Review 794: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is an astonishing achievement in superhero animation.

When Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is unexpectedly approached by his best friend and love interest Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) to complete a mission to save every universe of Spider-People from a new villain calling himself The Spot (Jason Schwartzman) who could cause a catastrophic disaster, Miles is more than up for the challenge. He and Gwen journey through the Multiverse together and meet its protectors, a group of Spider-People calling themselves the Spider-Society. However, Miles finds himself at odds with the Society on how to handle the threat.

This is a bigger, bolder and more ambitious that pushes the boundaries of what  The film starts and virtually never stops. Whereas the first film was confined to Miles' universe, Across the Spider-Verse is just all over the place - it's kind of like a rollercoaster ride through the multiverse; one minute you're in another universe that   next minute, you're hurtling through a portal to another that houses the HQ for the Spider-Society  

Thematically, it's about Adolescence, Identity & finding your place in the world where there is more than possible outcome as we see through the many Spider-variants (or is it doppelgängers) throughout the film. It's also a film about worrying about whether or not tragedy is inevitable or can be avoided. Whether it's possible that this version of Spider-Man could've gone in a different direction and become a different version of yourself.  Miles seeks to join the Spider-society and reconnect with Gwen, while also struggling to 

Visually, Across the Spider-Verse is every bit a feast for the eyes that the first film was. It throws so much stuff at the wall and for most part it sticks.   The score by Daniel Pemberton is 

Each universe has its own aesthetic: Earth-42 has a darker, grittier Akira inspired aesthetic full of  reds, greens & purples. Earth 50101 where Spider-Man India comes from has a much more   Earth-65 which is where 

This film has quite the voice cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Velez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Shea Whigham, Greta Lee, Daniel Kaluuya, Mahershala Ali & Oscar Issac. Along with a bunch of cameos from other Spider-Man voice actors whom I will not spoil but long time Spider-Man will surely 

As Miguel O'Hara tells him "You have a choice between saving one person and saving an entire world."

Throughout the film, we see Gwen struggle to balance her responsibilities at the Spider-Verse society and her friendship with Miles. 

I was also really impressed and highly amused by Karan Soni (whom you may recognise as Dopinder from the Deadpool films) as Pavitr Prabhakar/Spider-Man India from Earth 50101 hailing from the city of Mumbattan (a potmanteau of Mumbai and Manhattan) who has a carefree, happy-go-lucky, laid back, not a care in the world attitude 

After being teased at the end of Into the Spider-Verse, Oscar Isaac gets a chance to shine as Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099  With the help of his trusty, A.I. assistant Lyla (Greta Lee)     he's not worried about what will happen when fixed points are disrupted, he's seen what can happen when they are. He's one of the few Spider-variants that doesn't have a sense of humour.