Mesmerising graphics and non-stop, often helter-skelter, action mark the thrilling new Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which has no shortage of dark edges.
The animated adventure takes off after the events of the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). It centres around 15-year-old Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore). Miles’ parents – police officer Jefferson Davis (Brian Tyree Henry) and doting mother Rio Morales (Luna Lauren Velez) – don’t know he’s Spider-Man. Miles is reunited with Spider-Woman from another dimension, Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld). Not realising that Spider-Woman is his daughter, policeman George (Shea Whigham) is relentlessly pursuing the masked warrior, who is accused of murder. Gwen Stacy is not the only Spider-Woman to feature in Across the Spider-Verse. There is also the pregnant Jessica Drew (Issa Rae).
Miles travels across the Multi-Verse, where he comes face-to-face with a cavalcade of Spider-People charged with protecting the Multi-Verse. He finds himself pitted against other Spiders and learns that a saving act from him served to unbalance and threaten the very existence of the Spider-Verse.
Introduced at the start of the movie is a futuristic Spider-Man in Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac), tasked with putting the Spiders back in the time they belong. A villain in the film is a black and white character called The Spot (Jason Schwarzman), whose dark blotches open portals or sink holes. Notably, Across the Spider-Verse features a British punk rock variant of Spider-Man, Hobie Brown (Daniel Kaluuya) and an Indian iteration in Pavitr Prabhakar (Karan Soni). And Spider-Man wouldn’t be Spider-Man without Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), now a family man with baby in tow.
I was so impressed by the extraordinary visual feast that underpins Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. It’s gloriously rich and textured … at the cutting edge of animation.
Co-directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson cram a lot into two hours and 20 minutes. The ground is always shifting, with exciting new characters constantly being introduced. Concentration is needed to follow all the threads and not become overwhelmed or lost. I particularly enjoyed the family dynamics of Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy. While both love their parents, they see their responsibilities as greater than their family ties. That leads to tension and conflict in their respective home units. As the pair of them travel through time, part of the narrative involves confusion about exactly which dimension they are in.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a multilayered thrill ride, which opens up the franchise to yet more instalments.
Alex First
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – movie review
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Spider-Man: Far From Home – movie review
Alex First is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.