Spider-Man: Why Spider-Verse Worked Where No Way Home FAILED

Spider-Man is one of the most popular characters in pop culture and has been for some time even before the big explosion of superhero movies in the mainstream odds were if someone was going to name a superhero it was going to be Batman Superman or Spider-Man and because of this in the past 20 years we have got nine Spider-Man movies with a tenth coming out this year the character has defined so much of the perception of superheroes because he is the one that most people can directly relate to he isn't a billionaire except for that one time when he was he doesn't have powers that make him more powerful than God except for that one time that he did he's just a regular guy one of the other huge things pushing Spider-Man to the Forefront of the popularity contest of superheroes is that his entire body is covered by his suit you can see Superman's face you can see Batman's jawline you can tell kind of who they are but with Spider-Man anyone can wear the mask it doesn't matter who you are or what you look like you too could be Spider-Man so when adapting this character and bringing in the larger idea of the spider verse what choices have to be made to keep all of this relatability there you're taking a concept that is a little out there but still grounded in the problems of day-to-day life and throwing it into the full-blown reality of Science Fiction that science fiction will then amplify those problems now we love to talk about character and the impact the characters have on their respective stories on the channel because that's what makes us care that's what makes the audience care for a story so when looking at the two Spider-Man movies that have already come out that involve the spider verse what are the strengths of the one that highlight why the other isn't as effective in dealing with the Multiverse and all of these problems how does that one film make us care for the character of Spider-Man in all of their forms how does it make us feel the weight of being a kid from Queens or Brooklyn or wherever just in over their head how does Spider-Man into the spider-verse succeed at the whole Multiverse storytelling thing where Spider-Man no way home failed and if you want to create something this great you need to stay sharp and there's no better way to do that than with this video sponsor brilliant the way you learn with brilliant is super intuitive and easy their lesson layout and way of engaging with you is super effective and makes learning new things on a daily basis so easy and this kind of learning has been proven to be six times more efficient than the traditional and boring lectures people sit through everything you learn in brilliant you learn by doing creating drag and drop coding forming charts and graphs and so much more the way they present everything makes even the most abstract ideas easy to understand and relate to so at the end of the day you'll actually understand what you're learning which isn't that the whole point of learning you want to be able to practice it so to try everything really brilliant has to offer free for a full 30 days visit brilliant.org filmspeak or click on the link in the description the first 200 of you will get 20 off Brilliance annual premium subscription again that's brilliant.org filmspeak for a free 30-day trial and thank you so much to brilliant for sponsoring this video off the bat I think something needs to be addressed about the core identities of these two films spider-verse was constructed from the ground up as a movie featuring The Multiverse at its core it was always going to be a story about Miles Morales and figuring out how to be yourself but for this movie that Journey was always going to involve different spider people coming into the world and helping miles it wasn't just a gimmick they threw in there in order to have cool cameos and all of that no it was actually an integral part of that story they used it as a tool the case of no way home is actually a bit different it's interesting because initially it didn't even start out as a spider-verse move movie there were so many rumors circulating that the plot was involving Craven the Hunter and the chameleon teaming up to take down the webbed Wonder but soon the idea of bringing in Dr Octopus was put on the table the thing is you're not going to top Alfred Molina in that role so they basically were just like all right let's uh let's just get Alfred Molina and they started talking about how they could bring that character into this story and instead of just saying he looks the same in this universe they went with this needlessly over complicated idea of spider-verse in the alternate reality where they didn't follow this idea and we did get a one Universe centered Spider-Man movie with Craven and down the line it came out that there was the potential to see all the past live-action Spider-Man on the screen let's be real everyone would be a little upset he stinks and I don't like it it's just one of those ideas that's too good to be true and like something that everyone would have wanted to see but outside of that initial wow factor it doesn't feel as though it's furthering this story if they really wanted to go with the idea of bringing in all the past Spider-Man then maybe they should have figured out a way to make it