Usually I too am annoyed at the whole "Part 1" and "Part 2" thing because it's so unsatisfying to see half a movie and then wait a long time for the conclusion, but this was not an issue for me with Across the Spider-verse because I thought they cleverly included a whole movie within this first part. In other words, I do think this film had a three-act structure in the middle, book-ended by a long prologue (Gwen Stacy's intro before the opening title sequence) and an epilogue (everything after Miles goes "home") that ends with a cliff-hanger. In between those book-ends, I thought there was a satisfying movie that starts with re-introducing Miles' new status quo, setting up the villain of the next movie, and then moving on to the multiple universes stuff, and climaxing with Spider-Man 2099 as the "villain" of this movie and Miles' big escape sequence. So, much like a good episodic TV show, this had a satisfying single episode that is still part of a larger whole. It reminded me a lot of Empire Strikes Back, another movie that is completely satisfying on its own, yet also ends with the major characters in a pretty bad place and with a huge cliffhanger.
I was impressed by all that, because it's pretty rare. Avengers: Infinity War totally felt like half a movie, in fact more like a third of a movie. I have often complained that Infinity War is like an entire long movie that is just the second act of a three-act story. All the setup first act stuff was done in the previous MCU movies, so it just starts with a bang in Act 2. Then it ends where Act 2 traditionally ends, where everything is at its worst and the heroes are seemingly losing. It was such an unsatisfying end. Sure, Endgame somehow managed to stick the landing, partly because it has a completely bizarro structure that simply throws out the screenwriting rulebook, but I still wish they had found a different way to tell the story than having the second act be all one movie. Dune Part 1 was similar, basically it was the first two acts of a larger story and again ends just as the story is starting to get really interesting. It felt like a whole lot of setup without much payoff. I'm really hoping Dead Reckoning: Part 1 manages to be a satisfying movie on its own and doesn't follow those examples.
I LOVED not knowing Spider-Verse was a Part 1 in the theatre. That's a proper surprise cliffhanger ending! Not many movies have the balls to play with the format like that. The movie had certainly given me a good fill of action and heart, so I wasn't disappointed by the ending. I'm excited we can all live in this cliffhanger moment for a while. Like between Infinity War and Endgame.
I wish I didn't know Mission Impossible was a Part 1, but still I'm excited for a very cool cliffhanger!
Usually I too am annoyed at the whole "Part 1" and "Part 2" thing because it's so unsatisfying to see half a movie and then wait a long time for the conclusion, but this was not an issue for me with Across the Spider-verse because I thought they cleverly included a whole movie within this first part. In other words, I do think this film had a three-act structure in the middle, book-ended by a long prologue (Gwen Stacy's intro before the opening title sequence) and an epilogue (everything after Miles goes "home") that ends with a cliff-hanger. In between those book-ends, I thought there was a satisfying movie that starts with re-introducing Miles' new status quo, setting up the villain of the next movie, and then moving on to the multiple universes stuff, and climaxing with Spider-Man 2099 as the "villain" of this movie and Miles' big escape sequence. So, much like a good episodic TV show, this had a satisfying single episode that is still part of a larger whole. It reminded me a lot of Empire Strikes Back, another movie that is completely satisfying on its own, yet also ends with the major characters in a pretty bad place and with a huge cliffhanger.
I was impressed by all that, because it's pretty rare. Avengers: Infinity War totally felt like half a movie, in fact more like a third of a movie. I have often complained that Infinity War is like an entire long movie that is just the second act of a three-act story. All the setup first act stuff was done in the previous MCU movies, so it just starts with a bang in Act 2. Then it ends where Act 2 traditionally ends, where everything is at its worst and the heroes are seemingly losing. It was such an unsatisfying end. Sure, Endgame somehow managed to stick the landing, partly because it has a completely bizarro structure that simply throws out the screenwriting rulebook, but I still wish they had found a different way to tell the story than having the second act be all one movie. Dune Part 1 was similar, basically it was the first two acts of a larger story and again ends just as the story is starting to get really interesting. It felt like a whole lot of setup without much payoff. I'm really hoping Dead Reckoning: Part 1 manages to be a satisfying movie on its own and doesn't follow those examples.
I LOVED not knowing Spider-Verse was a Part 1 in the theatre. That's a proper surprise cliffhanger ending! Not many movies have the balls to play with the format like that. The movie had certainly given me a good fill of action and heart, so I wasn't disappointed by the ending. I'm excited we can all live in this cliffhanger moment for a while. Like between Infinity War and Endgame.
I wish I didn't know Mission Impossible was a Part 1, but still I'm excited for a very cool cliffhanger!
Had no idea spider verse was only part one and I would have been so upset to learn that in the theater. Thanks for warning me!
Your read on Licht-as-Wambsgans is perfect and hilarious...