Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

⭐ 9.5/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

Like the first movie, I think this one succeeds on essentially every level, though I think they are very different. In fact, I'll bring out the classic comparison. I thought the first one was a lot like A New Hope, introducing likeable characters in a entertaining blockbuster. But the sequel now feels a lot like Empire Strikes Back, being a lot more serious, a bit darker, and introducing some tough decisions to our favorite characters.

However, I think the biggest upgrade was the animation, which is crazy to say because the animation in the first movie was incredible. But this might have been the most impressive animation I've ever seen. The combination or art direction, action choreography, the music, the sound design. It has a lot of dark, almost noir vibes. This felt like the product of the greatest artists we have doing their best work.

I really can't overstate it. There is this 20-30 minute action sequence that continues to build up more and more, and by the end my brain has exploded and I was just shaking my head. It was wild. So many of these cool, moody, atmospheric scenes with the music to match. Amazing.

Lots of great stuff otherwise. Lots of cool characters, starting with a new and improved Miles. Gwen was cool here, and we had two great villains with pretty good motivation. One villain very funny, one very serious. Marvel movies never even have one good villain! Maybe a bit of wasted potential with Peter who I love in the first but doesn't have much to do here. Shoulda killed him off like Obi Wan I guess.

My only minor complaint is that this movie is 140 minutes. It mostly earns that, but especially because this is a middle entry with no real calming conclusion, it felt like a 60 minute climax at the end (insert Michael Scott gif here).

Sorry, one other minor complaint. The first one goes off the rails with the sci-fi multiverse stuff, but it's fine because that one is pure comedy and it doesn't matter. But because this one is more serious, they try to explain it more, give the universe depth, and I just don't think it makes sense, or else it's too confusing for this kind of movie.

So yeah, an entertaining yet serious movie that toes that line almost as well as Avatar Season 3. It has unmatched animation and music, good characters, plenty of jokes, higher stakes. It's a little less tight than the first one, but makes up in other ways. It's nearly the perfect movie, but I think I'll save that 10 to see if the next one pulls through.