Film Review - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse follows on from 2018’s Oscar winning film Into the Spider-Verse and sees Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) try to balance being a school boy and Spider-Man but when Gwen (Halle Steinfeld) returns from her universe to bring him into the Spider Society crazy adventures ensure as well as a meeting with the mysterious Miguel (Oscar Isaac) who isn’t too happy with Miles taking on the Spider mantle.

Across the Spider-Verse had me skeptical going into it but right away the film won me over and I really enjoyed it, firstly the animation style here is remarkable to witness on a big cinema screen as it throws all kinds of different styles at you, some feel like street art, others a sketchbook while others feel like hand drawn animation with Adobe Flash addons plus the film does a good job replicating that comic book feel of how stories are told in that medium which sometimes doesn’t translate well in live action.

Secondly Miles and Gwen feel a lot more fleshed out as characters here, the first film was more of an ensemble team film but here the 2 leads are proper leads and they anchor the story equally and both Moore and Steinfeld rise to the challenge asked of them as does Oscar Isaac who does good work here as Miguel even if I’m pretty well over the “Villain is the Evil version of the Hero” troupe that Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock started in Spider-Man 2 in 2004, I wish our comic book villains were more of a mix of his and Brian Cox’s Stryker from X-Men 2 as he was a terrible person and I miss that in my movie villains.

And third there are some fun references and easter eggs for Spider-Man fans across the board and there were a few that I spotted that made me laugh.

But to go back to that animation style as remarkable as it is at times it feels very overwhelming as it throws so much at you in the frames of the film that at times it felt like too much for me, I get it guys you want to pack the frame the Zuckers did it wonderfully with their comedies but you don’t need to throw everything at me all at once I can keep up.

And also at 140 minutes the film feels a little too long especially when this is only part one of a two part story and just as Part 2 needs to have a beginning Part 1 needs to have an end so you don’t walk out of it thinking “That was a waste” and thankfully that doesn’t happen here its an okay cliffhanger but I did feel the length from time to time here.

But that said this is a fun time at the movies and along with Women Talking, John Wick 4 and Air is one of my favourites of the year so far, 3 and a half out of 5.