Across The Spider-Verse Movie Review

Will the best Spiderman, please stand up.

Spiderman is a character I have loved for years! Ever since I was first introduced to the Tobey Maguire movies with still one of the best villains, Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin. Having the most awkward first date at the Andrew Garfield version of The Amazing Spiderman. Then years later dragging all my friends to the first of the Tom Holland trilogy's midnight premiere. Long story short, I am one of the many people who love Spiderman.

I remember when the first campaign to get Donald Glover to play Spiderman in the new reboot before the cast of Andrew Garfield and the influx of people who were anti-this decision ruined the possibility for me. (I was down for this as I loved Donald Glover). But with all the bad and missed opportunities, there is good born from the tragedy and that birth is one of Miles Morales.

The first Into the Spider-Verse movie was a big win for both critics and audiences, as it was not the first telling of a Spiderman story but a still fresh and first time for Miles Morales story. 5 years later we get the long-awaited sequel and announcement for a third installment around the corner.

Across the Spider-Verse is a perfect sequel to a perfect first movie. Everything is more amped in the second movie. The stakes are higher, the action is perfect, and even more Spidey characters for people to fall in love with. Across the Spider-Verse shows us even more of the characters we already love and balance that with introducing us to new characters to fall in love with *cough cough Spider-Punk*.

I think this movie also makes a great and often looked over argument for animation. With so many reboots of old classics, almost everything we grew up with is getting a live-action spin and while I believe for some classics, if they are willing to put a new spin and sell it to me then I am willing to buy (The new live-action The Little Mermaid with Halle Bailey) but if we aren’t bringing anything new to the table then let's leave the classics alone. Especially since there’s so much we can do with animation that we can’t do with live-action.

For example, Multiverse of Madness had unfortunately ridden the wave of not only 1 but 2 existing and great multiverse movies and wasn’t able to showcase the great and wide wonders of the multiverse. This is something that because of animation, the Spider-verse movies can do. They display so many different universes with so many different art styles that drive home that each place you are seeing is its own reality. The way these are so harmoniously intertwined is what makes these movies perfect.

I encourage you all to watch these films and join me in waiting with anticipation for the final movie, Beyond the Spider-Verse, which is scheduled to release next year, 2024.