Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Film Review

Directors – Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Writers – Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Dave Callaham
Stars – Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac

Some knowledge of the first in the series, the 2018 release Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, is required before watching this release! The film starts by introducing us to Gwen Stacy (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld). She is the Spider-Woman of her own particular universe. The main problem in her life is that her father, a policeman, is hell-bent on arresting Spider-Woman! We then cut back to our main protagonist Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) and follow his story. He’s lost in his usual teenage problems, mainly due to missing the girl of his dreams, Gwen, who is no longer in his universe. While on his way to meet his high school guidance counsellor, he meets a new villain called Spot (voice by Jason Schwartzman). He can create small wormholes that connect different points in space. What seems like a small battle with this ‘villain of the week’ turns into something more substantial.

This is the second in the animated Spider-verse series from Sony, which has little or nothing to do with the live-action films starring Tom Holland. The first film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was widely praised, not least here, for its stylish and creative animation. The film went on to be Sony Pictures Animation’s highest-grossing film, gaining many new fans on the streamers during the Covid lockdowns.

The storyline of the new film really embraces the idea of infinite worlds, with constant jumping between different universes to meet a variety of different Spider-Men and Spider-Women! While this does open up infinite possibilities it is difficult to keep up with the multitude of different ideas and animation styles that are often only used for seconds on screen before being jettisoned in favour of a new alternative.

Sony has made impressive use of the Spider-Man universe, with a multitude of films featuring Spider-Man and assorted characters from his universe including Venom and Morbius. Also, get ready for Kraven the Hunter, which is scheduled for release in October of this year, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson playing the main role.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is the first part of a two-part story, with Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse being released next year. The film isn’t a complete story in itself and ends on a cliffhanger! It was released last Friday and based on results from this weekend, it seems like it could be one of the biggest hits of the year, taking the top spot in the charts and grossing almost three times its nearest competitor; The Little Mermaid. The storyline is possibly the weakest element of the film, as the writers struggle with the infinite possibilities of the multi-verse! It’s enjoyable but at times it feels like there are too many ideas. The animation style is just as creative as the first film, but as we’ve seen it before, it lacks some of the surprise value. The soundtrack features established rap artists such as Lil Wayne, Nas and A$AP Rocky, which will sit well with a younger audience. If you’re a fan of the first film, you’re unlikely to be disappointed by this further trip into the Spider-verse.