Anthony Fantano (after having only seen the movie Beau is Afraid) watching Across the Spider-Verse: Getting a lot of Beau is Afraid vibes from this one
I loved how Gwen felt almost like a co-protagonist in the movie. She was just as interesting and compelling as Miles in my opinion. Those two also have incredible chemistry with one another.
I really felt like this was Gwen's movie in a way. The main conflict lies within Miles but the emotional weight and the biggest character arc I think deals with Gwen and her stuff. ITSV was Miles's movie, ATSV is Gwen's, and I think BTSV is a Miles/Gwen movie.
I wish more people talked about the percussion-heavy opening. It was probably the most dramatic monologue I've heard open a film and it just kept ramping up
Fun fact: the artists behind the film treated Gwen's world around her as a giant mood ring. It would shift its colors and shapes depending on Gwen's mental/emotional state. It was incredible imo, and those scenes were the most visually stunning in the whole film
Oh my God the scene with her father near the end the colors were vibrant blue and purple with the watercolors dripping and melting off the walls while Gwen was breaking down and they suddenly turned to warm orange when the dad accepted her. It was so beautiful and I've never been more moved by color in a film.
@@sergnb0 It's her hair color anyways, but I do think it is interesting how the Spider-Verse films help create Earth-65 Gwen to be a trans allegory. It was I think a great choice, now whether it has any canon implications I have no idea. But it's really nice and cool.
@@KingofKnowhere Her normal hair color has pink tones but it's mostly blonde. In that scene it's completely blue pink and white. There's also a "protect trans kids" flag in her bedroom and her father wears a trans flag pin in his police uniform. There's no doubt they were signaling at this. Now if you want to be thorough about this, it doesn't necessarily mean she is trans 100% . It could just be an indication of her character arc being an allegory commentary on the typical trans youth journey. My money is on her being trans though.
I'm just surprised Anthony didn't touch on any of Daniel Pemberton's score. It was exceptional in the first film but Across the Spider-Verse just took it above and beyond, truly one of my favorite scores in a long time.
I was listening to it last night and yeah he raises the bar so high. I mean each single moment in the film has a theme not just characters moments themselves. Like Spider Gwen has her own score and so does the Da Vinci Vulture then when the two are fighting Daniel actually mixes the two together and orchestrates it in a way in which all the action flows with the music. While listening to it literally brought me back to my seat, like it almost felt like I was watching the film again.
@@shirleytodd1 For what I know he doesn’t like it because since it’s a soundtrack the movie is part of the experiencia and separating it from it makes ir bland, he did a review for the Tron soundtrack from Daft Punk and that’s what he said it and he has said before in other videos
@@estebanmendez4277 indeed, the music is purposed to inform the movie. I tried to listen to MetroBoomin album for this movie, but it's fairly repetitive rap mostly; but that makes sense because it's meant to be back drop for moments.. but the James Blake songs are great
@@YGacsWe could just wish. As for now, Sony could rush the third movie because they're just in for the money while the animators, Chris and Lord work their ass off to give us another masterpiece.
I really like the allegory of the “cannon events” because I think in a sense it sort of represents how many black teens have a sort of story told for them. Depending on where we’re from or our situation we are often placed in a box on what our stories could be. We at least on a social level don’t always get to choose our own patg
Facts bro. Part of me feels like certain scenes hit for the young black people watching this in a different way than other folks, and it was handled beautifully
Yeah I think the parent meeting at school about Miles’ story and having it written out for him was a good thematic element that teases at the main conflict well
I agree. For Miles, his story is already predetermined with “canon”, as for us black teens/adults in the real world, we aren’t given a clean slate. The world has already predicted that we would be nice at basketball and predicted our tax bracket.
