Film review: ‘Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’

I haven’t seen the first film in this series, 2018’s Into the Spiderverse but I was intrigued by the rapturous critical reception this animated Spiderman spin-off received.  Despite movie goers being pounded like a Hulk fist by CGI superhero extravaganzas, Spiderverse apparently offered something fresh and exciting.  For someone encountering this film world for the first time, the sequel, Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse certainly does offer that, at least on a technical and aesthetic level.

This film is set about a year after the first one and sees new Spiderman, 15-year-old Miles Morales (Sharmeik Moore) still trying to come to terms with being a secret superhero while navigating the dramas of teenage life, including parents who want him to buckle down at school. Things become more complicated when a super genius villain named Spot begins menacing the city with a mini wormhole technology.  An unexpected visit from former girlfriend Gwen Stacey (Hailee Steinfeld), who for the uninitiated, also has spider powers, reveals that Spot is the product of an interdimensional mishap that also involves Miles.  This propels MIles on a journey through yes, the multiverse to a kind of spider-person home world where every creature is a variation of Spiderman; a Spider Horse isn’t even the weirdest resident of this world.  Here, Miles hopes to find a way to defeat Spot and reconnect with Gwen but some disturbing truths that have implications for all of humanity await him.

Some films have a visual style that burns itself into our memory. There’s 2001: A Space Odyssey with its acid trip stargate sequence and gleaming vision of the future, Alien with that remarkably intricate design work from Ron Cobb and HR Giger and Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers with its bonkers fever dream mix of film techniques. At least in terms of jaw dropping visuals, Across the Spiderverse definitely enters that pantheon. The phenomenally inventive animation looks like the most startling comic book images come to life with elements of anime and manga, psychedelic water colours, 1960’s cartoons, punk rock album cover collages, cubism, Leonardo Da Vinci’s sketches and much more.  It at times recalls Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Ready Player One in its pop-cultural mash-up but is even more wildly inventive. Within its various animated universes is some stunning world building with exquisitely designed cities that have a surprisingly immersive quality, almost like 3D.

While the animation in this film is astonishing, this film is still going to prove a bit of a chore for some viewers. There’s just too much to take in….it took three directors to give birth to this behemoth.  As it flits at eye-boggling speed between a multitude of characters and worlds like a hyper-caffeinated Everything Everywhere All At Once, watching this film is like trying to frantically consume a month’s food in one meal.  Also, with so many story elements squashed together it’s as if the film is constantly reinventing and rebooting itself which makes it a little hard to follow at times. Hardcore Marvel fans may well negotiate all this more deftly as they recognise numerous references that elude the average viewer.  Certainly, during the preview, costumed fans were frequently whooping and squealing at seemingly innocuous moments or split-second character pop-ins.

Peeling away the amazing visuals and dodging some of the plot and character tangents, the basic story here is about as engaging as the live action version of Spiderman, it’s not exactly gripping but Miles and the other characters are sympathetic or villainous enough to generate at least some interest. One very welcome feature is a conscious effort to depict a more culturally diverse world than we see in most superhero films with Miles’ African American/ Puerto Rican heritage playing a part in his story.

At nearly two and a half hours, this film will probably start to lose its grip on those who haven’t invested a large part of their bank balance and identity in the world of Spiderman but the mesmerising visuals and brave and often bizarro re-imagining of the Spiderman world will provide most viewers with something thrilling along the way.

Nick’s rating: ***1/2

Genre: Drama/ Action/ Adventure/ Animation.

Classification:  PG.

Director(s): Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson.

Release date: 1st June 2023.

Running time: 140 mins.

Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.

 

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