SPIDER-MAN | Dayton937

“Hey girl … Just hangin’ out???” Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) checks in on his surprise visitor Spider-Gwen a.k.a. Gwen Stacy (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) in a scene from SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE. Credit: © 2023 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:

DIRECTOR: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson

KEY CAST MEMBERS: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni with Daniel Kaluuya and Oscar Isaac

WEB SITE: hhttps://www.acrossthespiderverse.movie/

THE BACK STORY: Fifteen year-old Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) has a lot going on for him. He’s already getting chances like attending Princeton University, his father (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry) is on the verge of getting promoted to police captain, his mother (Luna Lauren Velez) loves him to death and oh yeah – he’s spent the last year+ serving as Brooklyn’s own friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Unfortunately, that last part is about to cause him – and a bunch of other people – a LOT of trouble. Why? Because the incident that saved his universe the last time he was facing someone with villainous plans has created a new, more dangerous villain: The Spot (voiced by Jason Schwartzman), a man who, thanks to that super collider that blew up, has turned to a life of crime and seeks revenge on Miles for what he inadvertently made him.

But while Miles may think of The Spot as a “villain of the week,” there’s another group of people – Spider-powered people, as it turns out – that know he is a dangerous anomaly that needs to be stopped. So when Miles old friend Spider-Gwen (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) shows up out of the blue, he quickly learns that it’s not just a social visit.

It’s time to go Across the Spider-Verse.

THE REVIEW: In short, to use a phrase the young people say, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, is “dope AF (and NO, I shan’t explain those last two letters, nor the word ‘shan’t!).

The animation in the film is unlike anything you’ve ever seen and truly brings the characters to life, which is no small feat considering the fact that save for some very smart exceptions, all of them are animated. The Spider-Verse comes alive in each setting the film travels across in its 2 hour and 15 minute runtime, which feels short when the film gets to its Avengers: Infinity War-like ending.

The fact the film is visually stimulating is enhanced by the stellar vocal performances of the film’s cast and smart, engaging pacing/storytelling presented by its trio of directors. Like the film that proceeded it, ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE tells engaging stories of parents and children, responsibility, the struggle to deal with loss and grief and accepting your fate versus defining it for one’s self. Throw in the fact the film is able to hit measures of diversity, equity and inclusion in a way that is: (1) Respectful of the various cultures it showcases in a way that is (2) Smart (3) Engaging and (4) Funny in such a way it’s (5) sure to upset the “anti-woke”/keep superheroes male and white crowd and you have an early contender for not only Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards – an honor it’s predecessor has already taken home – but Best Picture, period.

With so many Spider-Man movies already existing in the 21 years Sony Pictures has owned the cinematic rights to the character, one could be forgiven for thinking there’s not possibly anything left that could be compelling enough to see on screen. ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE proves that idea wrong in spades, owning the screen as its own unique-yet-stil-connected-to-everything-else-Marvel entity in the process. From the Easter eggs hidden for long-standing Spider-Man fans, cameo appearances to incorporation of other adventures in the character’s two decades’ plus on screen, the film is both homage to those that have come before it and its own being. That is no easy feat to pull off but one the film does excellently from start to finish much to what most certainly will be Spider-Man fans’ delight.

To say more would be to spoil all the fun – and ACROS THE SPIDER-VERSE might just be the most fun you’ll have at the movies all summer.

OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):

“Man … I wonder if Deadpool got my text message …” Spider-Man (Tom Holland) chills out in a scene from Columbia Pictures’ SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING. Credit: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures © 2017 CTM, Inc. All rights reserved.

WATCH THE TRAILER(S) HERE:

KEY CAST MEMBERS: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Tyne Daly, Bokeem Woodbine, Donald Glover with Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey, Jr.

WRITER(S): Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley; Jon Watts and Christopher Ford; Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers / Based on the comic book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko

DIRECTOR(S): Jon Watts

WEB SITE: http://sites.sonypictures.com/spidermanhomecoming/splash/#ticketsHERE’S THE STORY: Having just finished up the events depicted in Captain America: Civil War, young Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is thoroughly enjoying his time as an “intern” at Stark Enterprises – especially since his internship is really just a cover so his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) doesn’t become suspicious of what he is really doing: Dressing in a special suit designed for him by Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) so he can become a crime-fighting superhero.

