Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse had a tall task awaiting its release. Any sequel to a massive hit faces the same challenges. And 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse qualifies as a massive hit by any metric. But it can make for an uphill climb for any subsequent sequels. Audience will expect the sequel to at least match the level of its predecessor, if not exceed it. The expectations aren’t always fair, but that’s the way things go.
Across the Spider-Verse is also coming out in the midst of what might be the first real wave of “superhero fatigue.” It runs the risk of movie-goers potentially going into the movie already feeling burnt out. Or conversely, they could be looking for something to revitalize the genre, pinning their hopes on whichever superhero movie is on deck. Again, not necessarily fair, but them’s the breaks.
With that out of the way, it’s an absolute pleasure to say Across the Spider-Verse not only met the already sky-high expectations, but exceeded them, smashed them. As it stands now, this is the best movie of the year.
After the events of Into the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales has been keeping busy with his dual life as a 15-year-old high school student and as Spider-Man. It’s difficult to balance the regular, everyday responsibilities of being a student and son against the responsibilities he feels he owes his city as Spider-Man. But what’s perhaps most difficult is how lonely it is. He has no one he can talk to about any of this. He had that, ever so briefly, when he teamed up with other Spider-People (and Spider-Animals) to defeat Kingpin. But they all had to return to their home dimensions, leaving Miles alone once again.
He misses Gwen Stacy the most. They really connected and there’s nothing more that Miles wants than to see her again. So it’s to his great delight when she appears out of the blue one day, after having joined the Spider-Society to help protect the multiverse (aka the Spider-Verse). But things don’t go so well, as Miles learns of a massive threat. The Spot is a new supervillain, one hellbent on revenge against Miles in particular. And this isn’t just a threat to Miles’ world; it could spell doom for the entire multiverse. Miles must work with the Spider-Society to take down the Spot.
I’ll admit, the basic premise here may not sound like anything special. It might come off as nothing more than a standard-issue comic plot. And that’s not entirely wrong. But there are so many decisions at play here that elevate Across the Spider-Verse into something truly special. The way the story is structured, the characters, the conflict, what’s contained within the story.
Part of that is focusing more on Gwen this time around. Into the Spider-Verse was clearly Miles’ story, with a little bit of Gwen and the other Spiders. Across the Spider-Verse is much closer to an even split between Miles and Gwen, plus additional Spider-People sprinkled throughout. By shifting some of the focus to Gwen, it gives the audience an extra emotional pull. It gets you invested in Gwen right from the start, in a way it couldn’t have based only her story from the first movie. So from the jump the audience has two characters they should be seriously emotionally invested in.
Even with less of a focus on Miles, it still doesn’t affect his character development. We gain great insight into his psyche, as he struggles to reconcile what he believes it means to be a hero against what the Spider-Society says he must do to be a hero. This is a brilliant piece of storytelling. While the Spot is the big bad, the conflicting ideologies within the Spider-Society often play as the true villain.
Highlighted by Miles and Gwen’s storylines, there is incredible depth everywhere in this movie. Across the Spider-Verse swings for the fences, trying to fit in several different themes and lessons. And it nails every single one. Grief, loneliness, aimlessness, parent-child relationships, just to name a few. It could feel overwhelming, but the script handles each one with such care and tenderness that it never actually does. It all feels natural and right within the context of the larger story.
But all that is just the table setting. There are two centerpieces that take Across the Spider-Verse to another level: the animation and the action. Call it recency bias, but this might be the best-animated movie I’ve ever seen. If you thought Into the Spider-Verse went all-in on the “straight from the comics” feel, just wait until you see what the sequel does. It gives it extra style that no other movie can match. But the most impressive feat is how many different animation styles are used, and how seamlessly they all fit together.
Every iteration of Spider-Man is animated differently. And with how many there are, this is no small feat. It is, in fact, a giant feat. It adds character to each one, and it’s nothing short of a treat to see all these different styles blend together throughout the movie. It’s not only the character animations, either. It’s everything. Just for one example, there are scenes where the animation and color scheme change as the character’s emotions change throughout the scene. Every single frame in the movie is pure artistry; it’s beyond incredible.
The action fits hand in hand with the animation. Even without the mixture of animations, the action here would be insanely good. But with each unique animation comes unique characteristics in how that particular character looks in action. It gives each character extra flair. It’s truly breathtaking.
If we’re going to nitpick, there is one minor (and I mean *minor*) quibble. The movie was originally announced as Across the Spider-Verse Part One, with a part two announced at the same time. While the exact titles have since changed (part two is now Beyond the Spider-Verse), one key fact remained: we knew going in this was part one of a two-part conclusion. Any time you have a setup like this, it leaves one particular problem to solve: the ending. You have to give the movie its own, complete arc, while also setting up the second part.
And that’s where Across the Spider-Verse stumbles just a teeny tiny bit. Everything right up until the ending feels like its own movie. But the ending doesn’t quite feel the same. That being said, going into the movie knowing this does lessen that effect, for sure. And the movie does everything else is so well, so who really cares? But if you’re looking for something to mark against it, this is really all there is.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is simply a marvel (pun absolutely intended). It takes a relatively simple story (on the surface at least) and imbues it with endless heart, emotion, and a healthy dose of humor. Add in the astounding action and some of the most beautiful, jaw-dropping animation ever put to screen, and you have a near-masterpiece of a movie. It’s rare when you can walk out of a movie and know in the moment that what you just saw was something truly special. Across the Spider-Verse is one of those movies.
Score: 98/100
