It starts with the length: 140 minutes is probably one of the longest running times for an animated film in a while. And continues with an ingenuity that is arguably unparalleled at the moment and reminiscent – if anything – of the previous films by the duo Lord and Miller, and perhaps a tiny bit of the Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere all at Once. So plays Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse not one, but in several dimensions, and each of them gets its own look. So the homeland of Gwen Stacy aka Spider-Woman looks a little different from the drawing style than the world of Miles Morales – and both differ from an earth on which instead of New York an Indian metropolis is the focus and the Spider-Man there comes from the relevant culture. Even the sheer exuberant look completely overshadows the predecessor, which was already awarded best animated film at the Oscars 2018 and was certainly not lacking in ideas.
What is even more impressive, however, is the fact that Lord and Miller have written a screenplay in five years that actually continues the story so homogeneously and meaningfully as if this second part had always been clear – which, given the past time, probably as may be considered unlikely. The way in which the story puts Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy at the center of the action and after a good 90 minutes can come up with a twist that is as amazing as it is logical in itself, proves the consistently high quality of the two authors, who already have with The Lego Movie and the wonderful Apple TV series The Afterparty have shown how playfully they can bring style and story into a connection that is greater than both together. Despite the 140 minutes Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse no lengths and so many emotional moments that the release from the age of twelve takes this into account: The second part of the series should definitely overwhelm a very young audience. Lord and Miller use well-known set pieces of such films – the generation gap, the secret of children, fear of loss and pain – with so much feeling for the situation that these scenes appear pleasantly fresh and unused, although most viewers have seen many similar things times may have seen.
The action sequences are so fast that the audience is in danger of missing something with every blink, so hyper-fast Lord and Miller let the ideas flow here. Wild tracking shots, color explosions, fast-paced fights – no superhero film has ever been closer to a comic book that has started to run. And because the makers don’t forget where it all comes from, they pack a lot of Spider-Men into their story, which fans already know from more or less iconic appearances in magazine series. There’s Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man of the year 2099, a fairly short-lived 1992 spin-off idea by the publisher. There’s Ben Reilly, a clone of Peter Parker, who emerged in the ’90s and after a long Saga temporarily became the hero in its own book. There’s Hobie Brown, the actual “Prowler” in old Spider-Man comics instead of Miles’ uncle like in the previous film, who is featured here as Spider-Punk. Finally, even Spider-Girl, in the comics the teenage daughter of Peter Parker and Mary Jane named May, is here as a baby. In all likelihood, this is just the conspicuous tip of the iceberg of what Lord and Miller actually included in references, allusions, and nods to the Marvel comic universe.
The only fly in the ointment Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is also the fact that Sony didn’t really make it clear in advance how long the story would actually be: The film is a classic second of three parts and ends with a nasty cliffhanger. However, it should continue in March 2024 – then with Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. And if it can maintain the level of its predecessor, superhero fans will have another highlight ahead of them. Even if Warner, Disney and Sony would like to stop their superheroes’ multiverse adventures at some point. Even if they are as strong as this one.
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