Tony, however, doesn’t quite trust the young Peter to go out and save the world, which is why he has his driver Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) routinely checking up on him and trying to dissuade him from biting off more than he can chew. After all, he is still in high school, hangs out with his equally nerdy best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and is on the debate team where he battles the indifference of Michelle (Zendaya) and Flash (Tony Revolori) for the attention of Liz (Laura Harrier).

But while Peter is trying his best to keep Aunt May and Tony at bay while dealing with the regular pressures of high school, he soon will have to deal with another problem: Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), the head of a cleanup company that gets the shaft when the head of the Department of Damage Control shows up and takes over one his jobs. Undeterred to let yet another Tony Stark venture stop him from earning a living, Toomes later finds some alien technology that Damage Control forgot to take with them …

And this is how supervillians and superheroes, ladies and gentlemen, are made …

WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? People who liked Holland’s character in Civil War; people who disliked the “dark” Spider-Man as played by Andrew Garfield; those who prefer the character in his high school settings vs. his adult ones; anyone who doesn’t mind certain elements of Spider-Man’s mythology being remixed for the sake of another new film

WHO WON’T (OR SHOULDN’T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? People faithful to the first two Spider-Man films; anyone who has very specific thoughts/ideas about Spider-Man and his suit; people who won’t like how the first series of films are/are not acknowledged

SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? Spider-Man: Homecoming is a solid film that benefits from the help of Marvel Studios’ direct involvement while at the same time leaves you with more than one “what about that?” question in your head.

A film that tries to meet every challenge facing it while at the same time sets itself up for a new series of them, Homecoming thrives due to the performance of Holland, who arguably captures the truly playful sense of being a high school kid associated with the Spider-Man character while at the same time showcasing he is a capable crime-fighter. Holland nails his interpretation of the spandexed-superhero, making his journey from novice to skilled fighter both extremely entertaining and unique to his movie. His interactions with Downey are about as perfect as they can be, all while maintaining the needed awkward teenager vibe that is essential to the Peter Parker character.

Likewise, Keaton is great, channeling the best elements of his more animated (in terms of energy, not actual cartoons) roles past (think Beetlejuice, but more subtle and terrorizing with the same absence of a potential conscious in most instances). Considering the general public’s lack of knowledge of the Vulture (who, in keeping with most modern super hero movie cannon, is not mentioned by name), Keaton definitely makes his villain a very formidable presence, both from setting up his proverbial turn to the dark side and, in the words of the artist formerly known as The Rock, knowing his role. In fact, as a whole, the film does a solid job of establishing its current characters into the Marvel Universe, making sure that the story fits and adds to the overall canon.

The problems Homecoming has, however, are ones that are innate to a franchise rebooting itself for the second time. Having gone from two great original films (let’s not talk about that third one) to a “darker” pair of follow-ups back to a more humorous one that treads on some familiar territory, Spider-Man: Homecoming – with his heavy dose of humor mixed with the infusion of the Marvel Universe as a whole – attempts to mix the best of all worlds but doesn’t always make you forget the worlds it already has lived in.

Harrier serves her role well as the object of Peter’s affection (always a source of conflict for our beloved hero) … But seeing how the previous sets of films have already seen him love Mary Jane Watson and (late spoiler alert) suffer through the life and loss of Gwen Stacy, seeing exactly how Homecoming sets up his future love stories and how they will play out. Likewise, seeing how in some films he has been the creator of his own suit, been able to shoot webs without the suit and now shifts to a suit made by Tony Stark (although that is somewhat explained later in the film), some fans will no doubt have a few nitpicky issues with whether the film is about Peter Parker’s transition from teenager to titan or about him figuring out his place as a superhero in the world. Of course, yours truly would argue why couldn’t it be about both, but you can’t please everybody.

Last but certainly not least, as the creative team behind Batman Vs. Superman found out, it’s extremely hard to keep rebooting a character and mixing their origin story – or, as it is in this case, more of a “we’re just going from here now and the others don’t matter anymore” story and expect your audience to follow suit. Once the audience has an idea of what to expect, it’s virtually impossible to start over at zero and now have the expectations/limitations that come with the past rear their head in the present. But then again, that is kind of the neat trick that Spider-Man: Homecoming pulls off – because despite all of those lofty things to overcome, the movie does enough to stand on its own and stand on its own well. It’s web-slinging fun with a very capable cast, a great load of humor – Homecoming is probably the funniest movie not named Guardians of the Galaxy – and enough interesting twists and turns to make it a worthwhile entry into the Marvel Universe.

Where it goes from here, however, remains to be seen …

OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):

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