Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

"Let's do things differently this time."

Gwen Stacy (Steinfeld) is struggling. The death of her best friend Peter (Jack Quaid) haunts her and she misses her Spider-friends. Her alter-ego, Spider-Gwen, is being hunted by the police under the direction of her father, Captain Stacy (Shea Whigham). When a villain from another universe attacks, she joins an elite group of Spider-People, led by the dour Miguel O'Hara (Isaac).

Meanwhile, Miles Morales (Moore), is also missing his friends, while trying to keep his city save, his grades up, and stay one step ahead of his father Jeff Morales (Henry). It all comes to a head when his father is promoted to the captain of the police and a new villain emerges, The Spot (Schwartzman). The Spot believes he is Miles' nemesis, as they created each other.

Gwen pops back into Miles' life to catch up and to chase after the Spot. She ends up accidentally bringing Miles to another universe. As they chase after Spot, they team up with new friends Pavitr Prabhakar (Soni) the Spider-Man of that universe, Hobie Brown (Kaluuya) Spider-Punk, pregnant Spider-Woman Jess Drew (Rae), and others. But not everyone is happy about Miles' involvement, especially Miguel. Can Miles and his friends save the day and keep his family and the world safe?

The sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2019).

The Good:

The filmmakers wisely chose to take the things that worked and people loved in the first film and carry them out in new ways in this film. The script is once again written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. 

Once again, they introduce other versions of Spider-Man from the comics. Each one has a unique personality and costume. The new characters are great and add to the story.

The animation is incredible: it takes the classic comic book style and adds to it. Each universe has it's own style and is fun to watch.

The Bad:

It's long (apparently it is the longest animated film).

Other Comments:

-I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I was excited about it from the beginning and it did not disappoint.

-Nominated for the 2024 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature

-A third film is planned, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. 

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) 140 minutes 

Director: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson

Starring: Shameik Moore as Miles Morales / Spider-Man

Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy / Spider-Gwen

Brian Tyree Henry as Jeff Morales

Lauren Vélez as Rio Morales

Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker / Spider-Man

Jason Schwartzman as Johnathon Ohnn / The Spot

Issa Rae as Jess Drew / Spider-Woman

Karan Soni as Pavitr Prabhakar / Spider-Man India

Daniel Kaluuya as Hobie Brown / Spider-Punk

Oscar Isaac as Miguel O'Hara / Spider-Man 2099