Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Review: Thrilling, Stunning, And Emotional Perfection

The bar doesn’t get set much higher than what was accomplished by Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. We live in a time when Spider-Man is ubiquitous on the big screen and technology is constantly evolving the world of animation, and yet the 2019 blockbuster is unlike anything that came before it and stretches imagination to extremes. It’s an emotional and laugh-out-loud funny adventure centering on a web-slinger brand new to the big screen, and the animation is executed with style that is staggering in its inventiveness and rewarding with every rewatch thanks to a jaw-dropping attention to detail. It was immediately and appropriately recognized as one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of feature-length animation.

So what if I told you that Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse is even better? Would you believe me? Incredulity would certainly be understandable given all of the aforementioned, but it’s not a lie. The sequel is everything that is great about its predecessor but even bigger and more impressive. Tonally, it swings between hilarious and devastating; the main characters only develop to be more complex and fascinating; the dramatic stakes are magnified and impressive; and the massive artistic swings are bliss. It’s everything you want it to be, everything it should be, and more.

The multi-faceted story catches up with Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) independently, as the two heroes have been separated since their multiverse-crossing adventure in the previous movie. Miles has matured into a veteran Spider-Man on Earth-1610, balancing heroics and school while keeping his secret identity from his parents (Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vélez), but Gwen’s life has gotten significantly more intense. Her home life on Earth-65 has been fractured, and as a result she has elected to join a universe-hoping strike force of Spider-People variants organized by the hulking, dark Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac).

When a villain who claims to be Miles’ nemesis named The Spot (Jason Schwarzman) emerges, Gwen ends up being sent on a mission back to Earth-1610, and she makes a detour so that she can see her friend. This decision ends up having calamitous consequences, however, as Miles discovers that an immense secret is being kept from him, and as he ends up getting pulled across the multiverse following Gwen and learning devastating realities about the nature of being Spider-Man.

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse digs deep into its characters and gets impressive emotional results.

Much as it enjoys mocking origin movies (“Let’s do this one last time” comically repeated in narration throughout), Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is a film that very much has the narrative responsibility of laying a franchise foundation, and all of that superb table-setting lets Across The Spider-Verse come out of the gate sprinting. With the worlds, concepts, and characters established, what’s left is for the sequel to dive into everything deeper, and this is accomplished both in exploring the emotional dynamics between the heroes and their families as well as in outlandish sci-fi ideas. Both have equal weight in the film and are executed phenomenally.

Spellbinding as all the action is (and, holy wow, is it special), the most captivating sequences in Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse are those that are overflowing with pathos, as Miles and Gwen are respectively struggling with strained relationships with their parents – the latter’s painfully influencing the former’s. Miles’ mom and dad are worried seeing their son grow into an independent adult, fearing how the world will treat him, and Miles is pained having to keep his identity as Spider-Man hidden from them. It’s a truth that Gwen encourages him to hide given that her own father, Captain George Stacy (Shea Wigham), has been long hunting for Spider-Woman of Earth-65, believing that she is responsible for murdering Gwen’s best friend, Peter Parker.

These deeply human and love-based conflicts prove to be the backbone of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. Without spoiling the twists and turns of the story, all the universe-hoping wildness in the film leads to a true battle between logic and emotion in the third act, and it’s because of how much heart is on display and care is put into the characters that it’s all as fascinating as it is powerful.

Dramatic as it can get, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse is a multiverse-hopping blast.

The intensity of the drama in Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse stands out because it’s unexpected, but don’t be concerned: the animated film is also outrageously fun and it is constantly looking for new ways to make you laugh. There is no end to the quippy, snappy dialogue; the inelegant early fights between Miles and the portal-covered The Spot are a riot; surprises and quick dips into alternate universes get a nice collection shock giggles; and there’s no shortage of background details that you’ll catch out of the corner of your eye and get you smile.

And then there are all of the new Spider-People. Hobie Brown a.k.a. Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya) is the greatest scene-stealer in the film, both being excessively cool and anarchic to the point of comical contradiction, and Pavitr Prabhakar a.k.a. Spider-Man India (Karan Soni) brings a wonderful effervescence. But Miles’ introduction to the headquarters of Miguel O’Hara’s base of operations in its entirety will be remembered among the high points of cinematic delight for 2023, as fans will pore over frames trying to spot as many wall-crawlers as they can and be amazed at the wackiness and variety.

You've never seen anything like Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse.

As the film’s tone nimbly bounces hitting the comedic highs and dramatic lows, what’s most consistent about Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse is that it’s a visual feast. While its predecessor stunned by featuring an ensemble of characters who are each presented in their own unique animation, the sequel doubles down on that idea not only with new characters featured in new styles, but with full worlds that are beautiful enough to conjure tears. Gwen’s world is breathtaking, as every frame feels like it is hand painted and backgrounds melt into dripping color palettes that reflect the mood temperature… but that’s just a single example. Spider Punk is an aesthetic wonder, as he is too much of a rebel to maintain the same look from moment to moment that he is screen, and your eyes won’t get sufficiently wide enough to drink in everything to see in Pavitr Prabhakar’s home of Mumbattan and Miguel O’Hara’s Nueva York.

It should be noted that the film is deliberately constructed to be a “Part 2 of 3” story, featuring a third act that is built to be more about cliffhangers than conclusions – but not to be ignored in the big picture plotting is the successful evolution of the main characters and craft that brings it to life. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse is a genius success unto itself… but audiences are also going to exit the theater counting down the seconds until Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse arrives in 2024.