Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is Taking Over the Web
by J. Nagle
It’s THAT good.
When Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse released in 2018, it shocked fans and critics alike. Sony, a company historically protective of the film rights to Spider-Man, worked with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller to produce a well-rounded animated film that not only revolutionized the superhero movie genre, but the medium of animation as a whole in cinema. Newer animated films have already been seen to take cues from the film in their stylistic decisions and mature theming, such as Kid Cudi’s Entergalactic and Joel Crawford’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, both releasing late last year.
Naturally, both audiences and critics had high expectations and hopes for the sequel. It wasn’t a matter of topping the first film, but rather of reaching that high level of quality and potency it served audiences five years ago. As expected, the stakes and innovations and emotions that Into the Spider-Verse brings to the table are amplified and expanded upon in its tense and riveting sequel.
Much like its predecessor, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a masterclass in multiversal storytelling and a celebration of the medium of animation as a whole. Each character introduced feels unique, and each world traveled to fills the viewer with a different feeling. Whether it’s warmth, excitement, suspense, or anxiety, the viewer is along for the ride as Miles has to come to terms with the fact that his journey as Spider-Man is far from over, and the death of his Uncle Aaron was only the start of the hardships he’ll have to face.
Each character’s animation is affected by these new environments we see them in. Gwen Stacy’s world is heavy on mood lighting, which is extremely effective in aiding her story in the direction it ends up in outside of the film’s main plot. The disruption Miles’ presence causes in Pavitr’s world is felt directly because of the clash in art direction by the end of the sequence. Spider-Punk’s animation style took a reported 3 years to develop, due to multiple parts of his model being animated at different frame rates. While a bit distracting in his first moments during the film, this style eventually feels natural enough as the viewer has had enough time to meet all these different Spider-People.
Even with all this in mind, Across the Spider-Verse feels like it’s only the tip of the iceberg in terms of different animation styles, emotional developments, and the journey through the Spider-Verse overall, that’s not at all to its detriment. The film gives the viewer just enough to work with to not be overwhelming, while the cameos and references feel logical and retain the plot’s spotlight rather than taking time away from it. Everything is explained in a way that doesn’t feel like exposition to a hardcore fan while also making sure not to alienate any Marvel newcomers.
Lord and Miller are now 2-for-2 in terms of making really good Spider-Man movies. By extension—we’re pretty confident in their ability to make an amazing conclusion in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse next year.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is playing in theaters now worldwide.