Making a satisfying sequel to any movie is a difficult task. The filmmakers have to honor and continue the story of the movie that came before it, while also trying to one-up everything that the original did. In the case of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, this looked to be near impossible. 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse remains one of the best comic book movies ever made by most metrics. It continues to be praised for its inventive story, incredible soundtrack, and absolutely breathtaking animation. It breathed new life into the world of comic book movies, and is still cited as a favorite of the genre amongst critics and filmmakers alike. Could a sequel measure up?
The answer is a resounding “yes.” Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is not only one of the best comic book sequels ever made, it is right up there with its predecessor as one of the best comic book movies ever made. It continues the story of what came before it, while expanding on it in some incredibly creative ways. It uses every second of its 2 hour and 20 minute runtime to full effect, providing a jaw-dropping thrill ride that anyone who is a fan of the character of Spider-Man will absolutely adore.
Without going into too much detail, Across the Spider-Verse follows Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) 16 months after becoming his Brooklyn’s one and only Spider-Man. However, as expected with the character, the great power that he now has comes with great responsibility, both to the city as well as to his parents. Everything comes to a head when Miles has to face off against The Spot (Jason Schwartzmann), a supervillain whose body is covered in inter-dimensional portals. The introduction of this new foe leads Miles to meet up with his old friend and crush Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), the Spider-Gwen of her universe, and kickstarts an adventure through the multiverse. Along on this ride are Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), Spider-Woman (Issa Rae), Spider-Man India (Karan Soni), Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya), and Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac), whose primary goal is to keep the multiverse intact.
The star of this film, however, is not any of the characters; it’s the animation. Of course the animation of Into the Spider-Verse was phenomenal, but the visual spectacle that this film offers is next level. In the first film, the audience got glimpses into different universes, but for the most part remained in Miles’s timeline. Here, viewers are treated to extended sequences in a variety of universes, each one with their own distinct look and feel. The standout here, personally, is Gwen’s universe, which uses color in such a vibrant, unique way. Every frame of her universe looks like a painting, and every character moves with such stylistic energy that leaves the audience completely engrossed any time the film focuses on her universe.
On that subject, while this film of course continues the story of Miles, it is just as much Gwen’s story, and Hailee Steinfeld does a wonderful job playing every emotion required of her. Yet another marker of a good sequel, it knows that there is of course more to be told of Miles’ story, but that audiences just spent a full movie with him as the sole lead, in a film where there were a plethora of supporting characters who needed to be explored even further. The incorporation of The Spot as the villain is also perfectly suited for a story like this, and Schwartzmann bridges his comedic sensibilities with the legitimately terrifying threat that he poses.
There is a lot that goes on in this movie, no doubt about it, but the most impressive thing about Across the Spider-Verse is how well it balances everything. It knows it has to give the audience those major action sequences, it has to hit the emotional beats, it has to throw in a reference here and there, and it has to do the Spider-Man pointing meme. But it is all in how the creative team incorporates those elements. If the movie had all these things, but didn’t ground them in a compelling story that makes emotional sense for its characters, it would not have worked. The action scenes, for example, are probably some of the best ever done in comic book history, due in part to the animation, but also because the creative team understands who Spider-Man as an idea is so well. There is a concept introduced in this film that is so wildly clever, and it gives stakes to every movement that the characters make. Yet another marker of a good sequel, parts of this film recontextualize things that happened in the first film, making it an even better rewatch because there’s a better understanding of what is going on.
There has been a lot of discourse recently about both superhero fatigue and multiverse fatigue in movies. Some of that is people complaining for the sake of complaining, but there is legitimacy to some points. The market is incredibly saturated with comic book movies, and a lot of said comic book movies are dealing with multiple iterations of the same character. But much like the film that came before it, Across the Spider-Verse breathes new life into a concept that audiences thought they had enough of. Anyone who has a modicum of affection for the character of Spider-Man and what Spider-Man represents will find something to love about this movie, and it continues to cement the legacy of the Spider-Verse saga, one that may go down in history as the best comic book trilogy ever made.
Be sure to check out our video review with Monty and Nicki here!
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