In a cinematic landscape top-heavy with superhero movies that are essentially recycling the same story, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) was a badly needed breath of fresh air – a subversive, animated variation on the classic story of the teenager who develops superhuman powers. The twist in Spider-Verse was that it wasn’t Peter Parker who was bitten by a radioactive spider, but Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore); in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (PG) Miles realises that his emergence as an unexpected Spider-Man is causing havoc with all the other Spider-Persons who operate across the innumerable dimensions of the Spider-Verse. A complex and sophisticated story of a search for identity forms the backbone to a lovingly crafted superhero story that also explores inter-generational conflict and a variety of means of coming to terms with loss and grief, all wrapped up in an ambitious aesthetic that avails of an exhilarating blend of classic animation styles inspired by comic books and cinema alike. Smart, funny and ceaselessly inventive, Across the Spider-Verse raises the bar for the superhero flick again. (cinema release)

Source: Irish Examiner June 02, 2023 13:29 UTC