This article was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Listen up, slackers! If you really liked the first animated Spider-Man movie, I’m here to tell you that the second one is even better. And it’s been out for a while now, so why haven’t you seen it?
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse expands the world introduced via Miles Morales in 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse, bringing back Miles and his family, Gwen, and Peter Parker, and introducing a bunch of new Spider-People. (Spider-Men? Spider-Mans? Spiders? SPIDEYS.) Like the first movie, this one has heart, humor, and a lot of action. It’s fantastic.
It’s also coming to small screens on August 8th on demand (and to Netflix by the end of the year). But please, do yourselves a favor, go see this in theaters. The animation is so much better than anything your TV can do justice to, and I refuse to even discuss watching such a work of art on your phone screen. This film is gorgeous. Different styles of animation accompany different Spideys, as in the first movie, but it’s beyond that. The art for Miles becomes more nuanced and sophisticated as his coming-of-age story builds. Gwen’s visuals are an impressionistic swirl of colors and moods that change around her as her emotions do, and it’s beautiful. Other feelings dance among the art throughout, and honestly it’s just breathtaking. Especially if you happen to have had an edible, but that’s not even necessary!
I don’t want to post film clips because of spoilers but the trailer gives a sense. Just treat yourself. Go out and see it big while you still can.
