A tad more exciting and invigorating than the first instalment, and one that poses existential questions about the heroic quests of the titular figure(s), this is a continuously inventive and surprising work of blockbuster animation.
Review #2,761
Dir. Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers & Justin Thompson
2023 | USA | Animation, Action, Fantasy | 140 min | 2.39: 1 | English
PG (passed clean) for sequences of animated action violence, some language and thematic elements
Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Jason Schwartzman, Oscar Isaac, Brian Tyree Henry
Plot: Miles Morales catapults across the multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. When the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles must redefine what it means to be a hero.
Awards: Nom. for Best Animated Feature (Oscars)
Distributor: Sony
Accessibility Index
Subject Matter: Moderate – Being a Hero; Identity & Existence; Multiverse
Narrative Style: Slightly Complex
Pace: Fast/Tight
Audience Type: Mainstream
Viewed: Netflix
Spoilers: No
This second instalment of the planned ‘Spider-Verse’ animated trilogy may just do enough to win another Oscar for Best Animated Feature, even if Hayao Miyazaki’s generally well-received The Boy and the Heron (which I found a tad underwhelming) is as strong a dark horse as it gets.
I enjoyed Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse more than the first film—it’s more exciting and invigorating, and balances familiarity (with its eye-popping flurry of visual styles) with a sense of invention (manifested most markedly in the fugacious, faceless villain, the ceremoniously named The Spot).
As such, I felt more immersed in the experience, plus there is a stronger emotional centre in this one. Across the Spider-Verse is as much about heroic quests as it is about the connections each of us have in our lives, be it family, close relatives or friends.
The screenwriters smartly turn the film into an existential crisis, where the question of allegiance haunts Miles Morales, the protagonist, who is torn between saving a loved one or the world (or worlds, for that matter).
“You have a choice between saving one person and saving every world.”
Such weighty responsibilities rest on his tiny shoulders, but shoulder he must, and defy he must too, as he boldly challenges systemic desires to preserve the status quo. With its thrill-a-minute pace, Across the Spider-Verse is consistently entertaining.
Moreover, it does suppress quite well the ‘middle child’ syndrome that occasionally plagues second instalments of a planned trilogy, where these movies feel incomplete and a setup for something more significant.
Here, it is self-contained enough to work on its own (I’ve long forgotten the events of the first film and enjoyed this purely on its terms), and even if there is no third film, the conclusion feels satisfactory.
Grade: A-
Trailer:
Music:
Eternality Tan 
[…] Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) […]
LikeLike