Spider-Man is back!  Which one?  I don’t blame you for being confused, what with so many Spider-People swinging around these days.  There were three Spider-Men in the previous Spider-Man movie, the live-action No Way Home.  2018’s animated Into the Spider-Verse had seven of them.  Across the Spider-Verse, a sequel to that film, includes so many Spider-People that your head will spin trying to count them all.  (Don’t worry, someone on Wikipedia is on the job.)  The key arachnids in this year’s Spider-Movie are Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), who stepped into the role when his Earth’s Spider-Man was killed by the Kingpin, and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), who is Spider-Gwen on her Earth.

As with Into the Spider-Verse, the primary concern of this movie is the multiverse.  Last time around, Miles and five Spider-People destroyed the Kingpin’s collider and saved the multiverse.  Miles officially became Earth-1610’s Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, fighting crime when he’s not in school–or crushing on Gwen.  (Are these two soul mates? They might be, if they weren’t so caught up in being superheroes.) Of course, no good deed goes unpunished for any Spider-Man.  His actions in the previous movie accidentally transformed a geeky scientist into The Spot (Jason Schwartzman), whose antics as a hapless villain is wreaking havoc on the multiverse.

Gwen, back on Earth-65, is definitely going through a rough patch.  Her boyfriend Peter Parker died while she was trying to subdue The Lizard, leading Captain Stacy (Shea Whigham), her father, to believe she (as Spider-Gwen) killed him.  Captain Stacy is now intent on arresting his daughter, completely unaware of her crime-fighting double-life.  Naturally, this turn of events makes it impossible for Gwen to confide to him that she is Spider-Gwen, or discuss her feelings after Peter’s death.  No matter what Earth we’re talking about, life for Spider-Man is one tragic event after another.

One evening, when Gwen is duking it out with a Renaissance-era version of The Vulture (Jorma Taccone), she is assisted by Jessical Drew (Issa Rae).  The motorcycle-riding and very-pregnant Spider-Woman explains how she’s part of a team who try to keep order in the multiverse.  Miguel O’Hara (Spider-Man 2099, Oscar Isaac) is against including Gwen, given her feelings towards Miles and how he figures into the ongoing multiverse instability.  Jessica says she will be responsible for teaching Gwen the ropes, and Miguel relents.  (Yeah, this won’t turn out well.)

As you may have guessed, Across is just as much Gwen’s movie as it is Miles.  While she struggles to connect with her father, Miles learns that his role in the multiverse is much bigger than he realized.  Everything comes to a head when Gwen goes to Miles’ Earth on the heels of The Spot.  Angry that he has no life and sucks at being a supervillain, The Spot is  criss-crossing the multiverse, building his powers so that he can take his frustrations out on Miles. Instead of focusing on her mission, The Spot escapes and Miles hitches a ride on Gwen’s portal to another Earth.  The two land on Earth-50101 where Manhattan is an India-styled Mumbattan, and Spider-Man is Pavitr Prabhakar (a hilarious Karan Soni).  Miles does what he believes he’s supposed to do by saving the life of that Earth’s Captain Stacy, but unwittingly disrupts a “canon event”.  This leads to Miles being taken to Earth-928, the place where all Spider-People congregate.  There are sooooooo many Spider-People there.  Again, stop counting and enjoy the ride.

Miguel calls Miles on the carpet and explains what it means to be a Spider-Man.  When Miles realizes how his inclusion into the Spider-Family will impact his family, he rushes to his Earth to prevent a predestined tragedy from happening.  Miguel and every other Spider-Man chase Miles, but he manages to escape.  The movie concludes with a HUGE cliffhanger on the level of The Matrix Reloaded, but never fear.  The conclusion of this trilogy will arrive in April 2024.