So just to educate y’all on why Miles was very disliked when he was introduced I wanna touch on a few points. 1. His initial appearance in the comics. 2. The problems with his character that made it hard to root for him. 3. What Into, the Spider-Verse did to FIX the issues in regards to his character writing. 1.Miles is from Earth-1610. Earth-1610 is the Ultimate Universe, which is distinctly NOT the mainline universe. The mainline universe is Earth-616 I.E Peter b. Parkers universe. In the original version of miles story, roughly the same thing happens to his Peter Parker minus the the multiverse shenanigans. He’s then introduced as the new Spider-Man in the Ultimate comics. 2. So the main issue most people (not all) had with Miles in the initial comic storyline was that he didn’t have any unique character traits that separated him from Peter Parker. It seemed like the writers were introducing him for the sake of diversity which while a nice gesture didn’t save Miles from bad writing unfortunately. 3.However, Into The Spider-Verse fixes this problem through the character known as Uncle Aaron. Miles interest in Graffiti through his uncle helps him distinguish himself from peter. It places him in a part of New York culture that Peter was never apart of. He also incorporates his love for graffiti into his suit design making which is wildly different from the comics and fantastic change. Lastly, having an older Peter Parker train a young Miles is PERFECT. Miles isn’t suddenly good at being Spider-Man like in the comics, he gradually learns how to manage his powers. He grows as a person and as Spider-Man through Peter. Its what makes the leap of faith scene in the first movie so powerful. You see Miles having actual character growth which in previous media we never got before. I’m happy sony took a relatively disliked character and did a complete 180, and because of it Miles is not only a better character, but a FANTASTIC ONE. 🕸️❤ Edit: it has come to my attention that not everyone agrees with this take which is fine. Not everyone has the same opinion or consumes media the same way. There are things my friends and I remember fondly where the general consensus is quite the opposite. If you enjoyed Miles in the comics thats perfectly fine, but most people didn’t. Either way we can all agree that Spiderverse Miles is far and away the best version of the character.
@@ezzekieldirks8542 My personal favorite is Miguel O’Hara AKA Spider-Man 2099. His suit design, his unique powers, and very interesting take on on classic Spider-Man villains. I also love the dystopian future setting of Nueva York. My second pick would either be Noir or OG Ultimate Spider-Man (the ps2 game was my childhood). Then i’d put Miles though I can’t decide which version I like better. Spider-verse Miles or Video game Miles. (Leaning towards Spider-Verse Miles but I love video game Miles too)
Genuinely one of the more insightful reviews to come out for this movie this early. I would also add that this feels like the purest "spiderman" character, having to juggle not only the spiderman life vs real life and a romantic relationship, but also a relationship with his parents as well as the expectations of so many of his mentors resting on his shoulders.
@@Fernando_616 I haven't. I guess I'm more speaking of the canon of the films where Spidey is a young, inexperienced character trying to master his skills while balancing so many plates at the same time.
@@_icy4342 I appreciate that you acknowledged that, and that’s ok if you’re not familiar. The things you mentioned are nothing new to the Parker character either, but you wouldn’t know that from recent Spidey comics. These distinct similarities are what have led many, including myself, to view Miles as nothing more than an ethnic copycat of Peter. These films however, they change all that for me. They show me how interesting of a character Miles can be, even with his strong attachment to the Parker character as a template. They also reiterate a saying I learned in basic training long ago; there are no poor ideas, just poor execution
I loved you in ' Into the Spiderverse.' Your portrayal of the t̶i̶t̶u̶l̶a̶r̶ comic book villain "kingpin" was phenomenal! Hope you continue your acting career
@Dev look man, I barely passed elementary school. Also, doesn't it mean something/someone borrowed from another popular work of art/whatever? The movies used kingpin, a character originally from the comics, so wouldn't it work in this context?
I feel like the Spiderverse films really saved the Miles Morales character and really defined him as a completely different character than Peter Parker. Because in the original comics and pre Spiderverse media Miles really did just feel like a tokenized version of Peter Parker that was trying to live up to a mantle that for years had been worn by a character that was seen as just as important as the hero itself. Both of these films took all of that past history and criticism for the character and made it apart of his story and struggles. This created an individual that is no longer under the shadow of the original character but is instead standing right beside him.
@@Jay-pd9kc There's a scene where Spider Man 2099 calls him "the original anomaly" and is telling him how he doesn't belong" and "was never supposed to exist" and "will never be a real Spider-Man". The comic book character Miles Morales received a lot of backlash just based on the premise that he was a race swapped character, especially a black one. Leading up to Spider verse one, there was a lot of outcry from people with this opinion denouncing this movie and it's legitimacy because Miles would never be a "real" iteration of Spider-Man to them. 2099's words in the film echoed those opinions.
@@orewayasuke888 I think the PS4 game did a lot to establish and legitimise Miles as his own version of Spider-Man, and the coming PS5 sequel is leaning on that too.
