"Across The Spider-Verse" is a dazzling, colorful, and exciting sequel

“You have a choice between saving one person, and saving every world. To me, that's an obvious choice.”

“I can do both! Spider-Man always...”

“Not always.”

This weekend saw the release of Sony’s SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, the ambitious sequel to 2018’s jaw-dropping INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE and despite a rage-inducing cliffhanger and some water-treading, this super-sized sequel absolutely hits the mark.

Several years after coming to his own as Spider-Man, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) seems to have a handle on things- as far as costuming goes.

His Spider-Man is as suave and energetic as ever, but his personal life is taking a few hits between his prestigious art school and being a studious son to his nurse mother and cop father.

Things take an unexpected turn, however, when a routine hold-up at a corner store introduces Miles to a mysterious villain known as “The Spot” (Jason Schwartzman).

This black-and-white polka-dotted villain is silly at first, but his lust for power soon turns deadly.

Meanwhile, in another universe, Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) aka The Ghost Spider is struggling with her own balance of Spider-Person and just “person” as her father, soon-to-be NYPD Captain Stacy, blames her alter-ego for the death of her boyfriend Peter Parker.

Her own universe is flipped when she runs across an old enemy The Vulture holding up an art museum...but this Vulture isn’t like the one she’s used to.

Quickly, Gwen pieces together that this Renaissance-era Vulture is from an alternate universe and the battle is quickly going south until a portal opens to a deadly new Spider-Man named Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) from the year 2099 along with his partner, Spider-Woman Jessica Drew (Issa Rae), a pregnant motorcyclist with some impressive moves of her own .

Miguel and Jessica lock up Vulture and introduce themselves as part of a multiversal strike-force of Spider-People that are scrambling to undo the damage caused by Kingpin’s particle collider from the first film which tore a hole deeper in the multiverse than anyone realized.

Gwen joins the Spider Strike Force and is soon put on a collision course with Miles and his villain The Spot which threatens to not only destroy Miles’ life but the lives of every Spider-Person across the vast infinity of great power and even greater responsibility.

There is, quite literally, so much happening at once in ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE that it feels like watching 14 different movies at the same time, and that is in no way a knock on the film.

The animation in the 2018 film set a genre precedent that can be felt as far as Disney and as close as Paramount, and it would have been easy for the 2023 sequel to just tread the same water, but the animation and art here is absolutely unparalleled.

No two scenes are the same, and the backgrounds blend and change with such vibrant and exquisite displays of color that it genuinely is just shocking.

But animation can only carry a film so far.

The brunt of ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE comes from just how deep it dives into the meta argument of “canon” and what “makes” a character.

The film’s tertiary lead / secondary antagonist Miguel or Spider-Man 2099 is fanatically devoted to the idea that Miles is a “mistake” and needs to be corrected as his Spider-Man’s mere existence defies the “established canon” that all Spider-People are not only devoted to but born by.

“Canon events” or necessary events in the lives of the Spider-People, include of course the Spider bite, the uncle dying, the death of a “Gwen”, and the death of a police captain.

Not even Spider-Man can stop these things from happening...especially a Spider-Man that shouldn’t even exist.

Miles defies Miguel’s religious fanaticism and soon has not just a few but ALL of the Spider-People across space and time after him because he refuses to let his “police captain” die...the captain in this case being his father who is just about to be promoted to the captain rank.

There is a lot of emotion here, just as there was in the 2018 film, and it is thanks to the enormously talented voice actors bringing these characters to life coupled with the superb art style that brings their rage, sadness, and apathy into visual form.

Oscar Isaac’s Miguel is an absolute beast of a Spider-Man from the way he runs like an animal on all-fours to the way he fights. He is the deadliest Spider-Man yet, especially contrasting the affable Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson) and the fluid, stylish, Miles.

What really elevated the 2018 film was the soundtrack, with such incredible needle-drops like Post Malone’s ear-worm “Sunflower” and the hair-raising “What’s Up Danger” by Blackway & Black Caviar.

ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE’s soundtrack was done by Metro Boomin and features artists including Lil Wayne, Offset, Nas, A$SAP Rocky, 21 Savage and while it isn’t as prevalent in this film as it was in the predecessor, it works just as well here.

There are a few negatives with this film that include stretches of “nothing” really happening, but that might change upon a rewatch, as the slower moments of the first film improved upon a revisit.

The film’s ending is a hype-inducing cliffhanger that is as exciting as it is enraging...but I won’t spoil it because the build up is just so damn good.

Parents who take their Spider-fan kids should note this film is a bit more terrifying than the first, and there is more foul language, which is to be expected as this very much is the “darker” chapter of Miles’ saga.

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE is now playing at The Hub and at Cowley Cinema and, really, everywhere.