work and that actually serviced all of the characters because you know what's better than those actors reprising their roles as the characters giving those characters something to do taking them to the next level showing that they have growth left inside of them but let's focus in on Peter and Miles respectively interestingly both of these stories are about finding yourself for Miles he feels as though he has to live up to the idea of Peter Parker's Spider-Man the one who died in his universe and for MCU Peter he has to come into his own as a hero which for a Trilogy Capper is a bit strange to get your main character to where they're supposed to be from the first one but that's one of the odd things about the MCU this interpretation of the character fits well into the Marvel Cinematic Universe but feels a bit odd in the larger landscape of Spider-Man movie I'll give him credit for doing something different but to drag out your character's origin over the course of three films just seems like a weird idea when we meet Peter in Civil War he's seemingly already Spider-Man he already understands the whole great power great responsibility thing we just haven't seen it and I guess the films don't want to mention Uncle Ben either but anyways we have a Spider-Man that already exists and that is given Cool Tech from Tony Stark and that's how he gets the better costume and all that he's already gone through the origin and so throughout the course of his Trilogy he's going in circles learning things that you think he would know if he's already Spider-Man and it's just a bit messy in all over the place with miles it's pretty clear-cut it's a coming-of-age film and he has to learn that anyone can be Spider-Man that he is worthy to wear the mask he can be this symbol of hope not only for Brooklyn but for the entirety of New York City now that doesn't mean that he stops growing obviously but the origin the with great power comes great responsibility is already established he learns what he needs to do he's gone through the inciting incident we're not dragging it out and I know people kind of like the fact that the Tom Holland Spider-Man trilogy is this three-part origin story and that's fine if you like it cool I just think it feels like they retroactively decided to make it in origin Trilogy rather than actually organically making it An Origin Trilogy now each Ramey film spider-verse and even the web films feel quintessentially New York there have been many stories that take Spidey out of New York City but there is something to be said about giving the city that much character people don't really know how to feel about the Webhead with the constant bad press he gets juxtaposed with people seeing him help and save everyone all the time it informs a lot of the choices these characters make and allowing us to exist in a world that feels alive is always exciting in spider-verse Brooklyn feels alive it actually feels like the burrow that it's depicting it feels like a place we need to save because we know the people there miles as parents the kids at school the city that is mourning the loss of Spider-Man every corner of it is filled with graffiti or you're seeing gentrification happen really allowing you to feel like you know every block of the city in the MCU New York has never really felt like anything outside of the first Avengers movie but that's definitely a very broad look at the city in homecoming we were able to explore a bit more of the suburbs of Queens which outside of Aunt May's house has been mostly left out and then the second movie takes us out of the city and the third has way too much going on so you don't really get too much of the New York experience that experience however is so integral to the feeling of these movies there is an authenticity that comes about by the way these movies traditionally depict New York Spider-Man is synonymous with the Big Apple if you can't get New York right then the character doesn't feel complete it's an earnestness that is found in the raymie trilogy and again found in spider-verse the amount these characters care for each other is palpable every emotion is carried with weight because of the style of Storytelling on display we've seen emotion come through in the MCU but I can't say that it's at its strongest with this version of Spider-Man this is a great point to talk about the stylistic differences in these films now obviously I know what you're saying oh hey I mean one's animated and the other's live action obviously they're gonna look and feel different yeah I know but I still think it's worth looking at the way that these two go about presenting the story now obviously it's a bit unfair because spider versus a movie that pushed the medium of Animation forward it was groundbreaking it had Rippling effects in the industry allowing 3D animated films to embrace more traditional 2D animated techniques alongside an explosion of style and character that had been lost in the post Pixar Renaissance that's not a knock on Pixar it just kind of set the standard in a lot of other Studio videos followed and we're comparing this this Monumental achievement in filmmaking to a film that has to fit into a larger house style that overall is not that flashy and often doesn't make very bold choices in its way of conveying visuals now taking all of that into account