It’s hard to overstate the impact Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has had on the world of western animation since it was released in December of 2018. The film’s unique look inspired multiple imitators with varying levels of success, including last year’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. While we seem to be hitting a sort of audience fatigue with superhero films (hopefully), enthusiasm for the return of Miles Morales has not waned. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a follow-up worth the wait: ambitious in both design and plot, though more successful in the former. At a nearly 2.5 hour runtime, the film feels overstuffed and somewhat overwhelming, but a continued focus on Miles and his struggles keeps things grounded… to an extent. This is still a movie where dozens of Spider-People scramble up the side of a rocket heading to the moon.
Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) has been Spider-Man for about a year. Like any hero with a secret identity, he’s having trouble balancing his school life with his crime-fighting one, leading to some tensions between him and his parents Jeff (Bryan Tyree Henry) and Rio (Luna Lauren Vélez). After an encounter with a strange villain calling himself the Spot (Jason Schwartzman), Miles is surprised to find his alternate-dimension friend Gwen (Haliee Steinfeld) at his window. Gwen, who gets a dramatic prologue all her own, has been recruited by a mysterious agency of heroes led by the serious and short-tempered Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac). It doesn’t take long for Miles to get involved in this inter-dimensional quest, much to the chagrin of Gwen and some of her new friends. Miguel, for reasons initially unclear, has forbidden Miles from joining the Spider-Society, despite seemingly every single other iteration being given a pass. This includes Spider-Cat, who is just a cat, and Peter Parkedcar, who is a Jeep. Miles, of course, isn’t going to play by the rules of an organization that won’t even let him be a member, and he sets out to handle the Spot on his own.
As I keep saying, the animation is truly something to behold. Ambitious doesn’t even begin to cover it. Each universe has a different look, which means each character has a different look, and each interacts in a unique way. Gwen’s universe seems to be made of watercolors that change based on people’s moods, while Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya) looks like he popped out of the pages of a ‘70s zine. Spider-Man India (Karan Soni) lives in a crowded metropolis with thick outlines and thicker traffic, and Miguel O’Hara’s futuristic Nueva York is all severe angles and space-age tech. These worlds are worth the price of admission alone, and though the pace is breakneck, the first hour makes plenty of room for quiet moments between Miles and Gwen.
The film does end on a cliffhanger, but not like Fast X where it felt like they just didn’t include the last 15 minutes. The story does not wrap up, but leaves each character in a new and dangerous circumstance, imperiled but determined. Miguel and the Spider-Society believe that “the canon” must not be disrupted, and certain traumatic events must happen to every Spider-person to keep the universes stable. Miles, as a consummate mold-breaker, refuses to accept this, even if it means an army of Spider-Men climbing over each other to capture him.
The amount of characters may seem overwhelming, but the majority of them are used as set dressing or symbolism, underscoring how different Miles seems and must feel. It’s easy to let this all wash over you, but focusing on Miles keeps the narrative stable. Knowing the conclusion is already in the works and premiering next spring makes me feel better about an unfinished narrative. However, I still refuse to believe anyone liked the Andrew Garfield movies, no matter how many people applauded when some archive footage of his anguished face appeared. Hopefully the dramatic finale has a little less live-action integration and more focus on the animated characters who are free to swing however they please.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
2023
Dir. Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, & Justin K. Thompson
136 min
Opens everywhere Friday, 6/2 (though, as always, the Hassle recommends the Capitol or your locally-owned multiplex)
