By Ben Miller
I am not prone to hyperbole but I'm having a difficult time not calling Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse the greatest animated film ever made. Maybe some time and distance will back that up. For now, let's call it a monumental feat of both animation and entertainment.
Following the events of Into the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales (again voiced by Shameik Moore) is now protecting his city and universe as its Spider-Man. He encounters a new and inexperienced villain named The Spot (Jason Schwartzman), which attracts the attention of multiversal Spider-Men...
After reuniting with Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfeld) and meeting "Spider-Society" leader Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) he understand the threats towards his and, well, every universe. We're also treated to the return of Peter Parker (Jake Johnson) and encounter various other versions of Spider-Man (voiced by Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Daniel Kaluuya, Andy Samberg, and more).
The film challenges pre-conceived notions of what Spider-Man is and what he/she is expected to be. The filmmakers could have taken the easy way out and created a lazy flimsy narrative as a pretense to fill the frame up with as many Spider-Man iterations as it could handle. Instead, the story is the driving force.
The screenplay strikes a masterful balance between explaining things and trusting the audience. Dimensional jumps aren’t overly explained, neither are the Spider-Society’s mission stated. There is a generality to some of the proceedings but very specific intentional care with the key elements. Which is not to say that the 140-minute runtime is filled with fluff. Instead, it’s all killer / no filler from the moment the film opens until the fade to black.
As much as this film is about Miles, Steinfeld is the voice acting MVP. With a fairly specific vocal tone, Steinfeld’s line delivery turns Gwen into a fully-developed character who nearly steals the film. Brian Tyree Henry and Luna Lauren Velez reprise their role as Miles’ parents, but Velez is the stands out of the non-Spider heroes with a mid-film monologue that punctuates the narrative.
Much like the first film, the voice actors are cast beautifully. Many of these actors are famous in their own right, but this isn't stunt casting; they're all right for their roles. Schwartzman is a perfectly droll addition as the villain who is still trying to figure himself out. Kaluuya’s Spider-Punk gets some of the best lines in the film and gives an actual performance from the confines of a sound booth. Isaac is painted as the complex anti-hero, and his voice suits exactly what the character needs.
To say the animation is stunning is an understatement. The film takes wildly adventurous chances with the animation styles, it pushes the boundaries of what animation is capable of doing. Despite it all, the action is clean, clear, and perfectly choreographed. The film works on its own as an action movie, an adventure film, a multiversal saga, a comedy, and a superhero movie. Somehow, all of that works in perfect cohesion. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is, in short, a gargantuan piece of entertainment.
Grade: A
Oscar Chances: Best Animated Feature is a cinch, but who knows how far it could go beyond that. I would be thrilled with Picture and Adapted Screenplay nominations, but Best Editing is what I really want to champion. This film is sharp and clean. Could it be the rare animated film to score nominations in a handful of categories?