Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) was a welcomed breath of fresh air in a cinematic landscape flooded with superhero movies that recycle the same story. It was a subversive, animated adaptation of the classic tale of the teenager who becomes superhuman.
The twist in Spider-Verse was that it wasn’t Peter Parker who was bitten by a radioactive spider, but Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore); Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (PG) also takes place in the Spider-Verse, where Miles realizes that his appearance as an unexpected Spider-Man has caused chaos across the vast expanse of the Spider-Verse because he now finds himself a Spider-Man who is unsuited.
In Across The Spider-Verse, things get a bit darker as Miles and Gwen are dealing with family issues and struggling to keep their identity.
The Spot (Jason Schwartzman) is already Miles’ new nemesis, but Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), his new friend, drags him into an interdimensional fracas with Miguel O’Hara (Jason Isaacs), a ninja-vampire Spider-Man who is annoyed by Miles’ refusal to return to being boring old Miles Morales after his superhero costume is removed.
Though Philip Lord and Christopher Miller have not been able to recreate the lightning strike in Into the Spider-Verse, Across the Spider-Verse certainly meets expectations in spite of the loss of the element of surprise.
In a beautifully crafted superhero story that explores intergenerational conflict, coping with loss and grief, as well as a multitude of ways to deal with identity, a complex and sophisticated story of a search for identity forms the basis. Featuring an exhilarating blend of classical animation styles inspired by comic books and cinema, the aesthetic is a unique blend of the best of both worlds.
The abrupt ending, however, needs to be addressed. A few minutes before the film’s climax was to begin, Gwen prepared her team to face Miguel. It is easy to imagine that casual Marvel fans who are unaware of Spider-Verse’s split into two parts could be irritated by this decision, especially since I was taken off guard when I learned that the movie was to be split into two parts. At least it gives me something to look forward to in the near future.
With its wit, humor, and never-ending inventiveness, Across the Spider-Verse sets the bar for superhero movies once more.
It is worth mentioning that we saw Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse at a Dolby Cinema, and I can truly recommend it since the colors are really vivid in this theater as opposed to a normal theater, and the sound is distributed all around the room.
