The events of the first film made an impression on him by making him feel like part of a group that understood him. One is the guilt he feels constantly lying to his parents that know he’s being dishonest and wrestling with whether he should burden them with his secret, another is the loneliness that comes with being a superhero.
He has various emotional challenges to overcome. A hilarious montage summarises his superhero career to date with an impressive collection of successes and missteps supporting the notion that he’s a superhero learning on the job. He misses classes, is late for engagements and is challenged to come up with a litany of plausible excuses to explain his erratic behaviour.
The film picks up around a year after Miles took on the role of Spider-Man and he’s dealing with the standard Spider-Man problem of finding the balance in his double life. This is still largely Miles Morales’ (Shameik Moore) story. There’s a strong sense that every frame was lovingly crafted to get the most out it and the effort is reflected in the end result.Īcross the Spider-Verse is bigger than the first film in every conceivable sense but one of the most remarkable achievements is that the increase in scale doesn’t come at the expense of intimate characterisation. It’s but one example of how the visuals aid in conveying the intended emotion of a particular exchange or moment. The shift in colours and the background melting signifies Gwen feeling that her world is eroding around her. An early emotional conversation between Gwen and her father (Shea Whigham) is an excellent example of heightening emotion through visuals. The visual artistry isn’t at the expense of substance, the movie has that in spades and the visuals compliment it wonderfully. It truly is a remarkable achievement to present everything so clearly. From the watercolour aesthetic of Gwen Stacy’s (Hailee Steinfeld) universe to the hand-drawn merged with magazine cutout style of Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya) everything remains distinct without being an incomprehensible mess. There are a variety of visual styles at play that merge expertly to give each universe and character a unique flavour that helps them be distinct and memorable.
It’s an exhausting viewing experience in the best way with every frame dripping with visual mastery showcasing the creativity of those involved doing their best work. Across the Spider-Verse is bursting with creativity to the degree that it’s visually overwhelming. If that was indeed the mission statement then that mission is more than accomplished.
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