Across the Spider-Verse is told with a dizzying mix of animation styles that characterized the first movie.  However, the overt comic-book influences have taken a back seat to abstract and impressionist stylings that both reflect the underlying emotions of many key scenes.  The movie’s two set-pieces, Mumbattan and the Earth-928 chase sequence are so incredibly detailed and staged that if I try to describe them I would fail to do them justice.  Overall, Across is truly amazing and is a testament to how producers Chris Miller and Phil Lord strove to make this movie more than a repeat of what they’ve done before.

As before, there’s a wealth of inspired voice acting, with Isaac, Schwartzman, Rae, Soni, Whigmham and Daniel Kaluuya (hilarious as Hobie Brown a.k.a. Spider-Punk) joining returnees Moore, Stienfeld, Brian Tyree Henry (Captain Jeff Morales) and Luna Lauren Velez (Mrs. Morales).  The dialog is a sharp mix of humor and heartfelt drama, with the best scenes being those with Miles and Gwen talking to their parents.  Topping everything off is Daniel Pemberton’s exceptional, multi-faceted score.  All of the superlatives you’ve heard others use to describe the movie–that it’s amazing, spectacular, fantastic, thrilling, etc. are all true.  Across the Spider-Verse is one of the best superhero movies ever made, and one of the best movies of 2023.  Highly Recommended.

Analysis

Much has changed in the four years since Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was released.  Suddenly, multiverses have become a recurring theme at the box office.  Sony (and Marvel) released their own live-action multiverse Spider-Man movie (No Way Home) in 2021 that eventually became one of the highest grossing movies of all time (third domestic, ninth international, seventh world-wide).  Marvel released a Doctor Strange sequel devoted to the multiverse.  Everything Everywhere All At Once won Best Picture and took home seven Academy Awards.  WB’s The Flash brings the DC take on the multiverse to theaters.  Why movies about multiverses are trending is a topic I could only speculate on.  Perhaps it’s a reflection of our overwhelming, media-saturated environment.  I have no doubt that somewhere, in another universe, a version of me has written a think piece on this very subject.  In this particular universe, I’ll limit myself to the humble task of reviewing Across the Spider-Verse.

Given the overwhelmingly positive opinions about the movie I had read before its release, I wondered if the movie was overhyped.  Could it really be as good as people were emphatically saying it was?  I really enjoyed Into the Spider-Verse, one of the rare superhero movies that was both a box office success, critically acclaimed and won Best Animated Feature at the 2019 Academy Awards.  With its captivating mix of animation styles and splashy action sequences, the movie was a lightning strike to superhero movies, looking like nothing that had come before.  It was the first animated movie to fully embrace the artistry of comic books and use them to tell an emotionally compelling story.  (Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, as good as it was, looked like an extended cartoon to me.)

Artistry Unleashed

With that in mind, how does Across top Into?  The movie does many of the same things as its predecessor; it just takes them to a higher level.  From the opening minutes, when Spider-Gwen Stacy plays the drums and confides her rage through voice-over narration, I could see how this movie was going to use animation in ways that other movies had only dabbled with.  The animation does more than simply show Gwen playing the drums.  It visualizes the sounds she makes.  The closest analogy I can think of is in Ratatouille, when Remy is describing how the combination of different flavors tastes.  The various flavors are visualized with different colors, abstract shapes and sounds.  It’s an inspired play on how we describe food and drink as having notes of this or that.  Gwen’s drum scene does the same thing, only more emphatically.

There are many other scenes in the movie that do the same thing, and it’s overwhelming in a good way.  The best analogy I can think of is watching a jazz band riff and improvise, or watching a painter create a mural.  Of course, those experiences can’t be replicated in a movie that took four years to make.  Everything in a blockbuster like Across is planned and strategized long before the first image is drawn.  And yet, I could not escape the feeling that the movie was coming together right before my eyes.  How a movie that has taken so much time and effort to bring forth feels this spontaneous and free-wheeling is simply incredible.

