In Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales catapults across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. Returning to helm the sequel to the astonishingly great Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller somehow manage to outdo themselves in this sprawling Spider-Man adventure that actively furthers the comic book movie genre in more ways than one. For a movie that features over 200 Spider-People, it’s a deeply personal story, focusing in on the trials and tribulations that both Gwen Stacy and Miles Morales must endure with each of their respective parents. Directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson clearly know just how iconic and important the Spider-Man lore is to millions of fans around the world, and it’s shown through the special care that is given to each and every character in this movie.
Boasting an array of voice actors both fresh and familiar, just about everyone gets their moment in the spotlight. Shameik Moore is even better than he was in the first film, as his Miles Morales faces a variety of obstacles and personal dilemmas that seem almost impossible for him to overcome. The dynamic between Miles and his father/mother is so accurate to their relationship in the comics, and part of what makes this movie work so well is how rich and fully developed that character drama is. Same thing can be said about Gwen Stacy. Hailee Steinfeld’s Spider-Gwen gets a whole lot more to do here as she tries to balance her crime fighting crusade with a police officer father who is so convinced that this masked vigilante who happens to be his own daughter is guilty of murder. All of this tension and uneasiness between the two main heroes and their parents is what makes the movie so heartfelt, meaningful, relatable, and true to the core of what it means to be a Spider-Man.
On top of that, there are plenty of equally interesting new Spider-People that add even more depth to the overall story. For one, Oscar Isaac’s stone cold, short tempered, and leader-like Miguel O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099 is a significant addition that brings a cyberpunk-esque energy to the mix, shaking up the entire Spider-People hierarchy. O’Hara works perfectly as this older more experienced and jaded Spider-Man who shares a different outlook on how to deal with certain high stakes situations than the younger less mature Miles. There are far too many Spider-People to cover in a non-spoiler review, but among the supporting cast of webheads, Daniel Kaluuya’s edgy and rebellious Spider-Punk/Hobie Brown is a notable standout. Jake Johnson’s Peter B Parker is also given a fairly weighty role, for his character too undergoes a worthy amount of growth. The Spot is quite an oddball villain who starts off as a mere joke machine, but once he grows as a threat and reveals his motives, he proves to be an unstoppable force with a frightening sense of eccentric unpredictability. Not the best or most well rounded Spider-Man movie villain, but his role fits for the story that is told in this film.
The animation is a comic book personified, with every single eye popping frame conveying the appropriate aesthetic, emotion, and style for each character and their specific universe. Daniel Pemberton’s score wonderfully complements the visuals with distinctive soundtracks for the various characters and worlds. The third act takes some seriously dark and unexpected turns, with a cliffhanger that will leave viewers salivating to see what comes next. If the ending leaves you feeling unsatisfied, it’s merely by design. There is one very slight issue that isn’t exactly a fault of the film itself but rather a couple of subtle hints of the studio’s favorite activism causes. Thankfully, these instances are rather brief, insignificant in the context of the story, and far less obnoxious than what’s being propagated in many modern Hollywood movies. Other than that, there is very little to complain about in this gripping Spider-Man odyssey. Both a remarkable achievement in animation and thematically mature sequel that furthers the true potential of comic book storytelling across every medium, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a visually dazzling Spider-Man epic with deeply personal stakes and emotionally impactful character drama.
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