Movie Review: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Five years ago, Sony released an animated Spider-Man movie that broke boundaries about what such a story could be…or look like.

The Walt Disney Company found itself in the strange position of watching a Sony movie win Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards.

Disney wasn’t complaining, though. After all, it owns the rights to Spider-Man and gets a cut of all merchandise.

For movie-goers, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse established a new style of storytelling.

Five years later, a sequel arrives, and it somehow raises the bar even higher.

Friends, if you enjoyed Into the Spider-Verse, you’re gonna be ecstatic about Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse!

About the Spider-Verse

In the first movie, we meet Miles Morales, a New York City teenager who develops the powers of Spider-Man.

Unlike Peter Parker, Miles isn’t lacking strong role models, as both his parents are still alive.

Jefferson Davis works as a police officer, while Rio Morales helped others as a nurse.

They’re integral parts of the community and two people with powerful wills.

When Miles needs an escape from them, he bonds with his uncle, Aaron, right up until Spider-Man comes face to face with The Prowler.

In a fitting comic book twist, Miles’ favorite uncle is also one of Spider-Man’s most ferocious foes.

The resolution of this story has left Miles missing a family member.

However, Spider-Man canon calls for the death of an uncle. So, this isn’t a surprise.

If anything, the unexpected part of Into the Spider-Verse involves a group of other Spider-People.

Morales encounters other superheroes like him, most notably Spider-Gwen and Peter Parker.

These individuals came from other dimensions where they saved lives, just like Miles.

The Spider-Verse in the title references many Spider-Man variants, including a pig and a noir character.

Superheroine Gwen Stacy and forlorn Peter Parker became mentors and friends to Miles, but they eventually had to return to their own universes.

Across the Spider-Verse picks up there, with Miles feeling more alone than ever. He believes he’ll never see Gwen again.

Spider-Gwen and Her Spider Friends

This film isn’t as much Miles’ story as the previous one, though. In fact, Gwen is now the protagonist for a large portion of the sequel.

As a Spider-Gwen superfan, that suits me fine. I consider Kamala Khan and Spider-Gwen the best two new superheroes of the 21^st century.

So, telling part of the story from Gwen’s perspective really works for me, although I’d argue she’s long overdue for a standalone movie.

Anyway, Gwen has made some new friends since we last saw her. She’s joined a kind of multiversal Spider team.

Other members include Miguel O’Hara, the vampire Spider-Man from 2099; Jess (not Jessica) Drew, a new take on Spider-Woman; and Pavitr Prabhakar, Spider-Man India (it’ll make sense, I swear).

The idea is that now that Miles Morales’ fight in the first film occurred, the Spider-Verse has been split wide open.

This problematic rift in the space/time continuum allows us to meet other versions of the character, all of whom have suffered a personal loss. That’s Spider-Man’s defining moment.

We know that such tragedies tend to occur to significant characters like police captains. And Gwen’s father is a police captain.

Also, Miles’ father is up for promotion to police captain. That’s the other similarity here.

Before their tragedies, all the Spider-people couldn’t share their secret identities with their loved ones, causing a wedge in these relationships.

At 15, Miles is undergoing the same split identity issue, with Gwen slightly more advanced in her origin story.

Meanwhile, virtually all the new people are well past that point of personal loss and still coping with their pain.

Across the Spider-Verse isn’t a deep dive into mental health in the face of loss, but those elements drive much of what happens.

In particular, O’Hara’s character is emotionally broken.

A Visually Stunning, Emotionally Moving Film

Across the Spider-Verse pulls all these pieces together in a measured, confident manner.

You’ll start the ride as soon as the opening credits (drum) roll, and it’ll never stop for 130 minutes.

The time flies by because all the action is so mesmerizing.

Presuming you’ve watched the original, you know that the animation isn’t for everyone.

The kinetic art style does what no superhero movie had ever attempted before Into the Spider-Verse. It throws the viewer straight into the pages of a comic book.

In fact, a new team of directors embraces the premise even more.

The “editor’s note” gimmick deployed a couple of times in the original happens a lot here.

Something I love about this idea is that it’s rarely overt. Instead, you’ll catch what you can during the first viewing.

Once you watch it again at home, you can pause the action to catch all the jokes and references you missed the first time.

Yes, Across the Spider-Verse comes with legitimate repeat value. In fact, you’ll need closed captioning to catch many of the Spider quips.

During the moments with multiple Spider characters on screen, these jokes are absolutely impossible to hear simultaneously. It’s a dense film.

In fact, I suspect the frenzied nature of the animation could prove off-putting to a small (but probably vocal) minority. It’s A LOT.

The animation matches the story, though. This Spider-Man has something to say, particularly about the longstanding idea of how someone becomes heroic…or villainous.

You likely know that The Spot turns into the Big Bad in this film and its upcoming sequel.

Even this character is on his own journey, starting with humbler origins.

Everything you see in Across the Spider-Verse serves a purpose, an idea that’s sadly rare in cinema.

What I Loved and What I Hated

As I’ve mentioned in many previous reviews, I’m a hyper-critical person.

I’m someone who can even find faults with The Godfather Part II and Casablanca.

Given that context, what I say next shocks even me. I have ZERO criticisms of Across the Spider-Verse after the first viewing.

Sure, some might come to me later, but it’s a refreshing feeling right now.

Everything I watched onscreen made perfect sense and led to several logical conclusions, most of which I either saw coming or readily accepted.

I say this because the path to these outcomes was logical and engaging enough to invest me in the characters.

There’s also a glorious symmetry between the opening moments of the film and the ending, ones that should inspire frustrated parents of teens.

To a larger point, Disney’s side of the Spider-Verse has falsely teased the premise for too long now.

This film delivers on the concept and then some. You’ll meet a comically large number of Spider-beings, not all of them human.

Somehow, each of them will differentiate themselves in some way.

I haven’t even mentioned two of my favorites from the film, Spider-Punk and a Spider-Man who narrates literally everything he does…to huge laughs.

None of these extra Spider characters feels superfluous or wasted. Each serves a purpose, especially some previously fringe characters like Spider-Byte.

Folks, I realize this is a ridiculous thing to say about an animated comic book movie, but Across the Spider-Verse claims one of the best scripts of the 21^st century.

As I was saying last night to a Brazilian friend of mine in the industry, Across the Spider-Verse is a filmmaker’s film!

The visuals and the writing augment one another, a genuine rarity in this business where special effects often pass for story.

Final Thoughts

For the second straight time, I exited a movie theater after a Spider-Man movie and thought, “That’s the best one in the history of the franchise.”

I don’t know whether that opinion will hold upon rewatching.

Still, the first time I saw Across the Spider-Verse, I liked it more than Spider-Man: No Way Home. And I loooove No Way Home.

Across the Spider-Verse is special, folks. I’ll readily acknowledge that it’s not for everyone due to the intense nature of the graphics.

Even so, when I left the theater, my first question to my wife was, “Am I right that this film is in the conversation for best animated movie ever?”

She talked me down from that opinion, but my euphoria was that strong in the wake of watching Across the Spider-Verse.

This film’s a 10 out of 10 and a strong candidate for best movie of 2023.

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