A Cast of…a lot

The main artistic conceit of the first movie was to represent the other Spider-People (Peter B. Parker, Spider-Man Noir, Peni Parker, and Spider-Ham) in completely different animation styles.  Across does the same thing, only at magnitude greater than before.  There were so many different Spider-People in Across I would never be able to count them.  (Thankfully, the movie’s Wikipedia page is working on that.)  

Among the noteworthy characters introduced are the afro-sporting, motorcycle-riding and pregnant Jessica Drew (Spider-Woman), the London-infused, walking collage of magazine clippings Hobie Brown (Spider-Punk), the ferocious and vampyric Miguel O’Hara (Spider-Man 2099), Mumbattan’s Pavitr Prabhakar, computer-savvy Margo Kess (Spider-Byte, Amandla Stenberg), Lego Spider-Man (Nic Novicki) and Peter Parker clone Scarlet Spider (Adam Sandberg).  In the dizzying chase scene that brings the movie to a crescendo, I noted a Spider-Cat, a Spider-T-Rex and a Spider-Cowboy amidst the chaos.  

From what I’ve gleaned on the internet, many of these characters have appeared before, either in print or other mediums.  Seeing these characters in this movie will mean more to the faithful than to me, and I was fine with that.  The faithful should be rewarded every once in a while.  I haven’t read a Spider-Man comic book in decades, but that didn’t prevent me from enjoying each new introduction.

Characters, and then some

I always get a kick out of watching someone like Tony Stark or Steve Rogers function in the real world.  Don’t get me wrong, I certainly enjoy seeing Iron Man flying around and Captain America throwing his mighty shield, but there is more to these characters beyond their superhero duties.  The intimate “behind the scenes” moments make these superheroes relatable to ordinary humans like you and I.

In Across, we see Miles listening to music while doing his homework, meeting his guidance counselor at school and having emotional discussions with his parents.  We see Gwen playing the drums and talking with her father.  The movie even shows us Peter B. Parker and MJ being parents.  While these interludes aren’t critical to the overall plot, they help make these superheroes relatable.  They also serve as a welcome change-of-pace from the action.  I’ve enjoyed most of the MCU movies, but lately they have felt very plot-driven.  The exception being the handful of scenes that feel like “required levity moments”.  In Across, the human moments aren’t forced.  They’re included on purpose and are as important as the superhero action sequences.

The Thrill of it All

Most superhero movies rarely give the characters time to enjoy the gifts that fate has bestowed upon them.  Instead, they’re intensely focused on stopping a Big Bad from doing bad things.  I remember in Doctor Strange how Stephen had a few minutes to marvel over having the power to bring an apple backward and forward in time, and then it was back to business.

Across, however, lets our superheroes enjoy being superheroes.  There’s a scene early on where Miles and Gwen swing around Brooklyn.  They aren’t on a desperate search for a villain–that will come soon enough.  Instead, the two of them are simply enjoying their abilities, and it reminded me of Tony’s first flight in Iron Man and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy.    Superhero movies should allow themselves to express that same feeling of joy more often than they do.  I get that superheroes often have important things to do, usually with the fate of the universe or even the multiverse is at stake.  But if they’re not allowed to have fun once in a while, who would ever want to be one?

Take the Lead

Another surprising change from the first movie was how Across doesn’t focus exclusively on Miles.  Instead, the story is almost evenly divided between Miles and Gwen.  Superhero movies routinely give the sidekick a moment or two to shine, but Across doesn’t view Gwen as a secondary character.  Instead, she’s an equal partner to Miles, and actually is the catalyst for the events that Miles becomes caught up in.  Additionally, she has her own arc that doesn’t involve Miles at all.  When she’s not working with the Spider-Crew responsible for maintaining order throughout the multiverse, she’s dealing with her strained relationship with her police captain father.  In the end, the movie does an excellent job of tying Gwen and her father’s reconciliation with Miles’ frantic race to save his own father.

