Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Review
140 Minutes, Rated PG
Written by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller & David Callaham
Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
**NOTE: You can read Mark’s review below, check out Ryan’s review HERE, then listen or watch as they discuss the film in more depth. Remember, though, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**
Synopsis:
After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters the Spider Society, a team of Spider-People charged with protecting the Multiverse’s very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must set out on his own to save those he loves most. Anyone can wear the mask – it’s how you wear it that makes you a hero.
As much as we enjoyed the first “Spider-Verse” film, I can honestly say that this one is just as good.
I know, a lot of people are out there screaming that this is an even BETTER film than the first, and they’re not wrong, but it’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges. The first film was a very small, personal film about Miles Morales coming to grips with his new life, about how he can be Spider-Man. This film expands the universe in order to demonstrate that there is no wrong way to be Spider-Man.
Some quick, up-front, observations, though:
- At 2 Hours and 20 Minutes, this is a piece of animation that, like its predecessor, sets a new bar for what is possible with animation.
- While ostensibly being about Miles’ growth, the film opens with a ten-minute segment which establishes this sequel as being a film just as much about Gwen Stacy (Spider-Gwen) as it is about Miles. Perhaps even more so. Prepare yourselves for the internet hate industry to spin up for that.
- Canon events are a thing, like Doctor Who’s “fixed points in time” that cannot be altered, but if they are…
- Cameos…Cameos EVERYWHERE! If you have a favorite iteration of Spider-Man, you’ll likely see them in this movie. You even get an avenger name-dropped.
- Some cute Easter Eggs that in no way distract from casual viewership but are actually the best form of fan service; if you notice, you’ll appreciate them, if you don’t, it doesn’t detract from the viewing experience at all. Perfection.
- Sony, not Disney’s Marvel, now officially rules the Multiverse idea. It’s got it better and more organized, with more of an actual PLAN moving forward than Kevin Feige over at Marvel right now. That is a problem… for the MCU.
Not only in terms of the multiverse concept, but in a greater sense, there is a lesson in here for Disney from Oscar Isaac’s Miguel O’Hara when he effectively tells Miles that “when you break canon, everything unravels.”
Just saying. Looking at you, Marvel.
And Star Wars.
But I digress.
The voice work in here is great, with Shameik Moore and Hailee Steinfeld returning as Miles and Gwen. The expanded voice cast is impressive, with major work being done by Issa Rae as Jessica Drew and Karan Soni as the “Bollywood” Spider-Man.
People are going to write think-pieces on the animation here, but what’s really important is that some studios are going to take the wrong message and just try to physically copy the film, which isn’t the point. The point, much as it was in the first film, is that animation is a tool to be used to tell a story in the best possible way.
The fact these films use so many styles isn’t a gimmick, it’s a way of honoring the various source materials but always in ways that do proper service to the greater story they’re trying to tell.
Use animation when you need to, to do the things you can’t do practically. But do NOT use it just to use it, to attempt to simply WOW your audience. If we don’t care about your characters and the story they’re living, it doesn’t matter how Gee-whiz your animation is.
Use it, but use it WELL.
Guillermo del Toro recently tweeted that “Animation is Cinema,” and while I hate to disagree with him, I must quibble just a bit: Cinema is Cinema, no matter the form. From silent black & white to color “talkies” to stop-motion and crude hand-drawn animation to the heights of Disney’s Multi-plane technology to Panavision to digital to IMAX… it’s all Cinema if it makes us feel in ways we might not otherwise.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is Cinema for WHAT it shows us (heart, family, loss, friendship), not for HOW it chooses to show us.
As great as this movie is, though, don’t forget that it’s only technically HALF a movie; Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will complete the trilogy.
And as long as they don’t forget the lessons of the first two films, it’s likely to be Amazing, Spectacular, and the Ultimate Spider-Man.
To sum it up: THIS is the best Marvel movie since Endgame (and it’s not even Marvel).
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is exclusively in theaters as of tonight (June 1) and starts it’s full run tomorrow (June 2) and stars Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, with Daniel Kaluuya, and Oscar Isaac.
And remember, if the BEST thing you can say about a movie is that it’s “visually stunning,” then they’ve done something wrong.
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