‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ Review: New Heights for Spider-Man

Rendered in every style imaginable, anchored by a fantastic soundtrack, and layered with nuance, Sony’s newest animated Spider-Man project, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” climbs to heights that surpass its predecessor. Maintaining the strengths of the original film while crafting new arcs for the movie’s focal characters makes pulling off a successful sequel a steep challenge. Fortunately for Spider-Man fans, “Across the Spider-Verse” succeeds, coloring in Miles Morales’s world with more mature themes and characters while doubling down on the original's incredible animation and music.

In 2018, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature and in doing so redefined the limits of animation. To execute their vision, the team broke away from the industry standard of increasingly realistic 3-D animation. Their use of choppy frame rates, a blend of hand-drawn and computer-generated animation, and the use of halftones and dots for shading — a direct reference to the printing process of comic books — set a new standard for animation.

The film’s co-producer Chris Miller said, “We wanted a look that was going to make you feel like … walking into a comic book,” in an interview with Variety.

Following that up would’ve been a big swing for any film, but “Into the Spider-Verse”’s sequel builds on its predecessor’s legacy to offer something new. The animation maintains all of the pop of the original but gives the animators even more creativity to experiment with. Hundreds of unique Spider-People and plenty of new universes seem to have freed every artistic impulse.

Jumping into these new worlds is not only a visual treat, but also an essential continuation of Miles’s story. The first film was narrow in scope: Miles and the various Spider-People pulled into his dimension by the Kingpin’s supercollider had to stop it, before Miles returned them to their worlds and defeated Kingpin himself. A post-credits scene, however, teased something bigger with a futuristic version of the hero — Spider-Man 2099 — able to traverse the multiverse.

That stinger serves as the jumping off point for “Across the Spider-Verse”’s story. The residual effects of Kingpin’s collider spawned new multiversal threats: a reality bending villain known as the Spot and intrusions from other universes. In response to these anomalies, Spider-Man 2099, or Miguel O’Hara, recruits most of the first film’s Spider-People, as well as a vibrant ensemble of new heroes, to maintain the continuity of the multiverse.

Miles tries to join the fight to contain the Spot — a threat to his family and reality — but his philosophy comes into conflict with Miguel’s. Miguel believes “being Spider-Man is a sacrifice. “That’s the job, that’s what you signed up for,” Miguel adds, dubbing these formative losses “canon events.” Miles rejects that rigid interpretation, searching for another way to deal with both the Spot and Miguel. The movie’s narrative is split between two major antagonists, both with enough nuance to carry their own films.

If that plot seems like too much for one movie to handle, it’s because it is. After over two hours, “Across the Spider-Verse” abruptly ends, leaving a tangled narrative web. Its length and ending represent a singular step back from the original movie. With a cadre of new, diverse characters, the runtime feels jam-packed with story. These other Spider-People provide compelling context for Miles’s rejection of Miguel’s ironclad authority. Miles’s resistance, as a Black lead character, feels like a particularly powerful indictment of modern sociopolitical systems. Miguel labels Miles an anomaly, unworthy of the mantle of Spider-Man or of protecting the multiverse, but Miles’s steadfast commitment to protecting people on a personal level proves him wrong.

There are few issues with the film in its own right, but dedicated fans might worry that a few live-action cameos from the larger Marvel universe will bring “Spider-Verse” into the overarching Marvel Cinematic Universe. One of the first film’s strengths was its independence from these cinematic behemoths — it would be a shame for such creativity to be subsumed into those larger brands.

Still, the film remains distinct. Opening in Gwen Stacy’s universe, with a cyan and magenta water-color style that matches her own design, the movie creates a cohesive visual language for every universe. That cohesion makes the introduction of new characters stand out even more. An early fight scene sees Gwen tangle with an alternate universe’s Vulture, made of parchment and charcoal linework. These designs prevent the busiest scenes from becoming overwhelming and allow the animators more creative freedom than even the original film.

The characters also stand out due to impressive voice performances. Shameik Moore delivers another stellar turn as Miles, authentically capturing the awkwardness between childhood and adulthood. Daniel Kaluuya shines as he completely disappears into the British accent of Spider-Punk. The other lead Spider-People — notably Hailee Stenfield as Gwen, Oscar Isaac as Miguel, and Issa Rae as newcomer Spider-Woman — bring more emotional resonance because of incredible voice acting.

It would be remiss to overlook the importance of “Across the Spider-Verse”’s soundtrack to the movie’s sonic profile. Metro Boomin delivers a balanced and consistent tracklist with highlights like “Hummingbird” and “Am I Dreaming?.” Daniel Pemberton seamlessly integrates those songs into a score that blends the usual superhero sound with something more reflective of Miles’s life.

Taken together, “Across the Spider-Verse”’s many characters, worlds, and styles meld together into a triumph of animated storytelling. Centering so many diverse perspectives on screen allowed the animators to explore once again what it means to be Spider-Man and the many forms that identity can take. Sony has once again raised the bar for crafting a Spider-Man story both visually and narratively, whetting appetites for the conclusion to one of the greatest trilogies ever put to screen.

—Staff Writer Daniel Pickney can be reached at daniel.pickney@thecrimson.com