As for Miles, at the outset he’s learning how to juggle his normal life with his superhero life.  He splits his time between fighting crime as Spider-Man and dealing with his frustrated parents when he is not.  By the end of the movie Miles has learned so much about what his existence as a Spider-Man means that his head is spinning.  That his becoming Spider-Man was an accident, how his actions in the conclusion of the first movie created a supervillain set on destroying him–and the multiverse in the process, and that his life is dictated by tragic canon events that can’t be prevented.  If he does, he will cause his Earth to be destroyed.   The events in Across serve as a huge wakeup call to Miles.  By the end, he’s aware of the bigger picture and also faces an existential dilemma: does he risk destroying his Earth to save his father’s life?

Taking Aim At Canon

Across ingeniously addresses the notion of canon on two levels, as the foundation of the plot and as subtext.  Canon is spoken of as the established rules for all Spider-Men.  Allowing the canon events to proceed to their tragic outcomes is described as the heroic sacrifice all Spider-Men must endure.  Uncle Ben must die.  Captain Stacy must die.  Gwen Stacy must die.  These events are considered to be necessary to maintain the order of the multiverse.  If these events are prevented from happening in a given universe, their Earth is at risk of being destroyed.  Going against canon is a mistake with potentially disastrous consequences.  When Miles prevented Mumbattan’s Captain Stacy from being killed, he did what any superhero would do in the situation.  However, he unknowingly puts that Earth at risk.

Even with this knowledge, Miles is intent on not letting his father die because canon dictates it must be so.  His choice is as metaphysical as it can possibly be.  If he saves his father’s life, his actions could put his own Earth at risk.  If he lets his father die, he would never forgive himself since he could have prevented it.  Miles’ choice reminds me of Superman’s decision to turn back time in 1978’s Superman.  He breaks his father’s rules about changing human history to save the woman he loves.  I have a feeling Miles will make the same choice as Superman, but it will not have the catastrophic results Miguel believes it will.

At a subtextual level, the movie argues that adhering to established comic book canon is a creative dead end.  If the filmmakers were only allowed to follow canon, they would have no avenue for creativity.  A canon-influenced movie would have no choice but to reproduce or mimic what has gone before without question.  Across places Miguel (Spider-Man 2099) firmly on the side of canon, to the point where it has become unquestioned dogma for both him and his adherents.   Miles, however, refuses to accept the dictates of canon and seeks an alternative that won’t require him to sacrifice his father’s life.  

Of course, Miles’ decision comes with a huge risk, but considering his creative nature, he’s more comfortable with taking risks than doing what everyone has done before.  Miles’ decision  epitomizes how the filmmakers decided to do something bold with the character instead of delivering a typical Spider-Man movie.  As they see it, simply reproducing the narrative in the comics would not have been rewarding.  Instead, the filmmakers took a huge gamble with the fan base by subverting canon.  The movie they produced is exponentially more rewarding because they didn’t shy away from risk.

A Villainous Geek

Unlike Into, which featured well-established Spider-Man villains The Kingpin and Dr. Octopus,  Across sets up The Spot as Miles’ nemesis.  I had never heard of The Spot before this movie, and was genuinely surprised to find out how powerful he is.  A villain who can create gaps in space-time definitely warrants attention.  Spider-Man has the best rogues gallery in Marvel, and bringing this character to the fore instead of someone like Electro or the Sandman was a masterstroke on behalf of the producers.  While the movie does include appearances by the Lizard and the vulture, they are limited cameos.  (Rendering the Vulture as a Renaissance drawing was particularly clever.)

Before Dr. Jonathan Ohnn became The Spot, he was an average nerdy scientist working at  Alchemax on behalf of Wilson Fisk.  Then, thanks to the Spider-Men destroying the collider in the first movie, he was transformed into a powerful being.  Unfortunately, The Spot can’t harness his newfound abilities to fuel a life of crime, or even exist as a normal human being.  He’s unable to steal an ATM machine to buy food and laments that he no longer has a face.  He’s a tragic figure whose desire for revenge is understandable, albeit misplaced.  He reminded  me of The Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman, or Two-Face in The Dark Night, in that he believes that a superhero that changed his life for the worse, and not his own choices.

