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Drawing from inspirations beyond the comic book world as diverse as Abstract Expressionism, storybook illustrations, ballet and punk, “Across the Spider-Verse” is a stunning blend of artistic traditions with a gleefully disruptive attitude. Thompson, written by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Dave Callaham, contains every element of what made the first one so compelling - not just the characters but the eye-popping production design of Patrick O’Keefe and perfectly calibrated music by Daniel Pemberton - while evolving the aesthetic and story into a darker, edgier place. The sequel, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. The film also pushed mainstream animation style into something more sophisticated and artful, drawing on the style of traditional comic book illustration and melding it with digital aesthetics and modern art to create a wholly unique piece of work that still managed to center the story of Spider-Man Miles Morales ( Shameik Moore) while self-reflexively satirizing the long and rich lore of the many other Spider-People. The dazzling Oscar-winning animated feature evolved what a comic book movie could be, both visually and narratively, using the animation medium to create an immersive cinematic experience that felt like jumping into the rapidly flipping pages of a comic book, with an addictively propulsive rhythm that only digital technology could create. It’s an overused and hyperbolic phrase online, but in retrospect, it seems that 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” was a true cultural reset, especially when it comes to comic book movies.
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