Now a little older and more comfortable in his secret identity, Miles Morales is still the same bright, personable kid we left behind after Into the Spider-Verse. He excels at school, immerses himself in the arts and makes shallow private excuses for his web-slinging adventures, but also pines for his lost friends from divergent timelines. Particularly Gwen Stacey, the Spider-Woman of a parallel universe who took a little piece of his heart when they parted ways, seemingly forever, at the climax of the first film. Well, unsurprisingly, she’s felt the same way about Miles all this time, and by imprudently using her new connections within the multiverse to drop in for a visit, she’s set motion to a potentially reality-ending disaster. Or something. Honestly, it’s a little convoluted.
Although Sony has tried to match the formula several times in the interim, there’s still nothing else that looks or moves quite like these Morales Spider-Verse films. Thoroughly hip and fresh, they flaunt their connections to the printed source while imbuing the screen with an up-tempo blast of contagious kinetic energy. It’s impossible to sit still through this, or to watch without a dazzled grin on your face... at least, not if you have the slightest bit of appreciation for classic superhero comics. As this is a sequel, and thus not altogether fresh territory, I was no longer taken by surprise, but I also wasn’t disappointed. The love and craftsmanship on display is top-shelf, from the bombastic color tones and exaggerated pinup poses in the foreground to the rich detail and Easter egg wealth that floods the scenery. It’s a worthy theater spectacle, but also promises to be a rewarding Blu-Ray rewatch, particularly in frame-by-frame mode.
That said, we do experience some growing pains. For the first hour and change, the new model is every bit as loose, free and energetic as the first. Then it gives in to the urge to get SERIOUS and CONSEQUENTIAL and the plot’s home stretch quickly grows mired under the weight of it all. The story is far too ambitious, as this chapter runs for a heavy hundred-fifty minutes and doesn’t wrap a single plot point, but the greater issue is its penchant for long, dry exposition at the cost of momentum. I don’t want to watch Gwen and Miles screech to a standstill while the older heroes breathlessly explain things. I want to watch them laugh and joke, kick out the jams (great soundtrack btw) and strike anatomically-impossible poses as they fire webs from their wrists. Plenty of that in the first hour. Much less from that point forward.
Review by drqshadowBlockedParent2023-07-10T18:55:45Z
Now a little older and more comfortable in his secret identity, Miles Morales is still the same bright, personable kid we left behind after Into the Spider-Verse. He excels at school, immerses himself in the arts and makes shallow private excuses for his web-slinging adventures, but also pines for his lost friends from divergent timelines. Particularly Gwen Stacey, the Spider-Woman of a parallel universe who took a little piece of his heart when they parted ways, seemingly forever, at the climax of the first film. Well, unsurprisingly, she’s felt the same way about Miles all this time, and by imprudently using her new connections within the multiverse to drop in for a visit, she’s set motion to a potentially reality-ending disaster. Or something. Honestly, it’s a little convoluted.
Although Sony has tried to match the formula several times in the interim, there’s still nothing else that looks or moves quite like these Morales Spider-Verse films. Thoroughly hip and fresh, they flaunt their connections to the printed source while imbuing the screen with an up-tempo blast of contagious kinetic energy. It’s impossible to sit still through this, or to watch without a dazzled grin on your face... at least, not if you have the slightest bit of appreciation for classic superhero comics. As this is a sequel, and thus not altogether fresh territory, I was no longer taken by surprise, but I also wasn’t disappointed. The love and craftsmanship on display is top-shelf, from the bombastic color tones and exaggerated pinup poses in the foreground to the rich detail and Easter egg wealth that floods the scenery. It’s a worthy theater spectacle, but also promises to be a rewarding Blu-Ray rewatch, particularly in frame-by-frame mode.
That said, we do experience some growing pains. For the first hour and change, the new model is every bit as loose, free and energetic as the first. Then it gives in to the urge to get SERIOUS and CONSEQUENTIAL and the plot’s home stretch quickly grows mired under the weight of it all. The story is far too ambitious, as this chapter runs for a heavy hundred-fifty minutes and doesn’t wrap a single plot point, but the greater issue is its penchant for long, dry exposition at the cost of momentum. I don’t want to watch Gwen and Miles screech to a standstill while the older heroes breathlessly explain things. I want to watch them laugh and joke, kick out the jams (great soundtrack btw) and strike anatomically-impossible poses as they fire webs from their wrists. Plenty of that in the first hour. Much less from that point forward.