The first Miles Morales movie took everyone by surprise with its original visuals and bold narrative and it has arguably become the best Spider-Man film in a sea of Spider-Man films. So yeah expectations were high and topping something like that meant the film makers had their work cut out for them. And they managed to pull it off by basically going big instead of going "home" (yes that's a subtle dig at the MCU). They went for more stylized animation, more multiverses/Spider-People, and such a big story they had to break it into two parts (yes there is a cliffhanger ending on this one so be warned!). And it all pays off.
A big part of why it does is because more than most other Spider-Man movies (especially the recent ones) the Spider-Verse films focus primarily on character. The relationships between Miles and parents, Miles and Gwen, Miles and Peter, are so intricately and richly drawn out that the pathos is more important and more impactful than the set pieces. We are invested in the story not because of some gimmick casting cameos or over the top action sequences. These film makers have delivered a powerful story about true family (yes that might be a subtle dig at the Fast movies) that resonates across the mutilverse.
These multiverse stories are all the rage right now and we are at risk of exhausting the concept or becoming repetitive. Across the Spider-Verse has avoided this pit fall so far and struck a perfect balance both narratively and visually to ensure this story is cohesive and satisfying, both for casual fans just wanting to be entertained and the nerd elites who are counting references. Full disclosure I am closer to the latter...
I've said it before and I'll say it again I am a huge fan of animation and I want my animated films to not ape live action, but tell stories in ways that live action cannot. The animation here is beautiful and bold, and achieves something that we cant find in other mediums. The film makers leaned into this, delving farther down that rabbit hole than they dared with Into the Spider-Verse. They seemed to have learned the right lessons from that film's success and given audiences not just more of the same, but built on what they were starting to make something even greater.
Across the Spider-Verse does end in a cliffhanger meaning the film, while managing to stand on it's own (it's story does wrap up a specific chapter of a tale), still relies heavily on how the next film, currently titled Beyond the Spider-Verse, completes the story. How many seeds were planted here to blossom in the next story remains to be seen, and despite how good this is, it does feel incomplete as it wraps up. So some judgement may have to be reserved until we can see how it all comes together. But my confidence level is high after seeing what they delivered here.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Starring: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Vélez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Daniel Kaluuya, Oscar Isaac, Mahershala Ali, Andy Samberg, Amandla Stenberg, Rachel Dratch, Nicholas Cage, John Mulaney, Toby Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Denis Leary, Cliff Robertson, Alfred Molina
Directors: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Writers: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, David Callaham
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