So much of superhero fandom is shackled by canon's and lore, and for Miles to embody this sort of deconstructionist anti-fatalism was so refreshing. I did not see that sort of metanarrative coming, nor expect it to be so well done. 10 empanadas out of 10.
I love how the movie essentially through Miles asks and combats the question of "Does Spider-Man need trauma to be Spider-Man?". How Miles is opposing this held belief of grief and trauma make Spider-Man. The chase scene following Miguel telling Miles his dad is going to die and he can't do anything about it were my favorite parts of the movie.
Into The Spider-Verse was the best movie of the decade (alongside Mad Max: Fury Road). And Across The Spider-Verse was leaps and bounds ahead of the animated, cinematic spectrum. I hope the Oscars recognize it as a Best Picture nominee.
Holy hell I never thought I'd seen someone having the same opinion. Alongside Spiderverse, Fury Road still is one of the best movies of that decade for me. Amazing
The scene you mentioned between Gwen and her father was actually breathtaking. I heard that the art directors wanted her world to shift like a mood ring, which explains why Gwen is purple/blue during the arguments w her father. When they eventually make amends the screen turns a pale white, which imo implies they’re starting a new page of their relationship. So beautiful I need to see it a third time
Saw this movie the other night and it was amazing. Even better than the first somehow. Every time a villain was on screen or something stressful happened, the bass was going crazy in the theater. Also the use of colors and how the background ties into the music is crazy! They broke ALL boundaries for this movie
There’s some truly awful movie critics out there. Like how is Chris Stuckmann famous for movie reviews when he doesn’t say anything of value about the movie at all. Or Grace Randolph who gets everything wrong about every movie and edits like a third grader.
The best kind of social commentary is one that you can relate to even though it isn't specifically catered to your identity. Gwen isn't explicitly gay or trans but these communities are flocking to her because her arc is so relatable and they see her as their own. While I personally found Miles' struggle to 'do his own thing' more relatable to what I'm going through right now than any bullshit asian stand in character they keep trying to shove in my face. Identity is a disingenuous way to try to relate to the audience and a well defined character will always find a way to connect to them. I'll have to wait and see if I enjoy re-watching this film as much as Into the Spider verse or Spirited Away, but a few days in, this definitely feels like the best thing I've ever seen.
I wish more people were as thoughtful and open minded as this; your comment reminds me of a vid here on the tube by MovieBoB regarding the original Transformers movie from 1986. He discusses the films actual intent, why it was made versus what it did for a generation and how it was received. Then begs the question; is one really more important than the other in the long run? Worth a look
I really like how Miguel's obsession with canon basically criticizes modern comic book writers and their insistence that Spider-Man can never be happy and evolve as a character from stuff besides tragedy.
Yes!! I love that you brought up the background art with Gwen’s conversation with her father. Just watched it last night and that part stuck with me the most too.
This movie used some really great animation and used it in scenes super well. When Gwen saw her dad at the end, the colors were super trippy but made it almost see. More emotional rather than just making things dark and grimy.
genuinely cried for about 15 minutes during the movie because of the animation being so beautiful and for another 20 from all the emotional scenes so i literally cried for 25% of the movie
The tonal shift when spot goes to the collider is something else visually and the score that plays probably one of the best scenes I’ve seen Spot is the coolest villain I’ve seen in years
I think one of the most commendable aspects of the movie is that, despite being almost 2 and a half hours long, the film felt exponentially slower. There really wasn’t slow point at all
I was hoping he would talk about Metro's album more as the soundtrack. The vibe of each song perfectly matched the vibe of the scene-- so much that I can visualize the part from the movie just by listening to the song (Hummingbird is criminally underrated).
