The surprise of Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse in 2018 was an utter delight; a film laden with gorgeous visual flair and an emotional journey that took each of its characters through the adventure of a lifetime as Miles Morales ascended to the role of Spider-man through sheer force of will. The announced two-part sequel has been delayed a couple of times due to release schedules, animation needs, and the COVID-19 pandemic. I started to wonder if people would care after all this time, if it would be released to an audience that had moved on.
It was worth the wait.
With its face-melting, emotional introduction that’s blasted at the audience with the emotional audacity of a hip-hop watercolor painting (and scored with an earnest aggression by Daniel Pemberton) it’s clear that we’re in for a heightened experience. Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), Spider-woman of Earth-65, is struggling with the isolation she feels in her role as the hero. She’s hunted by police, she has no real friends and doesn’t want them anymore, and her father is struggling to connect while he hunts her alter-ego. After assisting Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) and Jessica Drew (Issa Rae) in taking down a Renaissance-themed Vulture (Jorma Taccone) from another dimension she is invited to join the Spider-society, a gang brought together by O’Hara made up of various spider-people that are dedicated to holding together the multiverse.
Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is also having a rough go of it. He’s settling into his role as Spider-man after a year but he’s feeling just as isolated as Gwen Stacy. His police lieutenant father, Jefferson Morales (Brian Tyree Henry), is on good terms with his superhero persona but not Miles himself. After hunting a new villain that calls himself The Spot (Jason Schwartzman), Gwen reappears and informs him that this is the most dangerous anomaly in the multiverse and that they have to stop him.
Beyond the incredible visuals created by Sony Pictures Animation the film is a triumph of post-modern structure and character work that manages to tell a full emotional story while still only being half of a movie. Interwoven throughout the narrative is the idea that Spider-man has a formula and after twenty years of films that seem to only be able to tell the same story time and again I can confirm that we all should know that recipe by now. Miles is informed by Miguel O’Hara that the Spider-men are all bound by what are called “canon events,” moments that reoccur in each one of their lives that are inevitable and must happen in order to hold the fabric of the multiverse together. The film takes an incredible step back to examine not only why we need to break free of these tropes, these reoccurring stories, and to step into something new because it’s the only way to break the cycle. It’s a lovely look at something we love, why we love it, and a question of whether or not we’re ready and able to love something new.
Those ideas are delivered in a series of breathtaking visual sequences, moving from emotional dialogue with watercolor backgrounds to daring chase sequences that feel like live-action panels from a comic book. This exists as a film but it hasn’t fully stepped away from its roots, existing as a new cinematic language between the two that will hopefully inspire more risks and forward momentum among its superhero film cohorts. Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse is indebted to everything that came before it, from issues of comic books to Andrew Garfield and even a one-off character from Spider-man: Homecoming. It wraps all of these elements up and then sheds them like a snake ditching its old skin, leaving it behind to openly do something fresh. These moments are represented in dazzling moments that are a feast for the eyes, culminating in one of the wildest chases I’ve ever seen onscreen (Spider-rex is much appreciated).
This is a near-perfect film, held back only by the knowledge that its second half is yet to be released. If it can stick the landing this might be the best trilogy of superhero films ever released, and I have the utmost faith that they’ll pull it off.
Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse is currently in theatres.
WRITE DRUNK; EDIT DRUNK 
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