Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Review

I’m not a fan of this new trend where they split a story into two movies but downplay the fact that the first movie is only “Part One.” Though I did enjoy hearing half the theater erupt into audible swearing when the credits rolled after a significant cliffhanger. I knew from other reviewers what to expect going in, so it didn’t faze me as much as the rest of the audience, but I still wish studios would be more upfront about this. Or, hey, why not write better scripts that can individually end each movie in a trilogy on a satisfying note! The first Spider-Verse felt like a complete movie, after all. I had no idea we were even going to get a sequel. But I don’t want to dwell on the trilogy-ness too much, because, while the cliffhanger does deflate some of the excitement you might feel immediately after watching the movie, it’s still a pretty fun movie.

For one, I love that studios are finally taking risks with animation and pushing the envelope beyond “stock 3D.” We pretty much have the first Spider-Verse movie to thank for that, a movie that obviously inspired the new Puss in Boots aesthetic. But Across the Spider-Verse goes even harder and plays with so many different styles. Admittedly, some of the action is a bit hard to follow because of it. There’s one character who looks more like a flipbook of sketches that is really cool to see but also clashes heavily with everything around him (and yes, I know, this was thematically appropriate). There are also scenes where Gwen and her dad are talking, and every time the camera changes, the colors and background patterns change, as well. It’s a neat touch but can also be disorienting if you’re not on board with this “anything goes” style of animation.

Story-wise, Across the Spider-Verse is pretty solid, too. Maybe my only complaint (aside from the obvious cliffhanger at the end) is that the movie feels like it has two beginnings. We start with Gwen and spend a long time with her before the movie resets and shows us what Miles has been up to. I understand the choice to do this, because Gwen and Miles basically have equal footing as protagonists now, but it means it takes that much longer for the actual story to get going. You do get to know both characters really well, though, and their motivations and the stakes they face make perfect sense. It’s hard to do multiverse stories right, because the multiverse can be such a cop-out. But the way it’s presented here, how each universe’s Spider-Man must hit certain beats or that whole universe explodes, has been fun to watch unfold.

Reviewer

Clark
I love gaming so much, I wrote a book about it.

Published by

Clark

I love gaming so much, I wrote a book about it.