Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was not JUST the best-animated movie of 2018 or the best movie of 2018, it was the best Spider-Man film period! I was thrilled at it getting a sequel but was slightly worried it won’t live up to the first one. Is Across the Spider-Verse a worthy sequel or one universe that should’ve been closed?
Firstly,
let’s get the obvious out of the way. The animation is SPECTACULAR! The
animation and art style changing depending on what universe the
characters are in or even what universe the characters are from was a
great creative choice. The way the characters move, the vibrancy and the
colours of the world are so gorgeous and beautifully crafted. The
action scenes are thrilling and exciting while also being
well-choreographed. The soundtrack is still phenomenal here as well,
with a special mention of Spider-Gwen’s theme.
In terms of story, Spider-Gwen has a bigger focus this time. We get more exploration of her backstory and her struggles, such as loneliness and guilt. Her character arc is one of the great highlights of this film. Miles Morales is still of course the main focus as well and has his struggles too. He is starting to experience the “Spider-Man” problem of balancing his own life with the responsibility of Spider-man. The sequel continues his arc of trying to become his own hero and it is still very compelling. The chemistry between both Miles and Gwen is strong with their relationship being one of the things I enjoyed. Spider-Man 2099 returns from the post-credit of the previous film to a major role in this entry. I like that he is the one Spider-Man who doesn’t joke like the others as it furthers the contrast between him and Miles. The way he is animated feels more inhuman as well which makes him significantly frightening.
He isn’t the main villain though, that comes to a character called The Spot. He is a very interesting villain as he comes off as very goofy and silly. His origin is also a bit ridiculous. Despite all that, the directors managed to make him come off as very threatening with how they used his abilities. It is impressive that made a lame-looking character be that menacing. The returning voice cast such as Shameik Moore as Miles, Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen, Brian Tyree Henry as Jeff, Luna Lauren Vélez as Rio Morales, and Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker is still great here. Oscar Isaac also returns as Spider-Man 2099 and he is awesome. In terms of the new voice cast, Jason Schwartzman is terrific as The Spot with how he portrays both the silly and serious side of the antagonist. Karan Soni is funny as Spider-Man India and Daniel Kaluuya is quite cool as Spider-Punk. Despite the multiverse theme, the information dumps never become too much. They are written in an understandable way that the audience can still digest. The humour is still genuinely funny and there wasn’t a joke that didn’t land.
In terms of issues, I do find the second act a little bit too long. The second act is mostly about the family drama of Miles Morales and it does go on for quite a while. It doesn’t help that the importance of this drama doesn’t come into play in this film but most likely the next one, so it doesn’t even have a proper payoff. Additionally, the sound mixing can be a bit off. It is sometimes a little difficult to hear dialogue during scenes with loud music or action. This is especially noticeable in the beginning with the drums feeling way more loud than the dialogue. This is also very clearly a part 1 film. It ends at a point where it feels like it is about to enter the final act but it just ends before it does. If the aim was to make me desperate for the next movie then it succeeded!
Overall, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a very worthy sequel that builds upon everything that made the first great. The multiverse is such an overdone thing but this film still somehow makes it feel fresh! If the final movie in this trilogy is as good in quality as both this and the first movie, we might have one of the best trilogies in cinema history! The 3rd film can’t come soon enough because I am dying to watch it!
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