(Life Through the Lens - Photo Illustration/MetroCreativeConnection)

“Everyone keeps telling me how my story is supposed to go. Nah, I’ma do my own thing.”

***

Everyone is handed a script and is expected to live it out.

Paths are paved and policed for you to journey toward your prescribed purpose. Boxes are manufactured to keep you safe and keep you shielded. Ropes are erected to distance you from destruction and degradation. Speed bumps are installed to keep you cautious and careful. A watchful eye is ever-present, warm in sincerity yet worn heavily.

Is this the only way forward? Must one travel in only tried tracks?

Consider Siddhartha Gautama. Born into the royal family of the Shakya clan near the Himalayan foothills in 567 BC, Siddhartha’s birth had been prophesied: he would be a universally revered ruler or a universally treasured teacher. Like parents tend to do, Siddhartha’s father decided his son’s path forward: maintain the family business of comfort and control.

Little Sidd grew up in the literal lap of luxury. His father made sure that he lacked for nothing. He was sheltered in the most lavish of surroundings. He was distracted by the most beautiful dancers. He was delicately taught by the highest of the Hindu caste, all encouraging him to remain “above.” He was given physical stimuli to scratch the adventure itch: archery, swordplay, wrestling, swimming, running. He was covered with all things shiny and sparkly. If Sidd wanted something, fingers were snapped, and wishes were granted.

For all anyone could see, Siddhartha was simply awaiting his turn to rule the kingdom of his ancestors. The path had been set. The script had been memorized and taken to heart.

Except. Except Lil’ Sidd always felt a pull toward something else. The castle walls could never contain the spirit that dwelled inside of him. The world was much too grand to be described by mere rote verse or secondhand warnings. He was beckoned beyond.

One day Siddhartha encountered three things that would forever change his life (and, subsequently, the course of human history): a sick man, an old man, and a dead man. The plush-picked-path did not include these brutal honesties. When earnestly pursued, Siddhartha was told that all beings get sick, all beings get old, and all beings die.

The trail laid for him instantly grew distant and cold. A new question emerged out of the disconnect: if suffering is inevitable for all beings, how can one transcend human suffering? There must be a way forward through sickness, aging, and death that wasn’t simply ignorance and apathy. Siddhartha left his royal rearing and began a ceaseless search for transcendence.

After achieving his goal and eagerly sharing his ideas (“The Middle Way”), a tidy title was bestowed on him: The Buddha. You ever heard of him?

A life lived in preordained passages only results in predictable products. For something remarkably unexpected to happen, one must strike off the path into the unknown. One must rewrite their own script.

Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is, once again, the one and only Spider-Man. Sure, he has met many others like him, but they have all abandoned him as planned. He knows he is not alone, but try telling yourself that after almost two years of struggling through the unending pressures of being a teenage superhero with no one to share your burdens. Miles is feeling the weight.

Add to that his typical worries: school problems, future plans, parental pressures. Miles is attempting a seemingly impossible balancing act … and daily failing pretty epically. How can meetings and parties compete with multi-verse supervillains? Miles could sure use some help.

Re-enter Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld). Her unexpected reappearance offers Miles exactly what he has been missing: camaraderie. After some much-needed hangout time, Miles gets a strange feeling that Gwen is not being entirely honest. Using his now-honed ability of camouflage, he follows Gwen to her secret truth: she is working with a huge inter-verse team of Spider people. She didn’t come to see him; she came investigating a multi-verse threat. The truth is Miles has been marked unworthy and purposefully left isolated.

Before he can think about consequences, Miles dives head-first into the multi-verse. He is looking for answers. He is looking for community. Instead, what Miles finds is an unavoidable truth: to be an official Spider-Man, one must follow canon, meaning Miles must lose a police captain close to him to fulfill the script expected of all Spidermen. Loss is mandatory and Miles’ dad is being promoted to captain in two days.

Will Miles accept his fate or will Miles rewrite his own script?

I am a firm believer that 2018’s “Into the Spider-Verse” is a perfect movie and “Across the Spider-Verse” is even better! It is more perfect-er.

Directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson have created a two-hour and twenty-minute masterpiece, despite having previously directed only one movie between them. Their lack of experience amplifies the freedom they exhibit. They are writing their own rules! The embraced ambition is stupefying.

Writers Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Dave Callaham have truly outdone themselves. Not only do they balance the story with precision, but they are creative and smart and funny. The screenplay is the perfect example of how to do “superheroes” and “multi-verses”; please take note, Marvel!

Shameik Moore is incredibly sincere as Miles. Hailee Steinfeld (as Gwen) handles her increased intensity with grace. Brian Tyree Henry (as Jeff) and Luna Lauren Velez (as Rio) are brilliantly honest as Miles’s parents. Jake Johnson is, once again, a scene-stealer as Peter B. Parker.

Along with the tried-and-true characters from Into the Spider-Verse, a large number of new-comers add to the already impressive cast. Jason Schwartzman is unforgettable as Spot, Miles’s new nemesis; he is as comedic as he is commanding. Oscar Isaac is marvelously magnetic as Miguel O’Hara; his every word draws you deeper. Daniel Kaluuya is a wonderful change of pace as Hobie Brown. Karan Soni is fresh and fun as Pavitr Prabhakar. There are over 250 new Spiderpersons, so I’ll stop there.

The art direction by Dean Gordon and Araiz Khalid is alive and pulsing. Just when you think creativity has been totally expended, they come up with something new! There is no end, I guess.

I was a bit disappointed in the music by Daniel Pemberton this go-around. I was so wowed by Into the Spider-Verse, but this one felt a bit less energetic.

In a time when superhero movies are factory-made and pre-chewed, there is hope! There is worth in this fad. There is voice in this craze. There is art hidden in the monotonous and flavorless current. There is life in these bones still.

***

REPORT CARD: Across the Spider-verse

Grade: A+

Assessment: Improving on perfection