Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Directed by: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson
Written by: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and David Callaham
Editor’s note: I did that rambling people do when they post recipes, and I’m sorry. Scroll down to “REVIEW STARTS HERE” to skip all that.
I’m BACK, baby! And in true Dallas fashion, I’m writing about a movie I saw WEEKS ago! Why have I been gone so long? I’m glad you asked! Or more likely, you didn’t. And that’s the thing! That’s the thing, though! I write on here, then think “Does anyone even read these? Does anyone care? What am I doing this for?” Then I stop writing on this blog for like half a year, and finally, I tell myself “It’s not that deep, fam. You just like writing.” Then I dust the blog off, rinse, and repeat. I’ve been doing that for YEARS. But there’s a new(ish) Spider-Verse movie, so what better time to restart the cycle?
Also, I’ve successfully avoided the hot take window. Because despite the internet’s constant use of “hot take” to refer to an opinion that most people might disagree with, the term actually comes from rushing a take out while the topic is “hot”, so it’s more about giving your take immediately and without time to give it much research or thought. So your “hot take” that “the Star Wars prequel trilogy is good, actually” isn’t all that hot, is it? It’s been sittin’ out for a while. But hey, language evolves over time, and I’m not a journalist, so I’m in no position to tell people they’re using terms wrong.
REVIEW STARTS HERE
They did it again! Five years ago, they dropped Into the Spider-Verse on us, and my hot take was that it was the best superhero movie. No qualifiers. Not “the best animated superhero movie”, not “the best comic book superhero movie”, just the best superhero movie. Period. Over the next five years, I watched it 1,000 more times, and I stand by that take. But now there’s another one! And it might be just as good? It’s hard to compare because I’ve seen the first one 2,000 times, and I’ve only seen this one twice (so far).
One of the reasons the first one is so good is that they gave us such an amazing group of characters. And they did it again! My boy Miles has fully grown into a more than competent Spider-Man. He has so much more confidence and I love it. Look at how they progressed my boy! Shameik Moore continues to kill it, with his voice that seems specifically designed to play a teenager. Also, I don’t know that he’s done much (if any) voice acting aside from these movies, and dude is a natural.
We get much more of Gwen Stacy this time around, and I would 100% watch a whole movie of hers. Well, maybe not. She makes some choices in this one that I know you all know about by now, but I write these as non-spoilers, because SOMEONE out there hasn’t seen the movie yet, and maybe they’re reading this. But Gwen’s questionable character aside, I like Hailee Steinfeld more with every line delivery she gives in this movie.
Also, Peter B. Parker swings in for a bit, but it’s a significantly smaller dose than we got last time. Jake Johnson continues to kill it. But before someone thinks I’m letting him off the hook, he’s in the same boat as Gwen when it comes to my disappointment.
Miles’ parents get more to do this time and I love it. No, not just because Rio is so fine. It’s not always about that. Luna Lauren Velez and Brian Tyree Henry both get to shine more as Rio and Jeff’s parental relationships with Miles shift. You remember being 15. Remember how you got on your parents’ nerves? Because teenagers are the worst? Yeah, you remember. But yeah, Rio and Jeff are scene stealers.
But onto the new characters: Miguel is a hater, Jessica Drew is a hater, Pavitr is awesome, Hobie is objectively the best, and…you know what? Let’s talk about Hobie.
Everything about this character is awesome. He’s Daniel Kaluuya, he has the best lines, he’s Miles’ biggest supporter (suck it Gwen and Peter), he’s the anti-capitalist hero we need, he’s BLACK, and his animation is incredible to look at. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make me as happy now that stories are coming out about Sony Animation treating their animators like serfs, but more on that later.
Since Into the Spider-Verse came out five years ago and became the best superhero ever made, we’ve found ourselves in a world where multiverse stories are hot in the streets. This is the best one. I know y’all like the bagel movie, and I respect that. This is the best one. This movie works perfectly as a grounded coming-of-age story for Miles, and then when it becomes a full-on comic book, filled with sci-fi mumbo jumbo, it works just as well. I can laugh at Spidey versions of a dinosaur, a cat, and everything else, but I’m no less invested in Miles and his well-being. And I even feel for Miguel’s hatin’ ass. His goals conflict with Miles’ in a way that makes me want Miguel to just go away, but I see what he’s gettin’ at.
Now, about the animation. It’s AMAZING. But at what cost? I never know which details to believe when stories come out from an industry I’m obviously on the outside of, but it sounds like however you spin it, animators were overworked to a ridiculous degree. That’s never a surprise, but you always hope it’s not the case. And “welcome to making a movie”? Really, Amy? Big trash. I thought The Spot was the villain, but maybe it’s Amy Pascal? Say it with me in your best Jason Bateman voice, y’all: I don’t know what I expected.
But yes, putting aside corporations and their greedy ways for a moment, the animation is spectacular. Every single person who worked on this should be praised and compensated immensely. They took the mind-blowing and industry-changing animation from Into the Spider-Verse and somehow stepped it up from there. Spectacular.
Also, Daniel Pemberton is back at it again! He scored this movie to perfection. Somehow I’ve only seen it twice at the time of writing this, but the second time I really focused on what he did with the score. He’s so talented at perfectly capturing a character’s impact through sound. Remember Prowler? Well, he does the same thing with Spider-Man 2099 here. And The Spot! There are some later scenes with The Spot that, through animation and score, really made me feel like this guy could be a terrifying villain. That’s right, ol’ Pongo and Perdita face ass could be a terrifying villain. Movie magic. Daniel Pemberton is movie magic.
Oh, and speaking of music, Metro Boomin! This soundtrack is fire! My favorite songs have been shifting around since the soundtrack came out, but I could listen to “Hummingbird” and “Self Love” all day. I’m listening to “Hummingbird” right now, actually. And he got J.I.D. on the soundtrack! That’s a cheat code for me.
I’ve been going on about this movie for too long, and yet somehow not long enough (if you think I haven’t said enough, feel free to listen to the Across the Spider-Verse podcast episode we put out within an actually reasonable response time). It’s time to wrap this up. Or web this up. HA! The movie is perfect. Is the ending unsatisfying? No. Cliffhangers happen. And this is the longest American animated movie ever. Y’all should have realized it was going to end on a cliffhanger when we were two and a half hours in and Miles was (spoiler redacted). And if you didn’t realize how long the movie had been on, that’s because you were engrossed in the story. Because it’s perfect.
Tl;dr: Everything about this movie is perfect except for how the animators were treated while making it.
Rating: 10 out of 10
Straight Outta Pride Rock 