5

After a five-year wait since the first installment, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, was released in theaters, the second part, titled Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, has hit screens today. Check out our review to find out how the movie is.

 

Story

Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), Brooklyn’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, is living his own life until he reunites with his love interest, Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld). Miles learns about the Spider-Society, where ‘different’ Spider people from different universes join forces to fight baddies. With Gwen’s help, Miles enters the society, led by Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac), the only non-smiling Spider-Man. However, Miles and Miguel are at odds over something. What is it? What happens next? The film has the answers.

 

Plus Points

The first part was a huge hit, and thus expectations on its sequel are sky-high. The second installment in the series opens doors to different universes, where Miles meets his fellow Spider-Men/Women/Animals and more.

The computer-animated superhero film is enjoyable, thanks to the neat emotions, conversations, and unexpected characters. The multiverse concept is not new to Marvel fans, but it is different in the Spider-Verse and it is wonderful to witness it on the big screens.

The chemistry between Miles and Gwen is showcased well in this part. Miles’ emotional encounters with his parents and Gwen are watchable, and the dialogues in these scenes are quite nice.

The movie has a surprise, especially for Indian Spider-Man fans. The makers introduce Pavitr Prabhakar (Karan Soni), the Indian Spider-Man, in this sequel. His character, although limited to a couple of scenes, leaves a huge impact. His conversations with Miles and Gwen are funny and enjoyable.

Technically, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is nothing less than its prequel. The film has a wonderful score, animation & VFX, and stunning visuals that make one glued to the screen.

 

Minus Points

Any film requires an engaging story to capture one’s attention, and it is even more crucial for a fictional film that has millions of fans worldwide. This movie lacks it. The wafer-thin story with just an okayish screenplay fails to engage one’s attention.

The makers should have shown The Spot, a supervillain with unique powers, in a more powerful way. In the first hour, he was seen cracking jokes with Miles during the fights. Later, he turns out to be hard on Miles, and one would expect that something terrible would happen, but it doesn’t. The Spot’s character may have been saved for ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.’

Characters like Peter Parker, Spider-Punk aka Hobie, and Jessica Drew are good, but showing their emotional backstory could have helped the film big time as they are the other leads.

The makers should have written some more scenes for Miguel O’Hara, the leader of the Spider Society. A few more funny conversations between Miguel and Lyla, his AI assistant, would have made the sequel more enjoyable.

 

Technical Aspects

The direction and narration are neat, but Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and David Callaham could have focused more on the story. The visuals are stunning, thanks to the wonderful animators, and there is nothing to find fault with their outstanding work.

The sound design is also absolutely good. The production values are rich, and the editor Mike Andrews could have chopped off some unnecessary scenes to make ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ a decent fare.

 

Verdict

On the whole, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is visually enjoyable, but it lacks an engaging storyline. The makers save the main story for the next part, and this is disappointing. The stunning visuals, some emotional conversations, and the introduction of Pavitr Prabhakar are the positives of the movie. If you are a hardcore fan of superhero and animation movies, you can give this film a watch this weekend.

123telugu.com Rating: 2.75/5

Reviewed by 123telugu Team

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