Who would ever have imagined that my favourite film of 2023 would be a MARVEL film? Not me. I don’t think any Marvel film has ever even made my list, let alone reached number one. A Hollywood blockbuster, no less, aimed at a young audience (that’s not me). An animated superhero film about high school kids! “How is this possible,” you ask? Well, in six words: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ‘is a sublime work of art!’ I was riveted, and blown away, from start to finish as I watched this amazing masterpiece unfold on the largest loudest screen in New Brunswick. No other film this year even came close. Such film-watching experiences are rare for me. I was reminded of how I felt after watching Star Wars in 1977 (the score of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse got into my very bones, moving me the way the score of Star Wars moved me). Even last year’s incredible Everything Everywhere All at Once couldn’t compare. I left the theatre completely numb. THIS is what filmmaking is about. THIS is the kind of film that has the power to change the world, not least because it’s a blockbuster masterpiece aimed at a young audience.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse offers the ‘marvel’ of watching the most breathtaking animation I’ve ever seen while listening to a brilliant, overwhelming (in the best way) dynamic score, both of which serve a top-notch story full of humour, intelligence, humanization, moving drama and action. Regular readers know that I’m generally not a fan of action, and most superhero films have far too much action, as if the story is just an excuse for the long action scenes. In Across the Spider-Verse, the action serves the story, not the other way around. And when that action is mixed with the glorious score and gorgeous animation, it takes my breath away instead of boring me the way action often does.
I enjoyed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but the story in Across the Spider-Verse feels much deeper, more thought-provoking and more mature to me. Critical to my appreciation is the fact that this film is not just the story of Miles Morales but also of Gwen. Gwen is a terrific character and Hailee Steinfeld does a wonderful job with her voice. The twenty-minute opening scene of Across the Spider-Verse, which is about Gwen, is a mind-blowing mini-film that highlights dark themes like loneliness and fear along with lighter themes like family and community. It’s much more heartfelt and compelling than the otherwise entertaining opening of Into the Spider-Verse. And while all Spider-Man films challenge redemptive violence in one way or another, Across the Spider-Verse does this in particularly unique ways.
Other major themes that resonated with me were diversity, connection, good and evil, the ‘hero’s journey’ and fathers. I’m not sure how big an influence the latter had on my enjoyment of the film, but as a father and grandfather, that major theme in the film might have found some resonance.
Final note: Was I annoyed by the fact that this film is PART ONE?? You bet I was. But even that couldn’t stop it from being my number one film of 2023.