“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” was released on Friday, June 2, to the American market. The second film in the Spider-Verse trilogy, it once again follows Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) in another adventure across the Spider-Verse. After the events of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Morales is settling into his role as the only Spider-Man in his world. However, he still misses the friends he made across the multiverse. He stumbles into a new villain named Spot (Jason Schwartzman), who blames him for his transformation into a villain. Eventually, Morales meets back up with Spider-Gwen on her quest to apprehend Spot, and he is introduced to a city of Spider-Men, led by Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac). However, Morales is quickly confronted by the fact that this group is not interested in working with him, and he disagrees with the way they operate. He finds himself quickly thrown into a one-sided confrontation with hundreds hunting him, including familiar faces from the first movie. What will Miles do?
The good:
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is an excellent film, and the perfect example of how the middle film in a sequel should be made. Before I get ahead of myself, let me first talk about the design of the film. I am a huge fan of the Spider- Verse style of animation. Sony does an incredible job of mixing so many different styles of animation. The team works hard to use unique animation styles for each character, even going so far as to change frame rates for different characters and even different characters' body parts. A great example of this is the Spider-Punk character that appears in the movie. He is animated in a style referencing the punk era in the United Kingdom with copy and pasted letters and cutouts from posters. His head is animated at a slower frame rate than the other parts of his body, which contributes to the mish-mash look of the character. The film introduces hundreds of unique Spider-Men, and each one has a unique style to them - not only in their animation, but in characteristics of the character.
The voice acting is also, once again, a standout in this film. I can only imagine how difficult it is to record lines and make them sound believable, while simply standing in a studio with nothing to go off of except a script. I was thoroughly impressed by Shameik Moore, as there were multiple moments throughout the movie where a one-liner from him gave me chills. I also loved the introduction of new characters, including Spider-Punk, an Indian Spider-Man and, of course, Spider-Man 2099. New characters with new quirks to them makes a movie full of Spider-Men, currently one of the most popular intellectual properties, still feel unique and
special while remaining true to the basis of the story and character.
The story itself is phenomenal. It is funny at the right moments and serious at others. Unlike other Marvel projects where seriousness feels undercut by unneeded comedy, this film does not fall to that trap. When it is serious, when the risk is high, when all the chips are down, this movie takes it seriously. At the same time, when it's time to take a break from the action and the edge-of- your-seat moments, there's a scene with a cat Spider-Man or a baby Spider-Man to lighten the mood.
This film also lays the map for what a good multiverse film should be. We recently have had this type of film explode in popularity with movies such as “Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” While I personally think that “No Way Home” did an excellent job, the other two are iffy at best. However, “Across the Spider-Verse” blows all of them out of the water, showing everyone how to do a film with this kind of a plotline well. It includes just the right amount of ridiculous, while also properly showing how the sci-fi theme can damage the fictional world it takes place in.
Of course, the heart of the film is in Miles Morales and his role as a true Spider-Man. It is known throughout Marvel, and even stated in many comic storylines, that Spider-Man is the best hero out there. He pulls his punches so as not to hurt even those who are attempting to kill him. He does everything he can to save everyone, no matter the cost. This is what a true Spider-Man is. So, while throughout the film the other Spider- Men are willing to let people die to protect the sanctity of the timeline or multiverse or whatever else they feel they need to protect, Miles does not feel the same way. He believes that he can, and will, save everyone he needs to. He fights for what is right, no matter what friends betray him. He stands alone against a horde of counterparts, ready to do what needs to be done. Of course, the film ends with an excellent twist, which I won't spoil here.
The bad:
I very much enjoyed this film. I am a huge Spider-Man fan, and haven't missed out on anything Spider-Man for as long as I can remember. I am a little biased, of course, and struggled to find much I disliked about this film. The only main complaint I had were the small, subtle indications of political preferences in our current world. A flag or stamp here or there, while small, were noticeable. I also struggled greatly when we were spending time in the world of Spider-Gwen, as the color scheme chosen for that world hurt my eyes.
The ugly:
The first Spider-Verse film is an excellent all around film. It excels much like its sequel. However, there is one standout from the first film that the sequel failed to remake. That would be the soundtrack. The soundtrack for “Across the Spider-Verse” is nothing to write home about; it's mediocre. I was disappointed in this, as the soundtrack for the first film has been a highlight since that movie came out, and I still listen to it to this day.
Conclusion:
I am a huge Spider-Man fan, I even love what are considered bad Spider-Man movies. However, this film cannot be considered bad by any standard. It's unique, creative, special and fun. It blends live action and dozens of types of animation. It holds true to the legacy of Spider- Man, and perfectly encapsulates what a middle movie should look like. I will say I love the first one more, but that is no fault of “Across the Spider-Verse.” This is a massive recommendation for me from anyone to go see it, especially as it is a family movie. I give it a nine out of 10 gator tails.