The popular superhero, Miles Morales, returns to the cinema in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The movie is directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, with a screenplay by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and David Callaham.
In the aftermath of the previous movie, Miles (voiced by Shameik Moore) is trying to balance his high school life and superhero duties. Then, he receives a visit from Gwen Stacey/Spider-Woman (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld), who presents him with a new mission. Miles and Gwen take on the challenge and travel through the Multiverse, where they meet a team of Spider-People led by Miguel O'Hara (voiced by Oscar Issacs), responsible for safeguarding its survival. The main goal is to rescue every universe of Spider-People from the evil antagonist known as The Spot (voiced by Jason Schwartzman).
Other Spider folks in the universe include a myelinated Spider Woman named Jessica Drew (Issa Rae), Pavitr Prabhakar (Karan Soni), an Indian Spider-Man who got his powers through magic, and Hobie Brown (Daniel Kaluuya), a Black British Spider-Man who uses a guitar as his primary weapon Naturally the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat. Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must redefine what it means to be a hero to save the people he loves most.
Hitting theaters in 2018, Into the Spider-Verse is arguably the best Spider-Man for some. The film would earn over four times its budget and win numerous awards, most notably the best-animated feature at the 91st Academy Awards. Easily one of the most anticipated sequels of the 2023 summer movie season, I will keep my review as spoiler-free as possible.
My son and I were engrossed in the movie when the opening credits started. The beautiful animation is one of the first things viewers will notice about the film. The voice work in the film is stellar, with everyone in the cast getting a minute to shine. The real strength of the film, though, is in the script.
The film's script successfully establishes a distinctive narrative and visual style while preserving the vital aspects of its predecessor. This wise choice enables the series' overarching plot to advance and the primary and secondary characters to develop, infusing them with greater dimension and significance. Consequently, the film achieves a more robust, unified, and refined execution.
The story of Gwen and Miles' growth is the heart and soul of this film. The musical score superbly underscores their journey, providing a thrilling ride from start to finish. It also highlights their struggles to move into adulthood and offers insight into the fears of parenthood when children come of age. This thematic evolution is consistent with the previous movie, taking the idea of individual personality growth further by introducing elements of responsibility and sacrifice. Joyful moments abound in this spectacular follow-up!
As I mentioned earlier, please avoid spoilers as much as possible. The film has so many easter eggs, and it will be interesting to see what I missed. One particular cameo may top anything we see in Phase V of the MCU.
Undeniably, the hype surrounding Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is justified.
Final Grade: A
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is in theaters tomorrow.
P.S. There is no post-credit scene.