Alright... let's do this one last time. Let's start from the beginning.

20 years from now when we look back at where movies were in the beginning of the 2020s or even late 2010s, I worry people will look back at Marvel and how saturated the market was with superhero movies & subpar VFX. Now, for the most part I won’t blame them, but through it all there has been some amazing projects that have come from it. I think at the top of that list these movies, the ‘Spiderverse’ movies should be the #1 topic for discussion. It is not only the best VFX/animation we have ever seen, but it will hold up its quality just like ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ has or like the ‘Lord of the Rings’ Trilogy has for all these years. This sequel alone is nearly a perfect movie. As of right now I have 2 problems with it and I think they will be answered in the third and final film. However, until then it is not in that ‘Blade Runner 2049’, ‘La La Land’ category. It is up there with ‘Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back’ & ‘Blade Runner 2049’, where I think this movie is better than its predecessor. Before I dive into why that is though…

Alright let’s start from the beginning let’s do this one last time…

My name is Luis Antonio Ruiz. I am a huge fucking nerd, who loves film whether it’s movies, film photography, or whatever! Since my last review a lot has changed. I live in a different city now, Dallas. I am a creative who aspires to create a safe space for any creatives. I also got a job promotion with Nike. I am a manager here at the flagship store in Dallas. It’s been a great experience and I am ready for the next level. Most importantly…

I’m back. I am finally back to writing. After so many people showing support and wanting to read my film reviews. I am back. I stopped because I was freaking myself out. I didn’t think I was good enough. I love writing. I also was going through some stuff with moving last year and jobs and just other shit. You are probably thinking well that’s when you channel your passions more!!! You aren’t wrong, but for me I feared the what if… what if one of the things I love people hate it? So, I let that consume me. However, your boy is back. Though I am still going through a change in life and life passing by so quickly, I want to stay on top of my writing. I want to tell you why you “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is OVERRATED as fuck and why ‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’ was a top 5 film of last year.

ANYWAYS…

‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse’ is this generations ‘Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back’. That sounds crazy, but the fact it was delayed twice, because of all the beautiful work being done, but it still exceeded its expectations is CRAZY! It was 5 long years and by the end of this movie it made me say “FUCK… that was worth it.” What about this movie though is so good—ASIDE from the OBVIOUS fact that the animation is 5, maybe 10 years ahead of its time. Our characters… our many, many, MANY characters. We look at them and they all have a personality. Even if they are in one scene or have one line. They have personality. They aren’t these one-dimensional ass characters. The writing is just magnificent. Phil Lord & Chris Miller don’t have a miss. I mean look at their track record: Lego movie, 21 Jump Street, Cocaine Bear. I mean it’s crazy! They know how to make a movie that is for ALL ages and that’s hard to find nowadays. The passion that every single person put in this movie just makes it so rewarding and that much more WONDERFUL! 5 years of hard work... apparently the whole scene when Miles is being chased by all the Spider-people took 4 years alone. I just can’t say enough about this movie. Let me get into a few specifics…

The animation. I believe there are over 200 different styles of animation throughout this movie. You know how absurd that is? The fact a lot of them were in the same frame at a different frame rate and it still looked like an acid trip is the biggest flex. It was flawless. The color used with specific Spider-people was comic accurate and I’m not saying the color of their suits, but the background and art styles. When Sony and Marvel put something out like this you must think going forward that with their live action projects, they have to spend more time on them with VFX and green screen, because to have a product look like this and then go back to BAD, quickly outdated CG it’s a bad look on their part.

Next, the story is simple. It’s about a person who shouldn’t be where they are. They are a mistake. Blah blah blah… We’ve seen it in some capacity many times, but the ones that succeed are because they have passionate people and great professionals in front of that camera. The voice cast does a perfect job. They add so much depth and don’t undermine emotion with humor, like we saw with ‘Thor Love & Thunder’ or ‘Ant-Man & the Wasp’. Yes, there is humor, but it’s not slapping us in the face. Lord & Miller are great with the quippy, very quick one-liners. Like c’mon… Peter Parked-Car. That shit was so fucking funny, and it went just as fast as it came. Miles Morales is a character everyone wants to see win and be happy in the end. We all want to give him a hug more so than Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. That might be a hot take, but I am so invested in Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy, and Miguel O’Hara, then I ever was with Tom Holland’s and Holland has been in how many Marvel movies? That’s how you do storytelling!

However, this movie is not perfect… Some gripes I have with it aren’t anything crazy. I believe there are some plot holes regarding the canon events and the slight “well no shit” moment where we find out he is in the wrong universe. This canon event is it the same thing as in ‘No Way Home’? How does the next and last Miles Morales movie end when we feel this is just the beginning of him? Like I said my gripes really aren’t gripes and I’m sure the plot holes will be answered in the next one, but until then it’s a 93/100 for me.

I am back. I will be writing reviews again. I promise you. Some might be short, some might be long, like this one. Others might be on Letterboxd. I’m so happy to be writing again. I’ve missed it.

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