Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the follow-up to the smash hit Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The first iteration of this series caught everyone by surprise… I remember myself thinking, WOW… now this is something special. So where does a studio go from there, bigger and better is always the goal. I’m happy to say, this movie definitely built on the success of the first.
It is always difficult to outdo an origin story in a series. The first movie drew us in and this second film expands the universe… into… well… more universes. This movie continues exploring our favourite character Miles Morales as well as an added focus on Gwen Stacey. The art style, which set the original movie apart, gets pumped up into second gear. I found myself mesmerized by the varied art styles each character seemed to embody. As we meet more spidey ‘variants’ from other universes, their unique art style really gave a vibe of visiting another universe.
Outside of the visually epic displays, I found the music infused into the movie to also add to the adventure. There is something special about this series… it’s got so much style. It’s rare I find myself leading off a review raving about that as such a draw.
As for the plot, it centers around Miles Morales growing as a Spider-man. Learning about the journey all spider-people have to go through to become their best selves. For better or for worse. The secondary plot centers around Gwen Stacey and Spider-man 2099 as they work to keep the threats of reality from falling apart. Those who have watched other Marvel movies or shows in recent years may find some similar story elements as the branching of realities/universes seems to fit in line with the Loki series on Disney+. The group finds themselves attempting to keep order throughout the universe as it conflicts with doing the right thing and making hard decisions that affect each other’s families.
The story pace moves along quite well and jumps between storylines fairly well without feeling forced or dragged out. It does end as a cliffhanger which setups up for the 3rd part of the trilogy… as one would expect.
As far as hardcore Spider-man fans are concerned, the movie does an excellent job at integrating callbacks, references, and guest appearances to get you excited. Some you may be expecting and some that will surprise you. It really makes you wonder how creative the studio will get with crossing paths with other Marvel entities. #NoSpoilers
All in all, I was thoroughly entertained. I will warn you, if you haven’t seen the first installment of this series, you should watch it first. I did watch it with a non-spidey enthusiast who hadn’t seen the first movie and she found herself quite confused as to who the characters were and what was going on. If you have seen the first, you know loosely what to expect. A well put together, well-written, and incredibly artistic take on Spider-man.
A great family movie and an epic Marvel installment for Spidey fans of the first movie.
