One could argue that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse wasn’t only the best animated movie of 2018. Nay, not only was it the best comic-book movie of 2018, many would contend Into the Spider-Verse as one of the best films of that year or perhaps the best movie of that particular year and who could argue against it? Doing a Spider-Man movie without the focus on Peter Parker is a very risky move for the casual movie audience because there exposure to Spider-Man is associating the character with Peter Parker. Many die-hard comic book fans have wanted to see a Batman Beyond movie for ages and while it could great, your risk is having the focus be on Terry McGinnis and not Bruce Wayne. Having the focus on a Miles Morales Spider-Man was a risk for Into the Spider-Verse but man did that movie work in the best way possible. Into the Spider-Verse had no right for being that great and while it did pretty well at the box-office, when you consider the style of animation it used and the lesser known main character, the movie was universally beloved by mostly everybody. The animation was a complete shift in what we were traditionally used to but the primary focus with that first movie was character and story which is what you always want with any movie.
Five years in the making, we finally got the next chapter with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which serves as the first part of a two movie storyline and while the movie does end on an abundant cliffhanger, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now a new standard in animation filmmaking that serves as perhaps the most stunning and most visceral animated feature of the century. It does what every sequel, nay, what every comic-book sequel needs to be. It offers a grander scale with bigger stakes and raises the emotional bar in ways that surpass the first film. Every single frame in this movie is a work of art that capture the essence of the comic book but also differentiates itself from a more occasional style of animation.
The race for Best Animated feature in 2023 is over. No disrespect to The Super Mario Bros. and to the upcoming Pixar film Elemental and Wish which releases this Thanksgiving, but Across the Spider-Verse has set a new bar that can only possibly be topped until Beyond the Spider-Verse comes out next year. The attention to detail to the animation in this movie is astounding. The different layers of animation, its versatility and how the coloring alternates within sequences of character exchanging is seamlessly put together. It pushes the boundaries on the potential of what an animated can do on a visual level but one thing that the movie exceeded on was how heavy and deep the narrative and the character arcs were. From the staggering opening sequence, the growth of Miles Morales and to the perspective of newcomer Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O’Hara), the storytelling and character work is masterfully crafted.
For being a kids movie, it’s nit afraid to be edgy. It’s not afraid to ask substantial and philosophical questions about Spider-Man. It’s not ashamed to be a little ruthless with its stakes. The argument that kids movies can only be for kids and kids can only enjoy them has now become a silly argument. In the past year, we’ve seen a number of animated films such as Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and even Puss in Boots: The Last Wish that kids will definitely enjoy, but underneath the beautiful animation and clever humor, the movies ask bigger questions that stretch to all ages. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is one of those moments in the animated genre. Granted, its animation is very different than your average Disney movie, but kids will enjoy because Spider-Man is there doing his thing. On the other side, the substance and sheer power of the emotional crux of the movie hits hard. It’s a moment in the genre that while animation is a genre, an animated movie can be more than just an animated movie. Across the Spider-Verse is an example that this style of art can be taken seriously and shouldn’t be looked at any differently.
It’s also great to see the returning cast come back in their respected roles. From Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vélez and Jake Johnson, it’s beautiful to hear their voices again which wonderfully fit the persona of motifs of their characters. Oscar Isaac, Issa Rae and especially Jason Schwartzman bring their absolute A-game as comic characters that we never thought would be brought to the big screen and they work tremendously.
One final note about Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the films music. Obviously, the greatest composers of all time are ones like John Williams, Hans Zimmer or someone like James Horner. In the modern day of film composing, when it comes to consistency Daniel Pemberton might be the best working composer that’s working today. From Enola Holmes, Steve Jobs, The Trail of the Chicago 7 and especially Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Daniel Pemberton is one of those film composers that hardly gets enough credit. His music in Across the Spider-Verse might be his best work to date because of the range and because of how much emotional nuance it has. The entire story is whispered, screamed, and woven into the music.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has become a lot of people’s favorite Spider-Man movie ever and there’s really no argument to be had. Others might prefer Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 or some might pick of one of the Tom Holland web-slinging adventures. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse might be the ultimate Spider-Man movie to date. The only reason people might refrain from solidifying that opinion is that it’s unfortunately a Part One. We really need to see how Beyond the Spider-Verse turns out but as long as Lord and Miller are involved, we could be looking at the most perfect comic book movie trilogy since Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.
Zane's take at the Cinema's 