Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – A Boundary-Pushing Sequel

Who would have guessed that the best Spider-Man films as of late have been animated? 2018’s Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse pushed animation forward with a fresh origin story for Miles Morales, another character who has donned the Spider Suit. Featuring much of the same elements that audiences have come to know and love, the film delivered a thrilling journey of self-discovery that felt like watching a comic book come to life. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse keeps pushing the genre of animation forward to even more awe-inducing heights. Still very much a comic book come to life, the film takes that concept to another level by expanding on its already expansive world thanks to a fusion of different animation and different animation styles operating harmoniously within a singular universe. At the end of the day, the film builds on Miles’ story in a compelling way as he continues to grow up and looks to find his place in the world. That journey was not without some adversity as he began to discover his place in the world and in the multiverse. However, that journey often got lost in everything else the film had to offer. The first part of a larger story, the focus seemed to be more on the bigger picture but this first part is shown an admirable amount of care.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse catches up with Miles (Moore) as he balances life as a teen doing right for his parents Rio (Luna Lauren Velez) and Jefferson (Brian Tyree Henry) and that of being Spider-Man. Jumping into things with much of the same youthful energy from the first film, he was a little more calculated time around while still showing the flaws that came with being young. Miles was fun to watch but he still had plenty of learning and growing up to do. Moving the story forward, it finds a strong balance those fun youthful moments with a real poignancy as it taps into the emotion at the root of the character in a powerful way. Once again, Miles’ arc is the best part of the film despite the fact that it does feel muddled at times as a result of everything else going on. Though there is a lot going on, it does a great job at keeping it grounded which is something that even the biggest live action blockbusters struggle at doing. Each frame dazzles, however in addition, they have a meaning and a purpose to them which is not only a testament to the animation itself but also to the writing and direction that helped bring it all together. Looming over this film is the multiverse for which it takes to another level, diving deeper as its fate was in jeopardy.

Long after Miles’ adventures in Into the Spider-Verse, he was feeling alone and thought he was never going to see his friends again. Similarly, Gwen Stacy (Steinfeld) had some self-discovery to do, making the story come off as a two-hander. It was only a matter of time until she and Miles reunited as the lift it created was nice to see but it was also a means to thrust him into the story as he unwittingly found himself in Spider-People homebase and part of a task force entrusted with protecting the multiverse at all costs. Led by Miguel O’Hara (Isaac) or Spider-Man 2099, a character foreshadowed in the post-credit scene of the previous film, he considered himself a caretaker of the multiverse as he took the task very seriously bordering on obsession. Little did they know, the actions of Miles, Gwen, Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), and others, were the main driving force of the current issues with the multiverse. Creating anomalies that threatened its existence, it was up to Miles and Gwen to dispatch those anomalies, the biggest being Jonathan Ohnn or The Spot (Jason Schwartzman). Born out of the explosion of Kingpin’s supercollider, his mission was to get revenge on Miles by becoming powerful enough to stop him.

The novelty and imaginativeness behind seeing countless different Spider-People on screen at once was more than just a gimmick but actually served a purpose for the story. From the character designs to their respective universe, the film blends those different styles together effortlessly. Chasing The Spot through the multiverse meant exploring different universes and while stunning to look, they provided some pleasant surprises as well. However, he was merely a symptom of a larger issue being the circumstances that led to his creation. Actions have consequences and being more cognizant of those circumstances in terms of the bigger picture can limit one’s free will. Many have since come to accept that fact, Miles was not nearly as accepting of the fact that his story was already written. Unrattled by a twist revealing the truth surrounding his origin story, Miles set out to write his own story, going against much of the establishment as the true allegiances these characters came to light. Now with a target on his back, it was him against the world as he literally raced against time to change his story before it was too late though that race was perhaps not going in the way that he had hoped. Starting with Miles and Gwen, it was clear that things were going to somehow end with them as the latter set out on her own journey to rescue him.

As mentioned, the spectacular animation was quite the sight to behold. Blending different animation and animation styles together in a seamless way, the work in bringing the film world to life went much beyond that, playing an integral part in the story. Besides its fantastic action set pieces that would rival the best live action productions, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is an equally fantastic character piece that just happened to also be animated. The film may feature several different characters and distinct worlds but the one common denominator across it all was its ability to harness tone and emotion to elevate its storytelling. While the dialog and direction play a large part in it, it captures the subtle side of the characters and their interactions so beautifully, adding another dimension. Retaining the same edge from the first film, it is cool to see the countless iterations of Spider-People interact with one another. Though the film could have easily shoehorned in more of those interactions, they would have distracted from the story, more so than they arguably did here. And like the first film, it is also hilarious at times. Meanwhile, the subject matter is a lot darker this time around as there were real stakes to be had. In the end, the film finds the right balance between all these conflicting tones while never losing sight of its ultimate goal.

The film may be firing on all cylinders both technically and narratively but what truly brought Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse to life was its performances. Moore and Steinfeld as Miles and Gwen each take them to another level and were more than capable at reaching deeper and pulling out flawed yet relatable performances, grounding the film with their humanity. That being said, they were certainly not alone. Isaac delivers a menacing presence as Miguel O’Hara though it was one with plenty of pain behind it. When it came to all the Spider-People, there are too many performances to mention as they were all excellent. However, the standouts were easily Johnson as Peter B. Parker, who this time was saddled with his own daughter who inherited his spider powers, and Daniel Kaluuya as Hobie Brown or Spider-Punk. Velez as Rio Morales also deserves some commendation for her infamous speech from the trailer which hit even more in the context of the story.

Overall, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a marvel (no pun intended) that not only pushes the animation genre forward but also the superhero film genre forward. Animation or not, it stacks up nicely amongst the top echelon of superhero films which is really a testament to all the work done behind the scenes to bring it to life.

still courtesy of Sony Pictures Animation

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.