‘Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse’ Swings High in Sequel

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Editor's Note: Original story article from TheSocialTalks.

In the words of our favorite wall-crawler, let’s do this one more time.

It's been four years since Sony Animation’s ambitious film Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse was released in theaters and created massive waves in the comic book movie genre. It pushed for an experimental and stylistic approach in its animation, honoring the look and feel of the comics while providing a rich storytelling experience of Miles Morales’s (Shamiek Moore) journey into becoming the famed web-slinger. Into the Spider-Verse also marks the first Spider-Man movie to be animated and even more so as Marvel’s first theatrical animated film.

The film became known as an “industry” and “cultural” reset as it encouraged other films to create their own mixed artstyle. Recent movies with similar creative yet unique approaches to film includeThe Mitchells vs. The Machines, The Bad Guys, and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

Watching Into the Spider-Verse earn an Oscar for best-animated feature opens limitless possibilities for comic book movies, the sequel’s expectations from both a narrative and performance standpoint were a lot higher and riskier.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse pushed its animation boundaries further, visually and narratively, with over a 1000 cast and crew members working behind the scenes. Under the directing team consisting of Jaoquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, the production of the film went bigger and bolder, elevating the risk of imploding itself before reaching its full potential.

Against all odds and a few delays, Across the Spider-Verse managed to maintain the thrills, the alluring aesthetics, and the razzle-dazzle of the original with the multiverse cranked to the max. With multiple Spider-Men, Spider-Women, and hidden gems filling up the silver screen like an unexpected Where’s Waldo book, the chaoticness might be too much for some viewers trying to appreciate the bigger picture in some scenes. Nevertheless, it motivates viewers to watch the film again to find their favorite Spider-variant.

Surprisingly, Across the Spider-Verse’s coming-of-age story doesn’t get lost in multiversal antics as it stays grounded and in the foreground of the film. Taking place about 16 months after the first film, Across the Spider-Verse follows a now 15-year-old Miles adjusting to his life as Brooklyn’s newest hero. He is taller, more confident in his abilities, and wants to prove himself to be worthy of taking the mantle from the late Peter Parker of his universe.

As he’s becoming a seasoned Spider-Man, he’s stretched thin with the responsibilities and stress of being a devoted son and grade-A student. Miles also struggles with being “the one and only Spider-Man” in his dimension as the only group of friends who understood his struggles are back in their home worlds with no form of communication whatsoever.

His parents, Jefferson (Brian Tyree Henry) and Rio (Luna Lauren Vélez), are kept in the dark about their son’s alter ego and are increasingly becoming concerned about the troubled communication with Miles.

Once Earth-65’s Gwen Stacey (Hailee Steinfeld) makes a sudden reappearance in his life, aka Earth-1610, Miles finds himself in another multiverse-saving adventure involving a dimension-jumping supervillain-in-training known as The Spot (Jason Schwartzman). Tensions fly as Miles is at odds with the leader of the Spider-Society, Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac), an interdimensional strike force that protects the coveted Spider-Verse from “cannon-disrupting events.”

But Across the Spider-Verse isn’t solely a Miles Morales story, it’s also Gwen’s story. As a matter of fact, it’s Gwen who starts the first scene and closes the final scene in the film which elevates her importance this time. The first half-hour is devoted to Gwen’s backstory, one that shows similar but contrasting issues that both she and Miles face. Gwen was forced to reveal her alter-ego to her father (Shea Whigham), a police captain who blames Spider-Woman for the death of Peter Parker in her dimension. With nowhere else to go, she leaves home and joins the Spider-Society.

Though initial reports from producer Amy Pascal claim that the film would shed light on a growing romance between Miles and Gwen, Across the Spider-Verse downplays the romantic chemistry. It effectively illustrates a pair of teenagers finding their band (as Gwen states) that relates the same rhythms and blues they go through as they swing through New York together once again.

Instead of forming bonds with other teens during Saturday detention, the pair find new allies through the horde of Spider-People in some of the parallel worlds that the other Spider-People call home. One of them is a cool British rocker named Hobie Brown (Daniel Kaluuya), also known as Spider-Punk, whose presence is stylized as if he jumped out of the punk fanzine scene. The film also sees the return of Peter B. Parker/Spider-Man (Jake Johnson), a new dad with his toddler Mayday.

The multiverse starts to unravel as portals and glitches start to appear due to The Spot’s increasing power, giving us glimpses of other realities. (Some of these being a Lego-verse, a Mumbai-inspired New York, and a quick revisit to one of Sony’s live-action spider flicks).

When the multiverse starts to unravel due to The Spot’s increasing power, threats of disrupting the Canon start to appear as Miguel notes is crucial to follow. These critical narrative events are what every Spider-Man must go through in order to keep the universe intact, part of these rules includes the sacrifice of a loved one.

The life and glamor of Spider-Man isn't as great as one imagines it to be, in fact being the famed wall-crawler is pretty daunting.

When Miles questions Spider-Man’s multiversal dogma and pushes toward self-determining one’s destiny, he shakes up the Spider-Verse with a spider-filled battle from all over.

Despite its two hour and 20 minute runtime making Across the Spider-verse the longest animated film in history, the film manages to entertain the view with vibrant visuals, alluring characters, and cameos that true fans would catch. Its narrative manages to perfectly execute its messages of the struggles of self-discovery, maturity, and parenting without losing itself in its ambition of being the biggest Spider-Man movie since Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Into the Spider-Verse’s impact in the industry set the bar high for its innovative animation style. Across the Spider-Verse goes stylisticly overboard while beautifully catapulting comic-book storytelling even further.

Across the Spider-Verse was originally pitched as one story before the decision was made to split the story into two films. With its cliffhanger ending, the film works similarly to Empire Strikes Back by setting the stage for its finale, Beyond the Spider-Verse. Though the final scene finishes the sophomore film strong, some viewers might be upset by the lack of closure. Its grand scale also doesn’t give characters Miguel and Jessica Drew (Issa Rae) more screen time for big backstories and deep character arcs. Though it’s anticipated they will play a larger role in the next film.

Despite these issues, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is one of the best Spider-Man films of all time. Its ambition and unique experience push it further than its predecessor while immersing itself deeper in the multiversal web than No Way Home. It’s a perfect blend of suspense, comedy, and grandiose visuals allows the film to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

Already proving itself to be one the best films for 2023 so far, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse shows that animation is indeed cinema.