it's pretty clear that one film is actually interested in utilizing the Multiverse in an interesting way as the weird Cosmic creative Oasis it is spider-verse delves headfirst into the rich opportunities something like the Multiverse provides we aren't just seeing fan favorite versions of characters converging onto one place no we see fractures in the fabric of the universe someone like Spider-Man Noir always has his cape billowing in the wind and brings along a general confusion to the idea of color spider ham is able to pull Hammers and anvils out of his pockets float through the air when he smells pie he exists within his own realm of physics we even get spy writer Gwen who isn't just another version of Peter Parker but similar to Miles a completely new character with an interesting new origin but is quintessentially Spider-Man spider-verse uses the Multiverse to explore the canvas of Spider-Man and the meaning behind the mask the weirder and more non-traditional the Spider-Man the greater the impact when it comes to making the case that anyone can be Spider-Man spider-verse is trying to progress the character in the franchise Beyond Peter Parker no way home on the other hand is far more regressive it's insistent on not only upholding the Peter Parker status quo but it's almost banking on your nostalgic love for far superior iterations of the character to drive your emotional connection to the current narrative that's also echoed in the visuals and the overall handling of the Multiverse we don't even get to see any different or interesting worlds not even a tease in no way home the vast endless potential of the Multiverse is diminished to sitcom like guest appearances in this incredibly stale and indistinct version of Spider-Man and New York City the Multiverse is simply a gimmick to get Willem Dafoe Alfred Molina Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield back and yeah those actors are making a whole damn meal of the crumbs they're given which makes for a much more enjoyable experience but if those characters just showed up without a multiversal explanation you wouldn't be able to tell the difference yeah you could argue the same happens in spider verse as well with all the spider people converging to miles's reality but at least the concept is interpreted with style this is Illustrated perfectly by how they show the characters entering into the universe or at least appearing for the first time in the film in spider-verse it's insanely kinetic you see these characters ripped from their reality and flung into a system moving faster than you can even fathom until they are spit outs at top speed into miles's new Universe it's engaging it's crazy it's a visual Marvel to see then in no way home you just kind of see people walking through a doctor strange portal into a living room I'm not all about Fanfare when it comes to character entrances I don't want the whole hold for Applause sort of thing which they still manage to do in this film but at least if you're gonna have this multiversal entrance make it explosive make it impactful feel like someone is going from Another Universe into the one we're currently at and the other frustrating thing about no way home is the sheer amount of unnecessary characters at play here like yeah spider-verse has a lot of characters but they all serve a purpose at no point does it ever feel overcrowded no way home was clearly burdened by Sony's decade-long attempt to assemble the Sinister Six on screen and the funny part is they don't even have six villains here so really what was the point of it and that's cool they were finally able to kinda do it but what does the lizard add what does Sandman I don't even know what the hell Flint's angle is for 90 of the movie he seems diametrically opposed to the goals of the collective villain group and yet he's there fighting the Spider-Man because there are clear arcs for awk Goblin and Electro that's all you need and what's great about that is that you could have just paired each of them with a Spider-Man to go up against they each get a villain that challenges where they're at as characters and they both go through arcs together Obi with awk Andrew with Electro and Tom with Green Goblin it would have made one of the best parts of no way home when the villains and heroes finally get to have a brief exchange together even more impactful it's honestly a testament to the talent of the actors playing these characters at that moment is so effective and Willem Dafoe is again fantastic in the role and I would say that Green Goblin in no way home is a more engaging villain than the Kingpin in spider-verse is this because of how much footwork is done by the Ramey movies allowing Willem Dafoe to just go for it and give an incredibly menacing and fun performance I mean I I don't know but uh but yeah that's the reason that's that's exactly why it is within these villains though we get a great way of looking into how both of these films talk about the Multiverse spider-verse of course gives us the incredible framing device of alright let's do this one more time which very concisely and easily allows us to understand how the Multiverse Works how these characters got to this universe and that within the Multiverse things can be very different the filmmakers also again are able to lean into the weirdness of those