Spiderman: Across The Spider Verse Review: Impressive and complex

SPIDERMAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER VERSE

Director: Joaquim Dos Santos

Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Valez, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae, Daniel Kaluuya, Karan Soni, Jason Schwartzman and Jason Schwartzman

Platform of Release: Theatres

Rating:

By Jyothi Venkatesh

The film is about how after encountering the Spider-Force tasked with protecting the multiverse, Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) must determine where he stands as a hero. We have Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), who is having the usual problems with her cop father who, not knowing that she is Spider-Woman, is hunting for her white caped crusader alter-ego for the “murder” of Peter Parker. Gwen Stacy is also moping for another friend from another dimension she had met last time, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore).

In many ways, this is a true companion piece to its 2018, Oscar-winning predecessor, Into the Spider-Verse, albeit with a difference: Across the Spider-Verse is touched by the curse of legacy, and hence a desire to impress, to go one further, to do just one more.

Miles Morales is having his own issues with his parents (Brian Tyree Henry, and a lovable Luna Lauren Valez), who can’t understand what the hell is going on with their 15-year-old bright thing who has the potential to study multi-verses and all that quantum physics at Princeton.

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The film has been rendered again in the style of true comic books with their frenzied energy, their panels that change from one page to the next, their exaggerated expressions, and their violence that is more bark than bite, Across the Spider-Verse is impressive.

‘Into the Spider-Verse’ (2018) caught everyone off guard with its critical success, raising the stakes with sky-high expectations for a compelling follow-up. ‘Across the Spider-verse’ exceeds them all and is truly a deeper, more mature and complex sequel.

Amidst a staggering number of Spider-People, both new and old, Spider-Punk (voiced by Daniel Kaluuya) and Pavitr Prabhakar (voiced by Karan Soni) are both memorable. Gwen Stacy (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) plays a more significant role this time. Shameik Moore presents a more mature version of Miles Morales, who is constantly challenged with escalating consequences for his actions. Gwen Stacy’s well-deserved backstory is given much depth through Hailee Steinfeld’s voice work.

Yet, all said and done, I should say that though ‘Spiderman- Across the Spider-Verse’ takes the multiverse concept and pushes it to a place unprecedented with other films of its ilk. However, on the flipside, the film has so much to digest with multiple stories and visual artistry that it’s just about impossible to assimilate everything in one viewing.