It's an absorbing push-pull that intensifies themes only briefly touched on previously, adding a more mature tone to this relatively darker tale.įascinating as it is to observe Miles and Gwen's complex personal lives outside of the superhero game, it's no substitute for the grin-inducing, adorably playful reunion between the pair in the movie's second act.įrom their flirtatious city-swinging montage to the intimate, upside-down chat they share minutes later, their tangled relationship is the beating heart of Across the Spider-Verse.
Such scenes carry far greater weight than before, with Miles and Gwen's older and more rebellious (but not much wiser) personalities clashing with their elders' protective instincts. Seeing our primary heroes interact with their respective parents adds a substantial layer of familial drama that was slightly lacking in Into the Spider-Verse. Gwen Stacey's moody, painterly-style universe perfectly contrasts the vibrancy of Miles' home world (Image credit: Sony Pictures)
That it does so in a visually gorgeous, mood ring-style, watercolor-inspired palette – the unique art style of her universe – only adds to the emotion-fueled experience. It's a sequence that contextualizes who she is and what she fights for, and juxtaposes the fraught duality of her father-daughter relationship with the close-knit dynamic Miles shares with his parents Jefferson Davis (Brian Tyree Henry) and Rio Morales (Luna Lauren Velez).
It's a gratifying opening that fills in sizable gaps in Gwen's backstory, which was only hinted at in Into the Spider-Verse, and acts as a primer to explains her motivations throughout Across the Spider-Verse and its forebear. In fact, it's Gwen who we spend the movie's first 25 minutes with – a lengthy sequence that cements Gwen as Across the Spider-Verse's co-lead. It's the next installment in his coming-of-age story, after all, so his position as the film's central character comes as little surprise.Īnd yet, this is as much Gwen's story as it is Miles'. Across the Spider-Verse's truncated final moments take the shine off its well-structured taleĪs the movie series' protagonist, Miles is understandably the focus of Across the Spider-Verse's sweeping narrative.
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