multiverses and allow them to become strengths in the story no way home doesn't have these enormous character defining things to show off each Universe we're pulling from has relatively speaking the same physics and overall a version of New York that arguably looks similar biggest difference is probably that Toby's New York has a train from Chicago running through Harlem then of course there's the way these characters interact with the story in spider verse Peter B Parker is introduced very early on he is helping guide miles basically through the entire story he isn't acting as a parental figure to him because he's a mess this Peter has gone through his life and had as it's been coined the truest case of Parker luck he lost the love of his life he panics when the idea of becoming a father is brought up he makes dicey spider themed business Investments that don't pan out he's a Peter so beaten down by life that it all starts to scare him sure he's Spider-Man and that means you have this confidence to help others but it often means you lose sight of helping yourself of taking the risk to be the best version of you you can be he hasn't figured out the balance of Peter Parker and Spider-Man quite yet and the Peter Parker side of his life has really taken a downward spiral and in turn has effect did his life as Spider-Man this is where Miles comes in Miles helps Peter he's able to show him how to be the best version of himself how to be a person who can be happy and be Spider-Man he reflects his teachings back on him the teachings that make him Spider-Man and telling him to apply it to being Peter into letting things be a leap of faith they are helping each other because both of these characters have an arc to go on in this film Peter B Parker has to come to terms with the mistakes he made that left him alone his fear and insecurities he finds help in Miles both characters learn from one another which you can't necessarily say in no way home the three Peter is in no way home don't really get to operate in a similar way even though you'd think they would want to do that sure they have a very fun sibling-esque Dynamic but it's not much below knee deep the problem is the filmmakers were entirely too precious with these characters to the point of being afraid to really do much with them by the time we link up with them they're at points in their lives where they've already gone through their off screen and were just told about it but I think it would have been much more interesting to see them go through it and overcome stuff on screen if you're going to pluck the villains out of their timelines at the moment they're almost killed why not pluck the Spider-Man out of their Universe shortly after we last saw them in Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. what if Andrew this dark bitter rageful Spider-Man who's neglected the Peter Parker side of himself and become the mask was presented with a reflection of his anger post Gwen's death in Tom's Peter because of the example he set I think he'd have to come to terms with the darkness inside of him and what he's become and what better way to do so than in seeing yourself objectively in someone else it's not what Gwen would have wanted Toby is obviously the most put together version of himself but even the last time we saw him he was grappling with his relationship with MJ he did some serious irreparable damage to that maybe seeing Tom's Peter with his MJ can restore his faith or something along those lines I don't know I think it's okay to lean on Toby as being the most evolved with lessons he can impart down onto the other two but do something to show growth for the character and then with Tom being the youngest of the three needing the guidance perhaps getting some wrong lessons along with the good from how Toby and Andrew handled things you know like actual siblings also to bring spider-verse into this I think you clearly see how Peter B Parker's mentality has affected miles after the death of his uncle and so that Peter is being forced to confront that side of himself what he's become and then tries to remedy that despite how he's feeling so there's a direct point of contrast to everything I was just talking about to these older Peters seeing their mistakes reflected in a younger person John Watts was gifted this incredible opportunity to play with characters that have had the groundwork laid for them the hard job is done and he could just pick up their arcs and run with the wealth of material there instead he does the safest least interesting thing you could with those characters they're just a sounding board for Tom essentially and that's fine the film makes it work but I just so desperately would have loved to have seen the film treat these icons as characters and not sacred relics or action figures that you don't want to touch or move in a different way especially because he clearly had an angle for each of the Peters but it's just a bit weird to do nothing new with these characters and it's also odd to say that their Adventures seem to have stopped after their respective film series there's a scene in no way home where the Peters are comparing Rogues Galleries and it's just all of the villains they've faced in their films all the people that we've literally just seen for like the past hour of the movie it's a weird thing to