Bringing The Spot’s pathetic characterization home is the brilliant voice acting by Jason Schwartzman, who portrays The Spot as someone who you could almost feel sorry for–if he weren’t so damn annoying.  All of this combines to make The Spot a perfect dark mirror reflection of Miles: neurotic instead of confident, unloved instead of loved, and cursed instead of blessed.

Vocal Stylings

I hate when the people behind animated films choose actors with name recognition over those who can actually do the job.  I can care less if so-and-so’s name is at the top of the poster when I can’t pick their voice out of the cast to save my life.  Fortunately, the filmmakers behind the Spider-Man animated films avoided that trap and hired actors based on how well their voices suited the characters they were portraying.

The filmmakers continue to reap dividends for having Shameik Moore (Miles) and Hailee Steinfeld (Gwen) in the lead roles, and their chemistry makes their on-screen attraction palpable.  Across also benefits tremendously by having several members of the supporting cast return this time around.  In particular, Brian Tyree Henry and Luna Lauren Velez stand out as Miles’ parents by giving them layers of emotional complexity and subtlety I rarely witness in a superhero movie.  And Jake Johnson is once again a hilarious goofball as the older Peter B. Parker.

Where Into scored by having Nicolas Cage, John Mulaney, Lily Tomlin (Lily Tomlin), Kathryn Hahn (Dr. Octopus) among others voice key roles, Across keeps the winning streak alive, and then some.  Oscar Isaac (Miguel O’Hara), Issa Rae (Jessica Drew), Karan Soni (Pavitr Prabhakar), Shea Whigham (Captain Stacy) and Daniel Kaluuya (Hobie Brown) are perfect matches for the characters they portray.  Even Lonely Islanders Adam Sandberg (Crimson Spider) and Jorma Taccone (The Vulture) get into the act.  Like many films with a great cast, I could enjoy this movie even if I could only listen to it.

Much more than a film score

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the amazing score by Daniel Pemberton.  As with the first movie, he manages to give each character their own distinct theme music.  I remember reading about how a movie like The Dark Knight had a different theme for Batman and one for The Joker, each written by a different composer.  How Pemberton is able to create distinct themes for upwards of ten characters (possibly) more is nothing less than incredible.

I particularly enjoyed how the movie uses music to represent Miles and Gwen’s personalities.  Whereas Miles enjoys R&B and hip-hop, Gwen is all about 2000’s girl pop-rock.  Given how the movie is produced by Sony, I’m surprised that the producers weren’t asked to include pictures of Sony Music’s Avril Lavigne or Pink on Gwen’s wall.  She probably prefers music along the lines of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or White Stripes, artists on a different label.  Or maybe, since I haven’t actively followed music in a long time, I should just shut up now before I embarrass myself further.

A Historical Achievement

While watching Across the Spider-Verse I had the same reaction I did while watching Into.  Namely that both movies have taken animation in a new direction.  Most animated films focus on being entertaining, but every now and then a movie comes along that is truly groundbreaking.  I’ve been fortunate to see a few that were transformative, like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Toy Story and Wall-E.  Shrek has been incredibly influential in how it paved the way for animated films to have a decidedly arch tone.  I love Aardman, but they’re more keepers of the flame than revolutionaries.  Henry Selick’s The Nightmare Before Christmas deserves a mention, as does Charlie Kaufman’s Anomalisa for taking stop-motion into territory that nobody else has dared to go before or since.

To that notable list I’ll add Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse.  With their deft melding of various styles, I consider both films as marking a sea-change in what animated films can accomplish.  As these movies have shown, the possibilities are endless.