Five-star masterpieces, show me everything

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which came out five years ago, has been hailed by many as the most groundbreaking American animation in history for two reasons. One is that it creates a visual spectacle rarely seen in the history of animation.

The rich colors based on New York graffiti art, the action passages that subvert the laws of physics, and the cyberpunk-style sci-fi style are organically integrated to bring people an unforgettable experience on the big screen.

The second is that it completes the reconstruction of the superhero myth in the framework of the superhero story. The multiverse setting has created multiple Spider-Men with very different identities, each experiencing their own trauma and helplessness.

The uniqueness and transhumanity of superheroes are dissolved, replaced by more realistic and human growth stories.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Shooting a sequel to such a work is a difficult task. The degree of innovation of the previous work has reached the level of film history, can we still make breakthroughs on this basis?

The creators of "Spider-Man: Across the Universe" gave the answer: yes. Their strategy, simply put, is to push all the innovation points of the first part one step further—not a small step, but a big step.

The opening paragraph of "Across the Universe" reflects the ambition of the main creators. The female Spider-Man Gwen tells how she accidentally killed her best friend and became a sinner pursued by her father who was a police officer.

This sets the tone for the entire film: you'll see a story that's more complex, darker, and deeper into humanity and destiny than its predecessor.

The main plot of "Across the Universe" continues the growth journey of the protagonist Miles in the first episode. Already fifteen years old, he has to be an ordinary teenager patiently to meet his parents' expectations, and at the same time, he has to be Spider-Man behind his parents' back to punish evil in New York.

How to balance the two contradictory identities of ordinary people and superheroes haunt him.

Gwen, who once fought side by side, suddenly comes to Miles and takes him into an elite team of countless Spider-Men from different universes. Miles thought he had found his belonging, but then a shocking outburst of secrets completely turned his already established self-identity upside down:

He originally became Spider-Man due to a false coincidence, which now threatens the survival of the entire Spider-Universe.

If he wants to continue to be Spider-Man, he must let his father die, so as to ensure the safety of the entire universe. Miles had to make a difficult choice between personal affection and heroism.

In the previous game, Miles stepped from childhood to adolescence. Although his growth process reflects the humanity of anti-superheroes, the overall structure of the story still does not jump out of the conventional thinking of superhero movies.

Miles leveled up and fought monsters along the way, while searching for his own identity. In the end, he is capable and psychologically competent for Spider-Man, and also completes his self-identity through superhero status.

The first half of the story of "Across the Universe" continues Miles' journey of growth. This time, he experienced a metamorphosis from adolescence to adulthood. Like other fifteen-year-olds, he has a strong rebellion against his parents' will, and Spider-Man's identity makes him feel that he is old enough to be independent from home.

But he was afraid of hurting his parents' feelings and fell into a dilemma. This highly realistic portrayal of the parent-child relationship forms the core thread of the first half of the story.

Taking character portrayal as the core of the story progression is the boldest breakthrough of this game compared to the previous game.

In "Parallel Universe", the struggle between the hero and the villain is the main line of the story from beginning to end, and although the character portrayal has realistic connotations, it is only a side dish. "Across the Universe" makes the character's mental journey the main dish, and the plot line of the struggle also serves to shape the character.

The three main antagonists of Miles in the film - Spot, Miguel and Uncle Allen - are not simple villains. They are inextricably entangled with Miles' Spider-Man identity.

The main creator designed these three characters to have conflicts and struggles with Miles, not just to create a commercial drama conflict between heroes and enemies.

The more important purpose is to create a moral dilemma for Miles, to promote his spiritual growth, and to dig deep into the contradictions between his inner self and the external world. It can be said that almost all the dramatic conflicts in the story of "Across the Universe" are the externalization of Miles' inner conflicts.

Replacing strong plot driven with character drivers is a bold move in the narrative of superhero movies.

This also makes the pace of "Across the Universe" slower than most superhero movies, and the plot arrangement does not strictly follow the causal logic of commercial drama practice, but prefers to the paragraph-based construction mode of art film. Each plot point pursues the psychological development of the characters first, rather than the compact stimulation of the plot.

