SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDERVERSE: a REVIEW

Taelon steele

Every now and then, a film comes along and completely changes the game 2018's, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, was one of these.

Not only did the unique visual aesthetic of this film, achieved through blending CGI with traditional comic-book style animation and illustration techniques, revolutionise the landscape of Western animation, but it also propelled the concept of the multiverse into mainstream media, setting off the boom in multiverse-centric stories we're currently living through However, while there have been some notable standouts - that in particular of last year's Everything Everywhere All At Once - amongst those are a plethora of multiverse films that struggle to fully realise the limitless potential of the mode The majority of these films treat the concept as a means to indulge in cameos and references, or perhaps do a little continuity maintenance, rather than an opportunity to create authentically impossible places

It's lucky then, that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse took hold of the mast and blew the multiverse ship into a direction that exceeds all expectations prefaced by its predecessor. The highly anticipated sequel is a prime example of just how invaluable the multiverse can be as a storytelling tool when it's approached with boundless imagination and ingenuity

If art kills, every frame of this film is a weapon of mass destruction The 2hr 20min run time is a moving sequence of museum pieces with every new character and universe having its own art style tailored to its specific tone, era of origin or cultural influence

Gwen's world is rendered in dreamy pastel watercolours making for the most striking scenes in the entire film, Spiderman India takes on a more pencil-drawn look in the style of old Indian comic art, while Hobie's is fittingly a cut-and-paste collage of high impact pop art The seamless integration of these eclectic styles, though seemingly unconventional, fosters a cohesive and visually compelling narrative

However, it's not just style with no substance The fusion of artistic elements serves as a compelling means of expressing how a character is feeling For example, when Gwen isn't willing to open up, her pastel world betrays her emotional instability, serving as a personalized mood ring, with colours constantly bleeding together, fading away or intensifying to reflect the tone and emotions of any given situation

It's evident that more than being visually appealing, the fusion of artistic styles takes on the role of potent instruments capable of evoking profound emotional responses And this emotionalartistic beat dances playfully with the music With an anarchic score by Daniel Pemberton that plays like the love child of Ludwig Goransson (notably known for scoring largescale films such as Black Panther, Tenet, and Oppenheimer), an altrock band, and a turntable, his score effortlessly flows between musical styles with as much creative freedom as the visuals, enhancing the mood and atmosphere of every location and narrative beat Each character gets a distinct and memorable motif that draws on its own specific set of instruments and when woven together, creates a beautiful cacophony that embraces the chaotic energy of the multiverse itself

Yet, beyond its dazzling facade, Across the Spider-verse delves into the heart of storytelling and characters, recognizing the multiverse as a profound crucible that challenges the essence of who we are The film taps into an introspective journey, forcing us to reckon with the taken-for-granted facets of our lives, as the narrative funhouse mirror distorts our understanding of ourselves and our place in this vast universe

It primarily does this through Miguel O'Hara (Spiderman 2099), a futuristic semi-vampiric future iteration of the wall-crawler who has assembled a team of SpiderPeople from across the multiverse to travel from dimension to dimension hunting 'anomalies' A zealous believer in predestination, Miguel is convinced that certain events called canon events must occur to keep a universe stable For Spider-People, these events are primarily the traumas that define their story namely, the death of an uncle, a love interest and a police captain To Miguel, these events are an essential part of what makes Spider-People who they are and must occur to every Spider-Person to avoid the destabilisation of the entire multiverse

However, Miles rejects this notion

He quickly becomes uneasy when Miguel accuses him of altering the canon by saving the life of a man who, by the nature of predestination, was supposed to die Miles knows this was the morally correct thing to do, but Miguel's insistence that it was wrong because it violated the rules of canon, lays bare the contraction at the heart of the whole endeavour If protecting order takes precedence over doing the morally right thing, then what's the point of Spiderman at all? This confrontation forces Miles to contend with what Spiderman means to him and us.

Across the Spider-Verse is a film as anarchic as the multiverse it depicts, and like its central characters, it resists being put in a box By framing the concept of canon as a restrictive ideology that robs Spider-people of their agency, the film makes a far more profound point about art itself Deferring to and the expectations that come part and parcel with it reduces stories to a checklist of beats that need to be met, restricting storytellers and suffocating creativity Like Miles and other protagonists, the film says stuff that What's the point of an endless multiverse if everyone has to play the same tune? We'll do our own thing

Every element of this film is a celebration of the limitless potential of art When artists give themselves permission to throw away the rules and play freely in a world where almost every multiverse story has felt specifically designed to check a series of boxes and score cheap thrills, Across the Spider-Verse embraces the inherent chaos of the concept to illustrate the rebellious essence of its central character If Into the Spider-Verse changed the game, Across the Spider-Verse throws away the rules, and we're all the better for it

Who am I kidding though, forget all that unnecessary waffle, it's just an animated film that's really good and really fun. Give it a watch if ya haven't already