Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) Columbia/Action-Adventure RT: 140 minutes Rated PG (sequences of animated action violence, some language, thematic elements) Director: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson Screenplay: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and David Callaham Music: Daniel Pemberton Release date: June 2, 2023 (US) Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Jason Schwartzman, Daniel Kaluuya, Karan Soni, Shea Whigham, Greta Lee, Jorma Taccone, Rachel Dratch, Andy Samberg, Amandla Stenberg, Mahershala Ali. Box Office: $381.6M (US)/$690.9M (World)
Rating: ****
SPOILER ALERT! It should be known that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is only half the story. It’s one of those “To Be Continued” deals that end with a cliffhanger. The second part Beyond the Spider-Verse is due in theaters in March 2024, so you only have to wait less than a year to find out what happens next. That is all.
Is it too early to declare Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse the winner of this year’s Best Animated Feature Oscar? I can’t imagine anything topping the sheer beauty and brilliance of the computer-animated superhero sequel featuring everybody’s favorite web-slinger. Not only is it genuinely exciting, it’s also the most visually impressive animated film to come along since Into the Spider-Verse. If any film deserves to be called a work of art, this is it! I’m still in awe of it a day later.
The best sequels (e.g. The Empire Strikes Back) build on rather than rehash what came before. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse does exactly that. Remember the spider that gave Miles Morales (Moore, Dope) his powers? We finally learn the meaning of its number 42 marking. It’s just one of the questions answered in this second chapter that opens with a visit to Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman (Steinfeld, Bumblebee) in her world. The angry, punked-out teen wrestles with the decision of whether or not to reveal her identity to her police captain father (Whigham, Joker) who wants to arrest her for the murder of best friend Peter Parker. That’s when fate yanks her in an unexpected direction. She’s invited to join a secret Spider-Society by two alternate versions of Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099 (Isaac, Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew (Rae, Insecure), after a fight with a Renaissance version of the Vulture causes mass destruction.
Back in his universe, Miles continues to adapt to being Spider-Man, a job he must keep secret from everybody, especially his policeman dad Jeff (Henry, Bullet Train) and doting mom Rio (Velez, The First Purge) who know he’s hiding something from him. His latest nemesis is The Spot (Schwartzman, Rushmore), a baddie with the ability to create portals that allow him to travel anywhere in the multiverse. Their first mano-a-mano is the reason he’s late for a conference with his parents and school counselor.
I don’t want to give away too much, so let me just summarize my summary. Gwen goes to visit Miles in his world, but she’s really after The Spot who’s been wreaking havoc with his universe-hopping and what not. He wants in on the action and follows Gwen/Spider-Woman to the next part of her assignment where he makes an even bigger mess of things by saving somebody who was supposed to die. Preventing a “canon event” is a very bad thing. It could cause the destruction of that entire universe.
WOW! That’s all I could say as the end credits rolled. I haven’t been this enthralled by a big summer movie in a long time. So many of them these days are soulless, cash-grab exercises barely worth the price of admission. I’m looking at you, live-action Little Mermaid. I don’t feel that way about Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. This is summer entertainment as it should be. It doesn’t hit a single wrong note. The writing, directing, artistry and craftsmanship are right on point. The screenplay by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller (The LEGO Movie) and David Callaham (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) is both smart and thrilling. A lot happens over the course of 140 minutes (funny, it doesn’t feel that long); it’s almost too much movie for one movie. Maybe that’s why it’s divided into two parts. In less capable hands, it would be a convoluted mess. That’s not the case here. Instead of confusing, it’s mind-boggling.
The directing team of Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson, all of whom know a thing or two about animation, keeps things moving along even in scenes that don’t involve our Spider-heroes swinging into action. There’s this one scene where Miles and Gwen, in Spider mode, sit upside down atop a high building looking at an inverted skyline. The preceding sequence where they swing through the city is also awesome. Come to think of it, the whole movie is AWESOME!
The collection of voice talents on display in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is top-notch. Everybody does a terrific job. Steinfeld is a stand-out voicing an angry, punked-out teen torn between duty to her fellow Spider-people and loyalty to her only friend in the multiverse. Daniel Kaluuya (Black Panther) lends his voice to the coolest variation of Spider-Man, a black-British punk rock dude named Hobie. He’s a trip. Moore perfectly conveys the idea of a 15YO trying to figure out who he is and his place in the Spider-Verse. And you thought your teen angst was major.
I don’t want to run the risk of overselling Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, so I’ll just close by saying it’s the first movie of the summer totally worth seeing. See it on the biggest screen possible. See it more than once. Just SEE IT! It’s a dazzling achievement of sight and sound. It reminds us that anything is possible in the movies. It takes us to worlds we’ve never even imagined and allows us to take in the sights in all their imaginative glory. This is why I love movies.
P.S. I sure hope the kid I spoke to outside the theater is reading this. I’m certain he’ll be happy to hear it won’t be three years until the next chapter comes out.