Superhero films have always been selling story as a selling point, and "Into the Spider" does not violate this principle, and the character-driven narrative of "Across the Universe" is likely to dissuade a large audience that puts entertainment first. It's a big adventure for it.

However, with its refined play and just the right rhythm control, "Across the Universe" also maintains a high degree of dramatic compactness. The 140-minute length is at the forefront of historical animated films, but no scene is redundant.

Directors can always accurately present an action scene or a strong plot contradiction scene when the pace is too slow to maintain watchability. Therefore, the film as a whole is a model of the balance between entertainment and art.

"Across the Universe" sacrifices a certain degree of plot compactness in exchange for full and profound character shaping. This is especially true in the second half of the film. Miles finds himself as Spider-Man, causing far more damage than the people he ever saved. His actions threaten the timeless rules of the Spider-Universe - each Spider-Man must sacrifice his closest people in exchange for the harmony and stability of the universe as a whole. Once the rules are broken, it will trigger the destruction of the universe.

For Miles, his original Spider-Man identity collapsed. For the first time, he saw that Spider-Man's world was far from being as ideal and simple as he believed, but a cold and cruel testing ground. Miles is like every teenager who has just entered the adult world, and his pure and passionate faith is shattered by the social rules of complex reality.

For the first time, the world has lifted its black veil and revealed its true face. All choices have a price, all gains come with sacrifices, nothing is perfect, and the background of life is pain and regret.

This is a reality that the teenager must accept, and all he can do is adapt to the cruelty of life. Undergoing a rite of passage and becoming a part of society is his only way forward.

There are no absolute villains in "Across the Universe", and there is no clear good or evil. All people act and decide for compelling reasons for justice. If you define the villain in "Across the Universe" in a relative concept, it can only be the identity of Spider-Man.

Everyone who becomes Spider-Man bears the values imposed by this identity - for the peaceful survival of the entire universe, Spider-Man must sacrifice his ego. To be a Spider-Man is no longer a black-and-white justice, but must endure a moral dilemma. This is a microcosm of real society, a reflection of real life.

Whether to protect the ego or take care of the overall situation, there is no absolute right between the two, it all depends on the audience's own values. Just as each of us has to face countless unforgettable moral choices in the journey of life.

"Across the Universe" removes Spider-Man's heroic aura and pushes the idealism and righteous belief represented by superheroes into a gray swamp that cannot be broken. It's a bigger adventure than a character-driven narrative, as Spider-Man's die-hard fans are likely to want to see great and bright heroes rather than enter the dark zone of confusion between good and evil.

However, character depth and artistic value are the first pursuit of the creators of "Across the Universe". The film's deep excavation of the relationship between individuals, groups and society, and the multi-faceted thinking on the relativity of morality and justice, have far surpassed the genre of superhero movies and reached the connotation level of excellent art films.

At the same time, emotionally, the ups and downs of the fate of the characters in "Across the Universe" also erupted with a classical tragic impact. Miles and Gwen are like Hamlet, fighting their final struggle in the shackles of fate.

At the visual level, the film continues all the iconic elements of the previous work and has been fully upgraded.

The glittering of graffiti art is still dazzling, the storyboards and dynamics of the action scenes are more magnificent and gorgeous, and the complexity and schedulings of many long shots and scene scheduling are no less complex and exquisite than live-action movies.

However, compared to its predecessor, Universe has two of its most impressive visual innovations. The first is to integrate the Western expressionist oil painting style.

The colors, textures and compositions of expressionism reflect a richer and deeper symbolism, often appearing in the key passages that shape the characters, externalizing the complexity of the characters' personalities and the struggles of the depths of the soul.

Expressionist style picture

The second is the styling and action design of the two characters of Blob and Punk Spider-Man. Both in terms of technology and imagination, it has reached the height of expanding the boundaries of animation.

speck

Punk Spider-Man

At the end of the film, Miles discovers a darker secret. His bar mitzvah is far from over.

It is conceivable that in the next sequel, the main creator will probably let the characters go through a more cruel spiritual purgatory and continue to explore the deep waters of reality and human nature.

"Across the Universe" has surpassed its predecessor and forged an unprecedented superhero classic, but the peak has yet to come.