You may remember when Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse hit theaters this past summer amid widespread critical acclaim. Critical coverage of the movie — Ann Hornoday of the Washington Post, for instance, called it “an alternately chaotic and trite narrative” — was minor in comparison to glowing raves of the animation style, the successful expansion of the prequel (Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse)and the way it showcases Marvel minus the tired superhero tropes. Hornoday spotlit the animation later on in her review: “It’s an extravagant, very cool love letter to graphic design, executed with superb draftsmanship and giddy, infectious joy.” And Entertainment Weekly writer Christian Holub said that although the prequel set a high bar for the sequel, it “totally [exceeded] expectations when it comes to visual aesthetic and character development.”
I hitched a ride on the hype train when the movie came out and proceeded to watch it twice (in theaters over the summer, and at the Union when UT Showtime screened it in October). Even though I’m not a longtime Marvel fan — I didn’t read the comics and I entered my Iron Man/early Avenger era only after Spider-Man: Homecoming came out — I loved the movie. I was blown away by the animation and tickled by the humor and resonant characters, letting that overshadow my confusion with the elaborate plot and slowww beginning.
So, you might imagine how excited I was when it came to Netflix last Wednesday. I took the opportunity to watch some of my favorite scenes and once again fell into the striking visual beauty of the animation, frame after frame of color and vibrancy. But what I found surprisingly great about the movie’s new streaming accessibility was, in fact, the subtitles.
Both times I saw Across the Spider-verse were in non-subtitled theaters. When I watch stuff at home on streaming, I basically always rely on those handy closed captions. And when I did so for this movie, I realized there are SO MANY quips and asides the characters make, especially during the busy action-fight sequences, that can easily go unnoticed unless you have Netflix captions calling attention to it. Those subs (plus the intimate nature of watching a movie in your own space, without the crowd around you) helped me finally understand parts of the plot — character personalities and motivations, and the fundamental problems they were facing — in ways I didn’t think I could after having seen the film twice before.
That being said, if you have Netflix and if you have time, consider going back and giving Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse a watch. It’s highly entertaining and lives up to the hype, and who knows? If you were confused before, it might make a little more sense this time around!