and Hailee Steinfeld’s voice performance – but everyone on screen is impressively captivating. The voice cast is superb all-around. An unfinished story – remember, this is the first of two parts – about what it really means to be a hero. The 140-minute runtime isn’t exactly heavy, but the necessity to resort to exposition scenes is more frequent than in the previous flick, even though the narrative complexity ends up justifying this. A must-see movie in the cinema! Go support animation.

Manuel’s Rating: A-
Follow Manuel on Twitter – @msbreviews / Or Letterboxd – @msbreviews

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