Spider-Man has had many iterations on film and has remained a fan favorite for decades. I’m not sure if it’s his youth, his humor, his tragic backstory, or his cool costume, but the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has been a very accessible super hero. In 2018, Miles Morales made his big screen debut and this week he returns in “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”
Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is still living in Brooklyn with his dad Jefferson (Brian Tyree Henry) and his mom Rio (Luna Lauren Velez), but he misses his interdimensional Spider friends, especially Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld). After the destruction of the super collider and the closing of the portals between the Earth variants, he has been left alone, trying to figure out how to keep his identity secret without hurting his relationship with his parents and trying to keep the city safe from the new “villain of the week,” a man made of spots (Jason Schwartzman).
Gwen has been having her own difficulties. While her father is getting close to discovering her secret identity, she runs into two Spider-People from other dimensions, Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) and Jessica Drew (Issa Rae). They invite her to join them to set things right across the multiverse, but in order to do this, she is forbidden from having any contact with Miles. When she breaks this rule, we find that it could spell disaster for everyone.
This is a spectacular movie. I loved the original “Into the Spider-Verse” movie, but this one might be even better. But in a world where both exist, fortunately we don’t have to choose.
The animation in this takes what was done in the first and amps it up to eleven. We get different styles of animation for each dimension, but rather than the short clips that we got last time, we get to spend more time in these universes. It is an absolute visual feast. If I were to have any complaint with this movie it would be that it borders on overload. I don’t think it gets there, but it’s close at times.
The voice acting is top notch. Every single character is played with so much love and emotion, but Moore fully inhabits Miles and it is just incredible to behold.
And the story! This is a middle movie, so it runs the risk of leaving the viewer unsatisfied, and while I certainly wish I could see the final movie right now, this movie didn’t feel like filler. We have real growth from the characters and some plot points that move the story forward. Yes, it’s a cliffhanger, but I feel like I know these characters better and have actual new information.
There is a lot of talk about superhero fatigue, that maybe people don’t want to see any more superhero movies. I’ve felt some of that myself. But I think what we want is something new and fresh. “Across the Spider-Verse” is slinging that everywhere.
This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on June 4, 2023.