Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse
Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) in Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse.
Successful sequels shock the system, ‘specially in sci-fi.
In the Star Wars franchise, The Empire Strikes Back features an outrageous plot twist, a lukewarm cliff-hanger, and end-to-end entertainment. Across the Spiderverse *is* their Empire. A gargantuan, kaleidoscopic spidey-opera that is animated with just as jaw-droppingly brilliant skill as its predecessor (if not better), this is a wild ride you seriously won’t want to miss out on.
We join Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) as he’s struggling to balance his homelife with his newfound responsibility as Spider-Man. After encountering a new villain dubbed ‘The Spot’ (voiced by Jason Schwartzman), he finds out that his multiversal adventure that came to a close in Into the Spiderverse was only just beginning to unfold… in dangerous, unwieldly ways.
The blisteringly busy animation is back to its slight detriment, but mainly colossal benefit. Sure, I could feel myself going ‘hold on a second’ a few times whilst watching the previous Spiderverse as it bombardes you with psychedelic noise. Yet, now and then, this is still eye candy of the nth degree, like watching something animated by wizards. New, gorgeous, colliding animation styles are bought to the table, and this time we even get in on some live-action stuff.
I was slightly, albeit wrongly, nervous that this would be another ‘spot the spidey’ IP guessing game à la Ready Player One, but the core of Across the Spiderverse lies in its thematic strength and brilliant plotting. Fun new characters like Spider-Man India (voiced by Karan Soni), Spider-Punk (voiced by Daniel Kaluuya), and the return of familiar faces such as Gwen Stacey’s Spider-Woman (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) and Peter B. Parker (voiced by Jake Johnson) add to the progression of Mile’s understanding of the stakes, included in a way that doesn’t feel cheap or honed in.
As mentioned, successful sequels deliver those gripping elements that keep audiences coming back for the closing chapter. Across makes it clear that we’re dealing with the very fundamentals of storytelling itself, and having the true villain of the film being a disastrously tragic arc that needs completing. If not, the universe could fall in on itself. Questioning the very basic arcs of a character like Spider-Man, and superheroes themselves, laments this films narrative footing as a stroke of meta-genius.
This is a stupidly good time at the cinema. I watched this with the worst crowd I have ever been a part of, and still came out of the screen giddy with joy. Do yourself a favour and see this on the biggest screen you can, let this ‘verse-trotting adventure make you feel like a kid again. They’ve stuck the beginning and the middle, if Beyond the Spiderverse plays its cards right, this could be one of the best movie trilogies of all time. Period.
