It is extremely rare for audiences to get a sequel that not only matches the level of quality brought forth by its predecessor, but completely surpasses it. With Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, audiences found themselves being introduced to a new young Spider-Man named Miles Morales. The film was not only a box office success but gave audiences a young heroes journey that they could identify with while boasting groundbreaking animation and sincere storytelling. With any sequel that came afterwards, the bar would be set to outdo the original in every aspect while further redefining the possibilities of brilliantly telling a comic book story in animated form. Thankfully, the filmmakers have found a way to do just that with Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse establishing itself as being a rare Hollywood sequel that outshines its predecessor.
Picking up five years after Into The Spider-Verse, Across has Miles Morales reuniting with Gwen Stacey as he becomes catapulted across the Multiverse, encountering a world of Spider-people charged with protecting its very existence. While doing so, he finds himself being pitted against the other Spiders, while simultaneously redefining what it means to be a hero in order to protect those whom he loves the most. Across the Spider-Verse takes everything that worked so well with its predecessor and applies it here while moving the films technological and story aspects forward. The sequel has everything that fans could possibly want in a superhero movie with it feeling bolder in its creative decision-making while never losing sight of its heart that's the main characters journey.
In terms of voice acting, Spider-Verse's cast delivers performances that are energetic, heartfelt, and add different layers of emotion to the story. Shameik Moore once again displays that he's the perfect voice actor for Miles Morales with him playing an intelligent and rebellious teenager, whose determined to protect those he loves. Hailee Steinfeld is equally fantastic as Gwen Stacey with her and Moore working exceptionally well off each other with terrific chemistry. Backing both leads are Brian Tyree Henry as Miles African-American father and police officer with Luna Lauren Velez as Miles Puerto-Rican mother, nurse Rio Morales. Rounding out the rest of the cast is Jake Johnson as an older, and disheveled Earth-616 Peter Parker with him now having a daughter named Mayday, Jason Schwartz man as former scientist-turned supervillain, Dr. Jonathan Ohnn, whose body is full of interdimensional portals that allow him to travel through space and different universes, Issa Rae as a pregnant African-American Spider-woman from an alternate universe whose a member of the Spider-Society, Karen Soni as an Indian version of Spider-Man from an alternate, Pavitr Prabhakar, Daniel Kaluuya as punk rock Hobie Brown/Spider-Punk who uses a guitar as a main weapon, and Oscar Isaac in a scene-stealing performance as Miguel O' Hara/Spider-Man 2099.
When it comes to visuals, directors Joaquin Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson once again raise the bar with the animation. Not only is the overall look of the film stunning to watch, but the visuals go hand-in-hand in telling the story. This isn't just typical animation that's being thrown at the audience but carefully crafted and drawn work that's vibrant and draws audiences into Mile's world. One of the film's most technologically impressive and visually breathtaking sequences involves Mile's being chased by hundreds of different variants of Spider-Man. It's an action scene that's so massive that it took a total of 4 years to film. The action/violence as a whole is presented as being large-scale destruction with close-up physical confrontations, which include cleverly inserted bits of humor. At 140-minutes, the audience never feels the length because of how involved they become with the plot. Like the original, the sequel boasts a strong soundtrack once again with numerous songs from various artists who help add different layers of emotion to the story. As far as directing and animation goes, the directing trio manage to knock it out of the park with delivering a sequel that's even more immersive this time around with a unique filmmaking style that's wonderfully detailed with obvious care being directed towards the story.
Some of the key themes and messages that the sequel conveys pertain to courage, empathy, friendship, family, and the realization that with bearing great power comes great responsibility. Teamwork is strongly emphasized here with Miles finding himself working with others for the good of humanity, while coming into his own as a young person with extraordinary abilities. The struggles that both Miles and Gwen experience as young teenagers is key here with them dealing with the hardships of morphing into their own person, while dealing with the possibility of rejection from their parents in revealing the truth. The relationship between Miles and his parents is also given a more personal touch with the films strongest and most emotional scenes being those between Morales and his mother. One sequence in particular that's surprisingly powerful has Morales struggling to tell his mother the truth about his secret identity. Such a moment is only surprisingly powerful but serves as a metaphor for teenagers essentially "coming out" to their parents. The newer characters introduced including Miguel and Spider-woman, leave notable impressions with audiences while expanding on the films universe.
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Overall, Across The Spider-Verse feels more focused and personal than the first with the sequel putting a lot of thought into its characters while not being afraid to take bold risks regarding the story. The sequel works not only as being as a stellar sequel, but also operating as a hard-hitting coming of age tale disguised as a comic book film. If Into The Spider-Verse made one believe in the origins of a superhero, Across The Spider-Verse will make them believe in their struggle to do the right thing while finding their true selves. Fans will undoubtedly be stunned by the whole Empire Strikes Back vibe given with the films climax. The only disappointment that fans will experience upon watching it, is that it ended too soon.
Final Verdict: An absolute must see for comic book fans.
Images Courtesy Of Sony Pictures
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