Ty Watches “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”

Over the weekend I took my kids to see “Across the Spider-Verse”. It was the only movie the three of us could agree on and my wife had a friend over so we wanted to go out.

I loved the first movie in this series. I think it’s the best “Spider Man” movie to date. The way they shot it was so cool and unique. It was filmed to look like a moving comic book. It was amazing to see. That happened with this movie as well, and they even pushed a little further. This movie had saturating colors within scenes. There was more writing of movement. You’d see stuff like “ZIP” on the screen when they were slinging webs. It was like the old “Batman” show, but way, way, way cooler. There were even moments of what looked like comic book panels in this movie. I was sitting in my chair in the theater and thinking how cool the whole thing looked. It is a moving work of art. It’s astounding.

The first movie has great voice acting. It’s quite the cast. This movie adds on to that, and then some. We have actors like Issa Rae, Oscar Isaac, Jason Schwartzman, Daniel Kaluuya, Jack Quaid, Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and so many more. Some of these people appeared in very minor role. You add all that to the first movie’s cast, people like Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Mahershala Ali, Luna Lauren Velez and Shameik Moore, this is a real stellar cast. And they all crush their roles. You fully buy into the voice acting.

The first movie does a great job of giving us another origin story, but in a cool, interesting and different way. This movie adds on to that while adding seemingly endless Spider People. There are a ton of Spider People in this movie, and we get quick backstories with the important ones. And the first movie gave us some excellent villains, a great story and even a possible love story. Again, this movie pushes all of that further. Miles Morales and Spider Gwen clearly like one another. They have a web slinging type of date in this one. Schwartzman was excellent as The Spot, who looks to be a terrifying villain. Oscar Isaac brings a certain gravitas to his character, and I don’t know if I like him at all.

What makes this movie work, what makes it so enjoyable, besides the way it’s filmed, I am fully in on the main story. I’m invested. I cannot wait to see the third installment. This movie ends on a massive cliffhanger, but I’m not mad about it. I simply cannot wait to see where they go from here.

These “Spider Man” movies work because they’re so cool to look at. It helps that the writing is amazing. It helps that the animation is next level. It helps that the cast is giving their all. And it helps that the movie is good, and cool. “Across the Spider-Verse” may be the best movie of the year. It’s incredible and fun and a total work of art. I cannot recommend this movie enough. My son and I were thrilled. It kept my daughter’s attention. This movie rules. Go see it.


Ty