I had plenty of doubts about Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse when it was first announced. Sony usually makes the worst possible decisions when it comes to their ownership of the Spider-Man franchise, so an animated film? No thank you. But I was wrong, so very wrong, and Into the Spider-Verse was amazing. I had zero doubts about Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. I knew it was going to be great, and it was! Simple as that. Best, most exciting movie experience of the year so far.

Movie Rating: 10/10 – Fantastic

Across the Spider-Verse surprised me in a lot of ways, with a lot of choices they made. It had all the Easter Eggs and callbacks and twists one could hope for. There’s a metric ton of Spider-People, and they clearly had fun with the cameos and the choices. I couldn’t be happier with all of that zaniness. The people making these movies know exactly what they’re doing, and now I can’t wait for next year’s Beyond the Spider-Verse.

Join me after the jump for my thoughts/full review of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Expect FULL SPOILERS for the movie. And feel free to share your own thoughts in the comments below!

6. A perfect movie/sequel

In 2018, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse took moviegoers by surprise with its fun characters, emotional story and never-before-scene animation style. Five years later, Across the Spider-Verse has even more fun characters, an even more emotional story, and the magic they pull off with different animation and art styles is revolutionary. Across the Spider-Verse is a perfect sequel. It matches what came before and builds into something better on all fronts.

This movie is crazy. It pushes the boundaries for what we thought animation could be. For decades, the Disney and Pixar style has dominated animated movies, even those from other studios. But now Spider-Man is king. It’s hard to put into words how this movie looks, just know that they use the parallel universe angle to explore multiple artistic styles across multiple worlds and characters, and it all works flawlessly. This is a movie that jumps from pastel water colors to anarchic graffiti to Da Vincian papyrus without skipping a beat. It must be seen to be believed. I saw it. I believe it. 

And all of this vivid style is in full support of an engaging story. Miles Morales and his interdimensional friends grapple with a lot of deep and interesting questions about fate, about heroism and about what it means to be Spider-Man. The first movie tackled a lot of those questions, and this sequel finds even new ones to ask and explore. 

The ne wmovie also has hundreds of new, interdimensional Spider-People. It’s fit to bursting with new, creative characters. If you enjoyed the humor of the noir detective Spider-Man or the cartoon pig Spider-Man from the first film, wait until you meet dinosaur Spider-Man, punk Spider-Man and Peter Parkedcar. Pun very much intended. The cameos are as insane as the animation, and they don’t detract from the story being told. These aren’t cameos just for the sake of getting us to point at the screen in acknowledgement. Everybody involved is clearly having a ton of fun making this movie. And I had a ton of fun watching. 

5. Animation Renaissance

I am not an art guy. I know what I like, but I doubt I can really talk about what I like. It’s why my comic book reviews mostly focus on the story and the writing. But surely I can blather foolishly here about how good the artwork is in Across the Spider-Verse. It’s just mind-bogglingly good. They already developed that frenetic, funky style in the first film, and now they take it to unheard of levels with the sequel. They make each visited universe unique, while maintaining the first film’s general style. Every character is unique. Every scene is a painting. It’s a huge step forward in animation, and I love how we’re seeing that style in other films. Puss In Boots: The Last Wish clearly had parts inspired by Into the Spider-Verse. Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is, likewise, inspired by these movies and I love it. Across the Spider-Verse cements our arrival in a new animation Renaissance and I am here for it — as much as this philistine can be.

4. Spot finally getting respect

I love The Spot. I was first introduced to him in the 1990s animated Spider-Man cartoon, and he was neat! Then I found out he was a lovable loser type villain in the comics, and that made me love him more. I’m pretty sure I own his first appearance in comics somewhere. I can still remember finding it in some dilapidated mall antique shop. He’s such a fun character with a crazy cool power, and he never got the proper respect — until now! He’s a great villain in this film, both comedic and dangerous, and a growing threat. They handled him perfectly. And I love the callback to the bagel bit in the first film! I definitely remember that gag!

3. A Tale of Two Prowlers

I wonder if I’m the only person in the world who cares about this. As I’ve written about before, Marvel Comics was juggling two completely separate yet nearly identical Prowler characters for a while. And Across the Spider-Verse exacerbates the problem in some extremely weird ways that I feel like, at the very least, noting on this list.

The issue is this: the original Prowler in the 616 Marvel Universe was a guy named Hobie Brown, who started as a criminal and then became one of Spider-Man’s superhero allies. He was never a major character, but he was there. Then came the Ultimate Universe and the introduction of Miles Morales. In establishing his supporting cast, Miles’s creators introduced an Ultimate Prowler and made him Miles’s uncle, Aaron Davis, with no sign of Hobie whatsoever in the Ultimate Universe. Then Marvel brought Miles and his supporting cast over to the 616, and so both Hobie Brown and Aaron Davis were operating as the Prowler, but the two characters didn’t have anything to do with one another. I don’t think they ever met. I don’t think the two Prowlers have ever remarked on the situation themselves.

Then came Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which used the Aaron Davis version of the Prowler. Then came Across the Universe, which not only doubles (and triples!) down on Aaron Davis as the Prowler, but now they’ve introduced Hobie Brown as Spider-Punk! Hobie is indeed Spider-Punk in the comics, and he’s a great character in the movie. But nobody ever mentions the two Prowlers. Is Prowler always Aaron Davis in the multiverse? Are there universes of Hobie Brown Prowler? What Prowler does 616 Peter B. Parker have in his life?! I want to know!

Also, Donald Glover cameo as live action Aaron Davis/Prowler was amazing. Jeez louise, that was a great Easter Egg.

2. Stopping to smell the character development roses

One thing I really noticed and appreciated about Across the Spider-Verse was how it could devote so much time to character development. The first third of the film is a nice, long exploration of our heroes’ relationships with each other and their parents. Gwen and her dad, Miles and his parents, and then Miles and Gwen. I loved this extra focus on the people. I loved how the relationships between Miles and his mom and dad deepened and evolved over the course of the film. Likewise, I loved the extra time spent fleshing out the mutual attraction/friendship between Miles and Gwen. It was all expertly done and laid a great character-focused foundation for the film. Likewise, Miles and Peter had that one really great scene together. I loved all of it.

1. Let’s go Beyond!

The next movie, Beyond the Spider-Verse, comes out in March. That’s less than a year. I’m a little surprised that the new movie didn’t have a teaser trailer at the end of the credits. I have no idea what’s going to happen in the next movie. Is Miguel O’Hara going to be proven wrong? Will Miles team up with Evil Miles? I know that new band Gwen put together at the end of the film looks cool as hell. The original team and their new friends take on Spider-Man 2099 and Peter Parkedcar! Bring it on! I can’t even really begin to guess what might happen. I’m confident they will surprise us all and take us into some interesting directions. And some great art styles.

Also, one instance of classic 616 Prowler! Please?

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