loving all the recent movie review, also can't wait for beyond yeah, i think the theme is quite clear. miguel even said to miles "you don't belong here" the reference of that sentence is quite clear
The film has all the elements to make a story engaging. Great realistic writing, very interestintg plot that keeps you hooked, amazing visuals to always entertain and amaze you and the biggest part a set of characters so well developed that you truly feel like you get to watch another universe unfold before your eyes. For now, it has become my favourite movie of all time. Not even close
I keep catching clips of Into the Spider-Verse and I can't help but feel the pacing was just off in some really pivotal moments. There's so little room for that pre-climax, where Miles is listening to his dad talk to him through the door to his dorm room, to breathe and sink in before the audio flashback of the same conversation bumps in. it felt like there were whole scenes missing, whereas Across the Spider-Verse feels so intentional the whole way through. There are so many character arcs, the beats of which flow almost effortlessly between each other to land on very satisfying conclusions. Every moment felt so purposeful, from start to finish. So much so that, even though I could have stayed in the theatre holding my pee for an extra three hours to see the conclusion, I still could watch ATSV by itself over and over again and still call it the outright best film I've ever seen. I still don't want to spoil anything, I think this movie is worth the first experience, but there's a great example I like to use of one character saying a line which hints at their deeper involvement in the overarching situation. "I can do BOTH," he says, and that sentiment is echoed verbatim when we get to the turning point of Miles' journey of understanding his role in all this. They seriously spared no expense in representing these characters through the medium which they're being presented through. Spider-Man 2099's theme alone is so indicative of who he was before, who he is as we see him, and who he will be within Miles' story. It's really that good. It's so, so good. I'm completely sold on Miles Morales as the new face of Spider-Man.
I think the final revelations a re more hinted to than predictable. I have seen the film twice now, and having failed to guess THAT certain twist on the first watch, on the second one I noticed some details color wise that nodded towards that big twist that for eagle eyed viewers would indeed give away the reveal, but in a way where it congratulates any viewer for being sharp eyed enough to catch it. Pretty fucking brilliant. These films are among the best of all time and they mean a lot to me as both a film lover and Spider-Man fan. Can’t wait for part 3 😝
One of the insane details my monkey brain noticed, when Miles is being chased up the orbital moon highway thing in the 2099 universe, he goes to shoot a web and has nothing to grab onto so the web just flies away like silly string. I'm 99.9% certain that shot is a 1:1 recreation of the first-person shot in the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie when Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man is first learning to shoot webs.
Oh my God I was hoping you’d do a video on this. I absolutely loved this film! It’s even more bold and groundbreaking than the first. I knew it was a part 1 going into it, so I had no qualms with the ending
Yeah, the Gwen seen is awesome. I was like wow the animation is reflecting the emotional intensity, with the color choice getting more vivid. Great stuff
Nice review Anthony. I definitely see your point of view and I really like what you had to say. I think the movie is good too, but also visually I thought it may have been trying to accomplish too much at once and some scenes didn’t really look great to me, maybe even slightly rushed and not fully realized (probably because of time restraints), but I still appreciate the attempt to go where they did because it’s a really difficult thing to pull off. It sort of had a very experimental approach in that sense where some ideas really work and others don’t hit as hard and that’s perfectly ok. I’d rather they take the risks they did than play it safe. For the most part I do feel they made something very dynamic and artful with a compelling, fun and interesting story too. I also almost cried in certain scenes so I’m glad I’m not alone in that lol. Can’t wait to see the next one because that was a great cliffhanger and interesting direction the story is taking. I’d give it a strong 8- light 9 overall.
Across The Spider-Verse answered so many questions about the first one that I didn't even realize I had. What a movie, I'm so happy (and completely shocked) that Across the Spider-Verse ended up being BETTER than the first movie, which was absolutely incredible. Side note: Miles as Prowler and Spot are the two coolest characters of all time
This movie was such a delight! I watched it twice in cinema already. It's kind of amazing how many "I'd watch a whole movie with that character/in that world/in that artstyle." can introduce while still definitely being cohesive.
Just saw it a half an hour ago, and I loved everything about it. The animation, the characters, the twists, were all perfect. It answered many questions we’ve had about Miles, and the “spider verse” as a whole. Definitely one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time, and it’s only part one, so I can’t imagine what part two will bring.
I'm surprised you didn't dive into the score, and how it changes and highlights certain motifs or instruments with some of the characters. Like Gwen and her drums for example.