do I don't know if it's because Peter B Parker and all the other spider people in spider-verse faced so many villains off camera if it's because I played all the movie tying games so I know for a fact that Toby fought the Scorpion Rhino Mysterio vulture and others it just feels wrong to say that they haven't done anything else they obviously have grown from the last time we saw them but how did that happen What villains pushed them to become this version of Spider-Man that we're getting to catch up with in this movie there are so many interesting things they could have done there maybe Andrew's character could have talked about his Mary Jane Watson like just missed opportunities very surface level conversations nothing that really had any inkling of imagination and it all feels boring and Antiquated when we're getting the ideal versions of these characters in spider-verse as a quick tangent let's talk about modern comics for the past 10 years Peter Parker has been stuck for lack of a better term there was an event called one more day which basically gets adapted into the story for no way home that made everyone forget Peter was Spider-Man because it was public knowledge at the time but in turn made his marriage to Mary Jane never exist now since then there have been good Spidey stories focusing on Peter superior Spider-Man spider Island big time the beginning of stuff with Kindred when Ryan ottley was on the book all great stuff but the fans wanted to be able to see Peter outgrow these 20 year old problems of being single and not being able to pay rents and become a husband a father someone who has to deal with family troubles while still not being able to pay rent spider-verse gave us that and across the spider versus making it even better by giving him his daughter this is what the fans have been clamoring for and from all of this the Adolescent problems can be given to Miles who is still a teenager miles excels in facing these real-life issues the same way Peter did in the classic League romita of books from the late 60s it's not all about giving the fans what they want to see often that can just feel devoid of the emotional weight it needs but it feels like in this case it's actually what would be best for the characters it's not just blanket fan service it's actually allowing these characters to grow as people I mentioned earlier that no way home basically acts as the origin movie for the mcu's Peter Parker not a choice that I necessarily dig but I guess I get why they did it but the weirdest part about it is that spider-verse works as miles's origin story the thing is Miles and MCU Peter are just at entirely different points in their journey into becoming Spider-Man in fact only one of them is truly earning their title the other already has it and is just now figuring out his way in the world miles is able to see through the Multiverse the many paths being Spider-Man can take you get to see the mistakes of people who were at one point in miles's shoes they aren't just tacked onto the story and tell us the struggles they went through they're directly pointing to where Miles can go from where he currently is they're showing him what it means to be Spider-Man as to with the three Peters in no way home they really aren't helping Tom realize anything they're just kind of there to help him get over the death of his aunt which is nice it's sweet I mean they all have gone through tragedy and I like them being able to bond over that the choice he makes at the end of the day for everyone to forget who he is doesn't really come from the tutelage of any other Peter it's his choice which is good he's taking responsibility for his actions but it doesn't really connect to anything the Peters or even May was really trying to tell him throughout the course of the film and that just ends up giving you a movie where the inclusion of these Spider-Man feels uneven Spider-Man isn't just one thing it isn't just a vehicle for Nostalgia he has to stand for a lot and there is a very distinct difference when you can feel the passion and art placed behind those choices as opposed to what a boardroom's ideal of what Spider-Man should be is thrown onto the screen spider-verse is packed with clear and honest passion for the character no way home feels as though they just needed to set up more movies it perpetuates the MCU machine and in it there are some really great Shining Moments but in the end it created a sort of disjointed movie which gives us all the more reason to be excited about across the spider-verse and Beyond the spider verse after that and seeing how these truly passionate artists will Infuse the story of miles into another crazy tale of spider Mayhem foreign [Music]

Channel: FilmSpeak

Views: 762,428

Keywords: filmspeak, video essay, ending explained, explained, spider-man video essay, why no way home is bad, spider-man no way home, spider man into the spider verse, spider man across the spider verse, spider-man analysis, spider man across the spider verse review, across the spider verse, marvel video essay, no way home is overrated, mcu, spider-verse review, spider man review, why spider-man no way home failed, why spider-verse worked, mcu video essay, into the spider-verse explained

Id: PwkFmbgDrtc

Length: 26min 2sec (1562 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 03 2023