Film Name: 蜘蛛侠：纵横宇宙 / Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
I had to force myself to calm down a bit to be able to write this post. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse used to be my favorite Spider-Man movie, and among my favorite animated films – now that position is being taken by its sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (hereafter referred to as Across the Spider-Verse). Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (hereinafter referred to as “Across the Spider-Verse”), as the latter once again pulls off the highest level of animated cinema.
All the features that wowed us in the first film based on its comic book aesthetics are present in Across the Spider-Verse, and on top of that, the film adds even more groundbreaking visual styles. It’s like a comic book that goes from flat to three-dimensional, decorated with personalized 2D perspectives and state-of-the-art CG technology, and full of artistic aesthetics and pop-culture jumps! …… It reaffirms my belief that animation is the best way to keep exploring the limits of creativity. At the same time, the movie also poses a question for Spider-Man and superhero movies: Are the “mistakes” that make us who we are really essential? It’s a coming-of-age story that’s both heroic and anti-heroic.
[Friendly reminder: there will be spoilers below].
First of all, we must blow the visual spectacle of Across the Spider-Verse, monologue bubbles, figurative onomatopoeia, Kirby bursts of these conventional operations aside, I feel that the creators are the first part of the ideas that did not work, a stream of all stuffed into the sequel, the new CG animation technology will be the modern pop art, malfunctioning art, cyberpunk and other art forms into each frame, so that the visual style of this film is extraordinarily rich, full and bombastic! The new CG animation technology incorporates modern pop art, glitch art, cyberpunk and other art forms into every frame, so that the visual style of this movie is extraordinarily rich, full and explosive. Every Spider-Man character has their own unique cosmic painting style, and their colors and movements fit well with the characters and plot, achieving a multi-dimensional organic unity. Take the three Spider-Men I was most impressed with as an example, starting with Spider-Gwen, whose main style is watercolor.
Gwen Stacy’s gorgeous form is already complemented by her vibrant colors, and the silhouettes with repeating vertical stripes of color bring out her dance-like movements with even more sharpness and grace (which is why it’s especially poignant to watch her beat up medieval manuscript-style vultures). Additionally, the colors of Gwen’s 65th universe shift in response to her changing psychological moods, especially in the sequence where she makes up with her father, which features a distinctly monochromatic background and color erasure, and the visual presentation is top-notch. Considering that Gwen is one of the film’s narrative duo, and in fact takes on a different kind of family story line that protagonist Miles can’t take care of, it’s only right that she be “resourced” in this way. Then there’s the Indian Spider-Man, Pavita, whose Bombadon is a sea of joy.
This hypothetical city of Mumbai and Manhattan looks like a mandala assemblage of classic and modern, stone temples and high-rise buildings spliced together, with loose threads and pretty patterns that also annotate this Indian-inspired mishmash of sensibilities. Although the broken mouth, chatterbox, sense of humor is the standard of Spider-Man, but Pavita obviously more than others will be funny and spit, even the spider silk is the most fancy, can not help but remind me of the rope, shaking and yo-yo …… Pavita’s optimism and the universe of 50101 one, which is doomed to suffer more harm to be able to But Miles saves his girlfriend’s father, and defining “boundaries” becomes his problem. And then there’s punk Spider-Man Hobbie, who is definitely the coolest guy in the movie.
Exudes the 1970s and 1980s British punk Hobbie, wherever he goes, can by himself to bring around the painting style, the kind of collage, magazine clippings and graffiti style superimposed on the composite temperament, hard in the two-dimensional animation piled up in stop-motion animation of the sense of reality. Hobbie’s personality is as rebellious as he looks, not just in the sense that he plays rock ‘n’ roll, but also in the sense that he’s got an unruly backbone, and while the rest of the Spider-Men are subservient to Miguel’s “rightful justice,” he’s the first to rebel against authority, and gives Gwen and the others an assist in the best possible way. In addition, the classic American comic book style of Miles’ world, the futuristic sci-fi style of Spider-Man 2099’s new New York is also very bright, as well as the three-dimensional Spider-Man Alliance base that is formed as if it were a spider’s silk twisting and intertwining, and you can even see the space elevator that leads to the moon …… Even if you take away the qualifier “Spider-Man,” “Spider-Man” is not the only one. Even if you take away the qualifier “Spider-Man”, “Across the Spider-Verse” is by far the best multiverse-themed movie, through the creation of different media, so that the explosion of the imagination on a variety of styles of collision and integration of the train, all the way to the strong visual impact of the uncharted territory.