Memes aside, i really love your reviews on movies, i find them better than many other movie reviewers, you just have a good and eloquent way of talking about things without rambling and for the most part i relate to your opinions and comparisons. Would love if you do more
Im a filmmaker, specifically a film student, but I started out in animation. Originally I wanted to get a career in animating television shows since I grew up in an era where the film industry was slowly pushing out other animated mediums in favor of 3D CG animation or the Pixar style of animation. It was an animation form that I slowly grew to hate because of its push to make everything look as realistic as possible even though animation was actually developed as a form of filmmaking that could do things that you couldn’t do in live action. Then a year later I saw Into The Spiderverse in theaters and it blew my mind. Literally after seeing it I thought “Yeah, this is the future of animation” and I was right. Later on the team that worked on Spiderverse did Mitchells Vs The Machines, then Arcane came out on Netflix, then Dreamworks released The Bad Guys and Puss In Boots The Last Wish. Now we’re back in the Spiderverse and it has pushed that bar further than ever before. After the movie ended I turned to my brother who I was watching the movie with and said “I don’t know what Disney is doing but they should be doing this because this is going to win an Oscar”
I just watched it today. The way they handled the character emotions through both music and visual aids was great. The first one was amazing and this one was no different. I didn't know there was going to be a third, so the ending left me a bit upset, but now I'm excited for the next one. Edit: well shit, the Gwen and dad scene is exactly what I was thinking of as far as visual+music goes
So glad that you brought up the Everything Everywhere All At Once comparison. I loved EEAAO, I loved the first Spider-verse, and I was so happy to see this movie go in a similar direction.
The score for the movie was awesome the Spider-Man 2099 theme the spot theme and the prowler theme are some of the best themes I’ve heard ever. I think it’s the best comic book movie ever made I think it’s great how when they introduced new Spider-Man’s they showed they comic books they were based on just overall felt like a true comic book movie
14:38 yeah that was phenomenal Really glad to see you loved this film this much, I'm so happy kids can grow up watching this, really really great stuff.
Really loved Across the Spider-verse. Hoping to see it again sometime this week, because not only I really enjoyed the movie, I want to see how many other cameos I missed . Hope you review the album soundtrack from Metro Boomin, I thought it fit well for the film.
I think the film not also talk about the Trolley Problem, but it also talks about Determinism vs Free Will. Do we really think the universe has a set of “canon events” that each person has to follow? No, I think the multiverse is more chaotic than that. Varying decisions, varying worlds, varying pathways is the reason why there are multiverses in the first place. Things are supposed to crack in different directions. I think the reason why that universe that Miguel destroyed disappeared in the first place is because he chose to go into a universe that had his family and where his version there died. He chose to live out that Miguel’s life, who was supposed to be dead. His decisions in that universe is why things went out of whack. And he lost his family a second time. Because of tremendous guilt and shame, he created the Spider Society and made a convoluted explanation to what happened. He was the anomaly.
This movie was amazing! From the opening sequence with Gwen and her dad + the fight with the old-timey vulture, I was hooked from the get go. After No Way Home I believed Tom was the best executed portrayal of what it truly means to be spiderman, but after this movie and the next one (assuming the consistency stays the same) I wouldn’t be surprised if Miles became my favorite version of spidey. Such a great movie
9:40 Speaking of parallels to Everything Everywhere..., did you happen to notice the billboard with a bagel and the phrase "All of It Always All Over the Place"?
I remember writing a comment to you Anthony like a month ago asking for your opinion on movies! Don’t we all wish all of life worked like that? Ask and you receive in a month
Took my 3 year old to it dressed as miles. We both loved it. Incredible story, music and visuals. Like you said it’s so much to process after one viewing I’m going to go again later this week.
The first one was so good, SO GOOD, I was JACKED for this one. And it was also very good. Didn't quite get to the heights of the first one for me - I felt that one told a better story, had better pacing, etc, but this second one was no slump. Although absolutely slaughtered by the visual side come the end, it was amazing what they pulled off. So creative. Looking forward to the Blu-ray and a rewatch to fully take everything in - there's a lot.
That's valid I'm kinda the same, although the second part in conjunction with this one will probably outshine the first one for me, although that's not really a fair comparison. I think i preferred the vibe of this one so much more, but the story of the first and how refreshing it was hits a tiny bit harder.
I love this movie. Since leaving the theater I have had introspection about the importance of parental presence in you life. As well as, needing proper guidance and how fear of communication creates tense situations with the ones you love. Learning to break the chain and setting a new standard when everything around you says otherwise. Also, just believing in fate, believing in yourself. It makes me wonder if their are other version of us living lives out there? Are we all connected by linked events. Are their other versions of me that have seen my pain or experienced different types. And the music Metro!!
Not sure if this will be seen but I love how faithful the movie is to the comic book material. The spider-gwen universe looks exactly like her comic book series, as far as linework and color palette. Very thoughtful
@@micejoint132 Nah great films are constantly coming out just like great music, it's just that a lot of people don't go out and support these films. Beau is Afraid which fantano reviewed is an example of this, that film bombed and didn't do terribly well.
