- Release Date: – 01/06/2023
- Voice Actors: – Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae
- Director: – Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” picks up where the previous instalment left off. The film delves into the life of Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), who faced off against her best friend, Peter Parker from her universe. Peter, who had turned into a supervillain, dies in the ensuing battle. Gwen’s father, Captain Stacy, arrives at the crime scene just in time to see Gwen holding Peter in her arms.
Mistakenly believing Gwen to be the killer, Captain Stacy goes all guns blazing after her. Gwen is unable to reveal to her father that she is, in fact, his daughter and that she was not responsible for Peter’s death.
Eventually, Captain Stacy uncovers the truth, but before he can arrest his own daughter, Gwen is rescued and recruited by Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) into a multiverse-trotting special force that helps maintain balance in the universe.
Meanwhile, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is struggling to balance his superhero responsibilities with his parents’ expectations.
He comes face to face with Spot, a supervillain created as a result of Miles’ actions, who holds him responsible for his misfortune. Spot gains unprecedented powers and becomes a multiversal being, attracting the attention of Miguel and the elite force.
They entrust Gwen’s help in tracking down Spot, who is already in the same universe to meet Miles Morales. Peter follows Gwen through a portal and ends up in futuristic India, where he, along with Gwen and Pavitra Prabhakar, also known as Spider-Man India, save Mumbai from a destructive attack by Spot. They are then taken to the headquarters of the elite force and learn about their actual mission and how it will impact Peter’s life with his parents.
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is one of the most frantic adventures I have experienced in a theater this year. The film moves at such a breakneck speed that it becomes difficult to follow the story, the characters, and the action at many junctures. I had to watch the film with my eyes glued to the screen to ensure that I didn’t miss anything.
If you blink during the screening, you might miss a piece of action or a plot point. While this might be a good thing in many ways, it could also be a major detractor for an animated film that calls for a more laid-back and relaxed approach, as it is something that needs to be enjoyed visually just as much as a developing narrative. I was so concentrated on the story and the proceedings that I inevitably failed to appreciate much of the gorgeous visuals on display.
The film suffers from a curious case of being too frantic and too slow in its storytelling within the same screenplay. The action sequences in the film are overcrowded with characters and set pieces, making it dizzying to follow every bit of it. A lot of that has to do with how the camera moves across the action and the characters, and how the editing is designed to leave no room to breathe.
The character designs are also intricate and complex, making it no small feat to track the movements of the characters through the action sequences. If that were not enough, the action sequences are prolonged and often consist of multiple portions within the same sequence.
One of the best examples of this is the insane chase sequence that unfolds in Miguel O’Hara’s tower, where Miles Morales tries to escape. This sequence made my head spin, and not in a good way.
It’s hard to believe, but in the same film, there are prolonged sequences of family drama and endless banter between parents and children that got on my nerves. You especially notice this in the sequence between Miles and his parents. Not a single character in the film is happy and complete. They are all shown dealing with some problem or another in their personal lives, and many of these problems feel far-fetched and flimsy for the kind of impact they are shown to have on the characters.
All of this is actually a buildup to the end of the film, where it is used to create impactful conflicts. After understanding that, a portion of the family scenes made some sense, but it still felt like some of these portions could have been shorter.
The film violently oscillates between two extremes: either hyper-edited, mind-numbing action or snooze-inducing, boring family drama that borders on being irritating.
While the entire world is going gaga over the animation of the film, I have to admit that I wasn’t as big a fan of the animation as the rest of the world. While I loved the animation of the universe that Miles was a part of, I cannot say the same for the other universes. Some of it felt too sketchy, and some felt too mechanical. There were glimpses of some universes here and there that looked a lot more intriguing and alluring, and I wished the makers could have given us more of those universes.
Using diverse animation styles in a film of this nature is necessary, but one also needs to keep in mind the beauty and enchanting aspects of animation before making a creative choice. This is, however, a matter of personal choice and you might enjoy the animation immensely but I didn’t.
Having said that, one thing in the film that worked extremely well for me was the background score. The score in the portion involving Gwen’s universe was particularly enchanting. Coupled with the beautiful animation in some portions, such as the one where she faces off against Peter and then deals with her grief, the score left a lasting impression. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the background score of the film is consistently brilliant throughout.
The voice talents in the film are proficient, and they bring each of the characters to life. Many audience members at my theatre, whom I observed during the film found the dialogues extremely funny, constantly wearing a grin on their faces. However, that wasn’t the case for me.
I was so focused on following the plot that I forgot to fully appreciate the dialogue, the comedy, and the impressive visual wizardry on display. This is why I didn’t enjoy the film as much as those who rated it 9 or 10 on IMDB. I’ve always believed that a film should be easily understood on the first viewing, while still allowing you to appreciate its various other aspects.
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Christopher Nolan‘s films are often an exception to this rule. Interestingly, many of Nolan’s brilliant films are intelligible on the very first viewing. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is one film that definitely requires multiple viewings to fully grasp and then enjoy. While I didn’t like it as much as I expected to, I plan on watching it again, and if my opinion of the film changes, I won’t hesitate to share my updated thoughts with my readers.
Rating: – 3/5 (3 out of 5 Stars)
The views expressed in this article are that of the reviewer and do not reflect EastMojo’s position
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