The movie’s action sequences are no slouch either, with fast pacing, precise camera work, and taut editing and focus. My two favorite scenes are the Spider-Men’s chase of Spot in Menhattan and Miles’ escape from the Spider-Verse, which is so full of character detail and environmental elements that it gave me a good taste of what “visual oversaturation” is like. What’s more, the music in Across the Spider-Verse is not bad, with electronic, synth-rock, classical, hip-hop, and more, and it’s even better when you’re rubbing the discs together – and like the laughs in the movie, the soundtrack is highly integrated into the plot. As a Spider-Man movie, there are countless eggs in this movie: Spot robs Mrs. Chen from the Venom universe; Miguel ruthlessly buries Dutchie and Dr. Strange from the MCU; the two real-life spiders, Toby Spider and Garfield Spider, show up; there’s also Scarlet Spider-Man, LEGO Spider-Man, the Four Hundred Grandmothers, and even Spider-Horse, Spider-Cat, and Spider-Dinosaur run out of the house… …a whole orgy of hundreds of Spider-Man’s collective appearances!
How can Sony give away the Spider-Man IP? With this kind of creativity and execution, they’ll have no problem not bringing Disney/Marvel along for the ride in the future! Anyway, I had to start with at least three viewings of Across the Spider-Verse, because the information density was so high that I couldn’t take in some parts of the film, so I couldn’t digest it properly after watching it, and instead of thinking that it was too full, I’d rather watch it a few more times to further experience its fullness. Across the Spider-Verse gets full marks for its exceptional audiovisual style and hilarious entertainment. What’s valuable is that its story and characterisation are equally excellent. One of the most surprising things to me is that the film spends a great deal of time portraying Miles’ youthful angst and family relationships despite the inches and seconds.
This “luxury” isn’t a waste – because Spider-Man stories tend to be so similar, many creators fall into the trap of empiricism and laziness when it comes to laying the groundwork. Across the Spider-Verse made no such mistake, the creators knowing that any hint of difference would allow Spider-Man to develop a different ethos. In Miles, the death of Uncle Alan awakens him, the thought of Gwen pushes him on, his mother’s acceptance keeps him grounded and fearless, and his father’s ineffable love keeps him going even when he’s at a loss. Because of this, the film’s later climaxes are full of emotion (Miles’s family/relationship thread is even better when paired with Gwen’s story line).
I went back to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse before watching the film, and I was very aware of the underlying context of the two films: being Spider-Man means sacrifice, and you can’t save everyone. The ways in which the Spider-Men gained their powers may have differed slightly, but they all transformed into Spider-Man through the pain of losing a loved one, and sacrifice, loss, and regret are the cornerstones of all Spider-Man’s definitions. In the world of the “parallel universe”, this pain package has become a standard – Miguel once tried to change the fate, but only in exchange for more demise, something that has obviously happened many times, and he decided to defend everything after learning from the bitter experience. “destiny” balance and order. This kind of tram puzzle became the reason for the gathering of the “Spider-Man Alliance”, where all the Spider-Men meet with the same goal in mind.
The organisation, which is supposed to maintain justice, has been cloaked in the negative colours of power and cruelty because of its obsession with pursuing justice. Miles is the most special Spider-Man, because he was bitten by a travelling radioactive spider, his appearance, not only indirectly led to the death of Peter Parker in the 1610 universe, but also made the 42nd universe lost Spider-Man, causing a series of chain reactions. But Miles can’t be blamed for this. Faced with the question of whether to save one person or the entire universe, he’d have screamed “I’ll take it all” while trying to save his father. So the real point of Across the Spider-Verse is the other Spider-Men: will they stand by and do nothing because they’re Spider-Man when they’re faced with a dilemma and despair similar to their own?
It seems like a hopeless and necessary choice, given the hard lessons learned by Miguel and others, but no one is really resigned to it. In this mood, the film smoothly shapes the growth of several supporting characters: Peter B. Parker, who had the courage to reconcile with MJ and have his daughter because he met Miles, is now determined to help Miles in turn because of his longing for the care of his children and his family; Gwen, who previously made things worse by letting and condoning her mistakes, finally embarks on the team’s The journey to change the world against all odds. After 10,000 failures, do you still have the courage to launch the 10,001st challenge, to win the possibility of success for the first time?
So while Across the Spider-Verse left a huge cliffhanger at the end that left many viewers unfulfilled, the film’s story has, indeed, been told in stages. The good news is that the next Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will be released in 2024. Whatever happens in the future, at least for now Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the best Spider-Man film in my book.
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