It’s very rare to come across films, specifically sequels, that recreate the same level of awe and magic as their predecessor. After being blown away by the gorgeous visuals and creative, animated storytelling of Sony’s Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse (2018), it was hard to imagine any sequel could produce the same excitement, especially the excitement I had after the “leap” scene. Much to my delight, I was absolutely engrossed in the newest addition to the Spiderverse, where we meet up with Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) again for another emotional and fantastic adventure.

Across the Spiderverse opens up on Gwen, or Spider Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), who is struggling with loneliness back in her universe. It’s hard being Spider-Man or woman. Gwen comes into contact with a villain not from her universe and is soon exposed to an “elite task force” of Spider-People. Led by the super serious, slightly scary Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac), the task force protects the Universe and keeps the status quo, so to speak. They protect what is “supposed to happen.”

Cut back to Brooklyn, Earth-1610, Miles is also struggling with being the only Spider-Man. Torn between being there for the city and being there for his parents, Miles escapes to his journal, drawing pictures and reminiscing on his best friend, Gwen. After Gwen comes for a surprise visit, Miles once again finds himself in contact with many other Spider-People, who are now hunting a new villain (Jason Schwartzman) that threatens all of the multiverses. After finding out how his “story is supposed to end,” Miles is suddenly up against all other Spider-People, including Gwen, as he tries to save his loved ones.

The film self-reflexively takes hold of the Spider-Man clichés and uses them to create a compelling narrative. The film expertly combines all of Sony’s past projects, including Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man films, to make the Spiderverse even more expansive. We see each Spider-Man, the ones we know and love, suffer similar fates. Are all versions of Spider-Man doomed to similar hardships? Is it worth saving a few people, your closest people, versus a whole Universe? Miles is caught in the middle. The film balances these strong emotional and moral questions with perfectly timed humor, making the whole experience nothing less than exceptional.

It is no surprise that the film is visually stunning, and you are doing yourself a true disservice if you don’t see it on the big screen. The creators of this film, under the direction of Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, produced arguably one of the most beautifully animated films of all time. The combination of animation styles using comic and pop art is pure genius and is leading the animation world in a new creative direction. What a beautiful homage to the original source materials while at the same time creating a new and exciting experience.

There is, unfortunately, not much I can say that hasn’t already been said about what some people are calling “the best Spider-Man movie ever made.” I find myself in a state of disbelief that a film truly delighted me from start to finish. (Not good for a critic, huh?) Truly, this film is a work of art. More importantly, it utilized aspects of Superhero cinema, including all of its clichés, to rework our expectations of the genre.

In the midst of almost constant disappointment from the latest Superhero films, Spider-Man-Across the Spiderverse stands out as one of the best. At no point did I know where this movie was going to go, and yet, the same nostalgic familiarity with the Spiderverse was there. The film was funny and emotional and left me craving more. It was like flipping the pages of a new comic book straight from the heart of Stan Lee and finding myself eager to read the next edition.

Review Courtesy of Sara Ciplickas

Feature Image via Sony Pictures