Pools Of Sorrow, Webs Of Joy

My thoughts on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

To describe Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse as overstuffed might be the only thing connected to the film that could legitimately be considered an understatement. This is meant to be a simple observation and not a criticism. Like most blockbuster sequels, this continuation of 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is trying to be bigger, wilder and more elaborate than its predecessor. Unlike most sequels, however, this one manages to do just that and more, an even more considerable achievement when you consider the height of the bar set by the first one. There is hardly a scene that isn’t bursting with some kind of moment of invention or inspiration and not only does it manage to keep that up over the course of 140 minutes, it legitimately leaves you wanting more when it comes to its conclusion.

As regular readers presumably know by now, I tend to find most comic book movies to be fairly tedious endeavors but I am perfectly willing to embrace those that try to do something new and interesting with material that, at least in the broad strokes, has become all to familiar in recent years. The problem with too many superhero movies, especially the ones in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe, is that they increasingly feel more like filmed business plans than narratives—they all tend to follow the same basic (and undeniably successful) formula. When done correctly, that can be entertaining, I supposed, but I cannot be the only one who longs to see someone do something different with those already-embraced elements.

That is what Into the Spider-Verse managed to do—at a time when I would have readily embraced the idea of never seeing another film based on the adventures of everyone’s favorite web-slinger after more than 15 years of sequels and reboots, here was a film that gave us a new take on the mythos that was funny exciting and visually dynamic but also explored both the character and his universe(s) in ways that gave the story the kind of legitimate emotional stakes that only a few films of this sort have even attempted, let alone pulled off. The only possible hiccup is that the resulting film was so good—even winning that year’s Oscar for Best Animated Feature—that any attempt at making a follow up would be facing unbelievably daunting expectations based on what had come before.

I know that I was thinking along those lines when I sat down for the screening but by the time its masterful opening sequence came to its conclusion, any apprehensions had been thoroughly dissipated. In it, we get some new details regarding the backstory of Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), who tends to figure as Peter Parker’s tragic lost love in most iterations of the multiverse but who, as we learned in the first film, is none other that Spider-Woman in hers. Of course, that flip suggests that Peter himself may be doomed and not only is the loss of her dearest friend bad enough, circumstances lead her police captain father (Shea Whigam) to believe that Spider-Woman is responsible, leading to her going off on her own. Although some viewers may be discombobulated at first by making Gwen the initial focus, the sequence is a genuine dazzler, both visually and dramatically, while setting up key emotional underpinnings that will pay off beautifully later on.

When the focus shifts back to “our” Spider-Man, 15-year-old Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), he is still fighting crime in New York but that is almost easy compared to the basics of being a teenager. Since he still hasn’t confessed his secret identity to his parents, Jeff (Brian Tyree Henry) and Rio (Luna Lauren Velez), they find his secrecy and odd behavior to be strange and possibly disturbing. For example, Miles is sent off to fetch a cake for a party celebrating Jeff’s promotion to police captain and ends up running late with a messed-up pastry—even if he wanted to, trying to explain to them that he got caught up battling The Spot (Jason Schwartman), a former scientist who blames Miles for his transformation into an all-white figure covered with black hole portals that prove to have more dangerous uses than attempting to rip off the ATM at the local bodega, might prove a bit difficult. Things perk up a bit with the unexpected arrival of Gwen in his universe but soon discovers that she is not there entirely on a social call and that the very fabric of the universe—of all universes—is now in peril.

It is at this point that I will hold back from revealing any more plot details, mostly because the screenplay by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Dave Callaham is so jam-packed with stuff throughout that I am not entirely certain that I could pass a quiz on the meaning of everything that occurred. Suffice it to say, Miles winds up following Gwen into the multiverse, ending up first in a skewed version of Mumbai and then to the headquarters where the countless various Spider-men, Spider-women and Spider-miscellaneous hang out. Among the variants on display are Spider-Man India (Karan Soni), the insanely handsome and self-confident hero of the faux-Mumbai multiverse, Spider-Woman Jessica Drew (Issa Rae), who doesn’t let her pregnancy get in the way of some serious web-slinging, and Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya), the snotty Sex Pistol-inspired variation who basically steals every scene he is in. This may sound like a goof—and indeed, there are a lot of big laughs to be had—but it is at that point that it shifts into a darker and more dramatic mood with the arrival of Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Issac), the completely humorless version of Spider-Man who maintains the order of the various Spider-Verse and ensures that certain canonical events shared by all the various Spiders go off as planned, no matter how potentially tragic, so as to prevent any universe-threatening anomalies from occurring.

As good as Into the Spider-Verse was, and it was very good, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is just a better film across the boards. Dramatically, it ups the stakes considerably and also offers up a meditation on the whole multiverse that is smarter, funnier and more emotionally grounded than the somewhat similar take that Spider-Man: No Way Home utilized in that regard. The film is also packed with tons of jokes and, to judge by the constant chortling of the person sitting next to me at the screening, those with a greater knowledge of the Spider-Man world will find even more in-jokes and gags to be had.  The characters are given additional depth and shading that helps to keep us interested in them even during the non-heroic moments. Those heroic moments, to be sure, are pretty spectacular and no matter how wild and crowded they may get—at one point, Miles finds himself being pursued by hundreds of Spiders in an extended chase that makes the exertions of Fast X seem puny by comparison—co-directors Joaquin Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson present them with a clarity that allows you to follow all the unfolding chaos without ever getting overwhelmed in the process.

Visually, the film is a stunner throughout as well. Unlike a lot of superhero sagas and animated films of late, it is not interested in presenting the story in a photo-realistic manner, it takes advantage of the one key element that animation has over live-action—the ability to present viewers with virtually any sight that can possible be imagined without dealing with messy reality. With the singular exception of Ang Lee’s perennially underrated Hulk, the Spider-Verse films are pretty much the only example of the comic book movie subgenre that actually has the supremely stylized look and feel of the medium that inspired them. As far as I can recall, there is not a single dull or uninteresting image on display here and it is always finding new and intriguing sights to show. Even when the film calms down for a few moments, it is still electrifying to watch—one of the very best scenes consists of nothing more than Miles and Gwen talking and commiserating while hanging upside-down from the top of a skyscraper in a visual that is simply gorgeous to behold.

The closest thing to a flaw in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, I suppose, is that it ends on  on a cliffhanger that is set to be resolved in next year’s Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. This may be a bit frustrating for those going into the film expecting a complete narrative but unlike other films of late that have chopped their unnecessarily bloated storylines into different parts in an attempt to maximize profits (again, see Fast X—or don’t), this one actually earns both its extended running time and the wait to see how it is all resolved in the end. As I said earlier, I am not much for superhero cinema and, outside of being able to see Michael Keaton back in the Batsuit again, none of the examples coming up in the next few months hold much of any interest to me outside of professional obligation. In this case, however, not only am I already more than eager to see Beyond the Spider-Verse, I might actually go back and watch this one again just for the pure pleasure of it.