'Across the Spider-Verse' Swings into Theaters
by EG
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the sequel to 2018's hit animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, debuts in theaters this weekend, and it's looking to duplicate its predecessor's box-office and critical success. The first part of that aim has already been achieved, with the movie getting broadly positive reviews from critics. It remains to be seen whether the movie can take on last week's top earner, The Little Mermaid, and win the box-office race. Read on for details.
In Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales is all grown up. Well, sort of.
The events of the second chapter of the Spider-Verse series, sleekly directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson, take place a year after a radioactive spider bit our protagonist’s hand. Since then, the arachnoid warrior (voiced by Shameik Moore) has grown into his powers and superhero responsibilities. Miles shoots silk threads with more precision, swings across the city skyline more smoothly and can make himself disappear on command (instead of at random, inconvenient times). He’s also got a better handle on the saving the world shtick.
But Miles, now 15, is also a teenager, which means protecting New Yorkers isn’t his only concern. When not chasing foes or signing brand deals, he’s attending classes at his tony magnet school, preparing to apply to college and trying to find enough time to spend with his parents, Jefferson (Brian Tyree Henry) and Rio (Luna Lauren Velez). Early in this much-anticipated follow-up, we see the two adults impatiently waiting in the guidance counselor’s office as their son slowly makes his way across town. At each intersection, Miles’ senses go off, pulling the teen into a new crime-fighting situation and making him increasingly late for this very important meeting. The set piece -- with its kinetic animation and self-aware dialogue -- represents some of the best parts of the Spider-Verse series.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse wowed and wooed audiences with its limber storytelling, inventive animations and refreshing humor. That film, which went on to win the Academy Award for Animation in 2018, was special because it shed the self-consciousness that plagued so many contemporary superhero adaptations. Miles Morales, a Puerto Rican and African American kid who loved to tag the city walls with his art, was a new kind of superhero. He was funny, very cool and well-versed in his franchise’s history. He anchored Into the Spider-Verse, which was buoyant and slick.
Across the Spider-Verse vibrates with the same energy as its predecessor even when it feels more leaden with backstory. This chapter is the first of a planned two-part sequel to Into the Spider-Verse. Dividing the follow-up in half gives the screenplay, written by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and David Callaham, more room to settle into the ridges and grooves of Miles’ story. The additional space proves to be both a gift and a curse as Across the Spider-Verse pulls us deeper into Miles’ world.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.