SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE REVIEW

 *MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

When Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse was released in late 2018, there had been six live action films involving the web slinging superhero, with Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland each taking on the role of Peter Parker. Because of this, I wasn’t too sure about another Spider-Man film, however, Into The Spider-Verse felt unique and stood out from the previous Spider-Man films. Following its release in 2018, Into The Spider-Verse was successful both with critics, who praised the visually stunning animation, and audiences, making over $384 million at the box office. At the 91st Academy Awards, it won the Best Animated Feature Oscar, beating Pixar’s Incredibles 2, Disney’s Ralph Breaks The Internet and Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs, making it the first animated film, not made by Disney or Pixar, to win the award since Rango at the 84th Academy Awards. Because of the impressive success of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, expectations were high for its highly anticipated sequel, Across The Spider-Verse. 

After reuniting with Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman (voiced by Hailee Stenfield), Brooklyn's full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. However, when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and he must soon redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.

When it comes to sequels, a lot of them are disappointments as they fail to match the quality of its predecessor, fortunately, that’s not the case with Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. Instead of telling the same story, the sequel explores the unique world of the Spider-Verse. With animation, there’s no limit to one’s imagination and that’s certainly been proven with Across The Spider-Verse. Like its predecessor, Across The Spider-Verse is filled with eye popping visuals, making it a must see on the big screen. Following the first Spider-Verse film, producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller ambitiously employed new animation tools to generate six different styles. The intent was to amaze the audience whenever the characters cross into a new environment so that the film can accurately reflect its plot and the styles can generate various emotional backdrops. The home of Gwen Stacy, Earth-65, was designed to look like "impressionistic" watercolor paintings. The animation alone is why Across The Spider-Verse is worth experiencing on the big screen.

Lord and Miller are best known for producing animated films such as The LEGO Movie and The Mitchells Vs. The Machines. They also directed the underrated Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs which was released in 2009. Each of these films feature unique animation and are wildly entertaining for viewers of any age. A lot of animated films tend to only appeal to children and feature immature jokes, making it a tough watch for their parents. Across The Spider-Verse is one of those rare animated films that will appeal more to older viewers, especially those that enjoyed the first film and are a fan of Spider-Man. Because of its lengthy runtime of 140 minutes and complex plot that involves the multiverse, I wouldn’t recommend it to families with really young children as they may become restless. However, fans of  Into The Spider-Verse will certainly enjoy Across The Spider-Verse.

Across The Spider-Verse is rarely anything less than an epic and mind blowing exploration of the multiverse, with hardly a dull moment to be found in its 140 minute runtime. While I throughly enjoyed watching Across The Spider-Verse, I think that it’s one of those films that will benefit from future rewatches as there’s so much happening in every scene and frame that it’s easy to miss subtle details and references that only eagle eyed viewers will spot. 

After providing audiences with two hours of non stop action within the multiverse, Across The Spider-Verse ends on a shocking cliffhanger, with the second sequel, Beyond The Spider-Verse scheduled to be released in March next year. I have no doubt that the third Spider-Verse film will continue to impress audiences with its visually stunning animation and fast paced action and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

9/10