Ivan Radford | On 24, Dec 2023

Director: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K Thompson
Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Oscar Isaac
Certificate: PG

How do you follow Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, one of the most inventive and dazzling pieces of animation ever committed to celluloid? The answer, it turns out, is do it again – but even more so.

The story picks up after the multiverse-stradding, brain-boggling thrills of the first film, which saw Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) stop Kingpin from trying to rip apart the fabric of reality – and meet a bunch of other Spider-people from other universes in the process, including Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) and Peter B Parker (Jake Johnson). Now, Miles is on his own, away from the multi-verse and longing for connection.

He finds his loneliness disrupted when a new villain enters the frame: The Spot (a babbling, brilliantly unhinged Jason Schwartzman). Created by someone colliding with Kingpin’s Hadron Collider in the first film, he’s a vacuum of needy selfishness desperate for power, purpose and attention, and increasingly threatens to suck up the whole of, well, everything. But it turns out there’s an even wider team of Spider-People working together across the multiverse to try and stop the end of existence itself – and, while Miles really wants to be part of it, they won’t let him.

So far, so jaw-dropping. Directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K Thompson step up Spider-Verse’s remarkable world-building tenfold, with each of the six universes we encounter bursting with unique details (and a flawless vocal cast). From textures and colours to characters, every single frame is a work of art that you could freeze, stick on your wall and not get bored of looking at. Ever step of the way, Daniel Pemberton’s incredible score builds on the work of the first film to remix and spiral through every beat of excitement and anxiety.

One standout sequence sees a Renaissance-era version of The Vulture literally made from parchment, tearing up the world with some of the most imaginative animation since Hayao Miyazaki first picked up a pen and paper. That skuffle is handled by Gwen, and the movie sets out its intent from its gorgeous opening, which takes time out from the wider plot to follow her perspective on life. Because, of course, she is the wider plot, just as is every other Spider-Person we meet.

The roster includes Hobie Brown (Daniel Kaluuya), a punk rock Spider-Man wielding a guitar, Pavitr Prabhakar (Karan Soni) a Spider-Man from India who uses a yo-yo as his weapon, and, holding the unit together, the brooding Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) and his second-in-command, the fiersome Jess Drew (Issa Rae).

The more Spider-Peeps we encounter, the more the ambitious script evolves into a study of what makes Spider-Man a Spider-Man to begin with – not just where their spider-bite comes from but the loss they each have to bear, the challenges and strains that face their relationships, the reponsibility that comes with all that great power.

And, with so many alternatives flying past each of their eyes, the question of other possibilities can’t help but simmer under the surface – and young Miles has the heartfelt urge to try and save everyone possible in any given circumstance. That, of course, ties in with his own family life, from remembering his Uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali) to his dad, Jeff (Bryan Tyree Henry), and mum, Rio (Lauren Vélez), who try to stop him pulling away from them.

There’s a beautiful symmetry in Miles and the Spot’s longing for meaning, and Across the Spider-Verse leaves your brain and heart racing through questions of finding yourself, finding your people, blame, resentment, isolation and communication. For all the talk of destiny and rules, it’s role models that emerge as the key to this web of people and connection – it’s no coincidence that Miles meets hundreds of them here, nor that the answer for him lies back at his home.

The only downside to all these ideas and concepts is that there is simply too much to fit into one film – and if you go into Across the Spider-Verse not prepared for an abrupt stop before a part two, you’ll be sorely frustrated by the lack of closure. In that sense, the film fails to deliver a fully satisfying narrative, while threatening to overload you before it hits the pause button. But if that’s the price to pay to experience something that dares and dreams to be so big, so expansive, so collosally profound, it’s worth it – what a joy it is to live in a universe where the Spider-Verse team also exist.

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