About the film (courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing):
Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar®-winning Spider-Verse saga, Spider-Man™: Across the Spider-Verse. After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. But when 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 so he can save the people he loves most.
Five years ago, no one saw Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) coming and we were floored with what Phil Lord created. An original, yet familiar story, or stories, with mind-blowing animation helped take the cinematic world by storm. This may well have been the best Marvel Comics movie to come out of the Sony-owned properties to date. Now we’re finally about to get to see what else Phil Lord has up his writing sleeves besides golden web shooters, of course, as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is set to make its debut.
Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is finding his way as Spider-Man, but it hasn’t been as easy as he may have assumed it would be. His past quickly catches up to him in the form of the mysterious villain known as The Spot (Jason Schwartzman) begins to wreak havoc on his life, leading to an entire multitude of new challenges to circumvent. This 140 minute long marathon travels to many, many places leading to an incredibly diverse and deeply layered story to be followed.
With such a weighted runtime, it should come as little surprise that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse features a ton of voice talent. Aside from Shameik Moore, returning actors include Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry and Luna Lauren Velez. Besides Jason Schwartzman, a few of the other new voices to be heard are Issa Rae, Shea Whigham, Daniel Kaluuya and Oscar Isaac. There are many more names that could be mentioned, but I’m leaving some of it to be revealed in the movie itself. That, and we’d be here all day reading names.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is on par with its animation compared to the first film. There’s pretty much nowhere to go but down, so why mess with a good thing? The stylish usage of animation deserves its own special nod because it’s what helps make this experience unique and also a visual catalyst for what’s being felt by the viewers. It’s truly as though a comic book has come to life right before our eyes.
Another commonality that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse shares with its predecessor is that it’s just as witty and humorous, if not more so. Many times throughout the movie, I heard audiences just laughing it up at just the right times. Co-directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson really did a nice job of bringing these many moving parts together to create a top notch experience. And those that have read may of the Spider-Man comics (I’m jealous of you because I have not) will find even greater pleasure as the MANY Easter Eggs pop up continuously. They really did their homework here.
Sony has found a successful formula with this franchise and it seems as though they’re really leaning into it. Undoubtedly, this isn’t the last of the Miles Morales storyline. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is already scheduled for release on March 29th, 2024 which means that there’s already a lot faith that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a quality film that will have a strong box office presence. And after seeing this one, I firmly agree with that sentiment.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse releases Friday, June 2nd, but you can swing by starting Thursday afternoon to catch an early screening if the mood hits ya. And remember folks, this is Rated PG, so it’s not a bad choice to take the kiddos to and I promise that you’ll also be thoroughly entertained throughout.
