Synopsis:
Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar®-winning Spider-Verse saga, Spider-Man™: Across the Spider-Verse. After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters the Spider Society, a team of Spider-People charged with protecting the Multiverse’s very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must set out on his own to save those he loves most. Anyone can wear the mask – it’s how you wear it that makes you a hero.
What We Thought:
I was enjoying Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse until the end. Everything about the film is great until the end. If you noticed I wrote the end and not ending because there isn’t one. Just like Fast X, this film ends on a cliffhanger that won’t get concluded until the next film(s). I hope this doesn’t become a trend because I’m already tired of it. I don’t mind open-ended endings, but at least make an attempt at an actual ending. You can have the bad guy getting away so you know what to expect in the sequel, but at least wrap up the story of the film. These are movies, not TV shows.
And it stinks it ends that way because until then I thought the movie was good. It’s not as good as the first film because Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse caught everyone off guard with how great it was, but until the end this was a solid sequel. Miles Morales is back in action and this time we get a lot more Gwen Stacy. It opens with Spider-Gwen trying to cope with life in her universe, not the one with Miles. She’s introduced to other Spider-People when a Vulture from a different universe attacks her city. She meets Jessica Drew, Spider-Man 2099 and the Spider Society who protect the multiverse. This allows her to get back to Miles’ universe and see how he’s doing. Miles is dealing with his own threat, the bad guy Dr. Jonathan Ohnn / The Spot who soon realizes he can grow more powerful by traveling the multiverse himself and gaining power in different universes.
Miles wants to be part of the Spider Society, but as every Spider-Man does, he learns with great power comes great responsibility. He wants to be able to save a loved one and the other Spider-People try to stop him from causing more damage than he can imagine. This is the best part of the film because along with Spider-Man 2099 and Jessica Drew we get other Spider-People making their film debuts. Ben Reilly, Spider-Punk, Spider-Man India and many, many more make appearances. If you are a Spider-Man comics nerd, you’ll love all the characters. Plus we get the return of Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson’s Spider-Man from the first film). I loved this character in Into the Spider-Verse so I loved his return along with his baby daughter Mayday. All of this is great and fun and visually amazing.
Yep just like the first film the animation is like you’re watching a comic book. It’s fast and colorful. Mix in the score and it’s a fun and vibrant watch. There is plenty of comedy. There is plenty of drama. There is plenty of action. The stakes are high. The voice cast is fantastic especially with the additions of Oscar Isaac, Jason Schwartzman, Daniel Kaluuya and more. Everything about it is something you want in an Into The Spider-Verse sequel. Except the end.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is going to make a bunch of money. It’s a hit, no doubt. People won’t be as bothered by the end as much as me, but I was so disappointed with how it ended. I knew there was a third movie coming next year, but there still should have been some closure on this film. Fast X, Avengers: Infinity War and now this are anti-climactic to me because they feel like incomplete movies. It’s still very much worth seeing especially if you loved the first film, but I just can’t put it up on that tier the first film hit because of the ending.
The Nerds Templar 