REVIEW: Fans Are Treated to a Tantalizing Ride in ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’
Fans return to the Spider-Verse in Sony Pictures Animations new movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Over a year after the events of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, we find Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) missing his Spider friends, especially Gwen Stacy, aka Spider-Woman (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld), and struggling to find the balance between his personal and super-hero life. When a new villain, The Spot (voiced by Jason Schwartzman) emerges, Miles brushes him off as just another “villain of the week”, but there is nothing regular about this new villain. As The Spot begins to infiltrate the Multiverse, Gwen makes a startling reappearance in Miles’ life. As the two begin to journey across the Multiverse to stop The Spot, Miles is introduced to a multitude of Spider-People, all belonging to a secret society known as Spider-Society. Led by Spider-Man 2099, Miguel O’Hara (voiced by Oscar Isaac), Miles will soon begin to realize that there are unfortunate sacrifices that comes with being a true superhero and protecting the ones he loves.
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller return for the sequel, but this time the duo opted to step back from the directors’ chairs and allow Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson to take over the reins. Focusing only on the screenplay, Lord and Miller teamed up with David Callaham to craft a story that is not only visually stunning, but extremely entertaining. Running around 2 hours and 20 minutes, the story is a complex web that slowly begins to unravel for audiences as Miles progresses through the story. Yes, there are a few minor parts that could have been left on the cutting room floor, but overall, the pacing of the movie is solid, filled with a plethora of Easter Eggs, and wildly engaging.
Like its predecessor, the animation in this movie did not disappoint. The array of colors used to express not only the different universes, but the emotional journey the characters go on is why there needs to be more animated superhero movies. This is an avenue storytellers have tended to avoid over the years, but the Spider-Verse movies prove that the animated route is just as good, if not better than the live-action route. Add in the fact that the animation was also heavily tied into the fantastic score, which was once again done by Daniel Pemberton, who scored Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Each piece of music not only is tantalizing to the ears, but also plays a major role in the storytelling.
Moore returns to voice our hero, Miles Morales, and truly showcases how much he understands this character and his complexities throughout each scene. Steinfeld returns to voice Gwen Stacy, along with Jake Johnson returning as Peter Parker, and both are just as good as they were in the first film. Steinfeld is given a little more to work with in this movie and shines. Joining the veterans in the new creation are Isaac (voicing Spider-Man 2099), Issa Rae (voicing Spider Woman), and Schwartzman (voicing The Spot). Isaac and Rae are perfect additions to this universe, and fans will look forward to seeing more of Schwartzman’s The Spot.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a worthy sequel to its 2018 predecessor. Filled with emotion and amazing animation, the film is a definite must see for one and all. The only real upset will be having to wait until 2024 to see what happens next in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
Grade: A