Miles Morales returns: 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' review
MANILA, Philippines — Sony Pictures Animation swings back in with the follow-up to its Oscar-winning movie "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" as Shameik Moore's Miles Morales learns just how tough it really is to carry the mantle of Spider-Man.
"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" takes place a year after the events of the first film with Miles unexpectedly reuniting with Gwen Stacy (Filipino-American Hailee Steinfeld) as the latter is on the hunt for an interdimensional being that threatens the multiverse.
Miles then learns that Gwen is part of the Spider-Society, a group of Spider-People from different universes led by Miguel O'Hara (Oscar Isaac), but upon learning the stakes to be the iconic web-slinger Miles finds himself at a personal, ethical, and universal crossroads.
The character of Spider-Man has always been a tragic one, best summarized by J.K. Simmons' J. Jonah Jameson in 2021's "Spider-Man: No Way Home": "Everything Spider-Man touches comes to ruin."
This very theme is what drives the movie and its upcoming sequel "Beyond the Spider-Verse" next year as Miles grapples with what it takes to be Spider-Man.
It goes beyond the difficulty of living a double-life, as Miles tries to here as a student and son to parents Jefferson and Rio (Brian Tyree Henry and Luna Lauren Vélez), so much that it unfortunately binds Spider-People from every imaginable universe.
Related: WATCH: 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' drops second official trailer
Writers Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and David Callaham and directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson (their feature debuts) build on this familiar tune with such gravitas and creativity, making every moment of the 140-minute runtime worth it.
People will no doubt know that "Across the Spider-Verse" had to be split in two, but how it builds to that break is so earned, it is immense credit to Lord, Miller, and Callaham to have created a middle story worthy to be mentioned with the likes of "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers."
Of course a major hook of the original movie was the eye-popping animation that paid homage to the comics that Spider-Man originated from. Audiences can expect the same kind of vision in the sequel, only ramped up to another level.
It becomes clear why this particular had to be delayed because such care and creativity went into perfecting the animation, not just on a visual level but emotionally too. The individual scenes of Miles and Gwen express this so vividly, whether by meticulous intricacy or brushed intensity.
Another example is an intimate scene between the two where they sit upside down facing the city, probably a callback to Miles' iconic "falling" scene; the animators were clearly having a field day at visual storytelling.
It is definitely no easy feat to follow such a marvel — no pun intended — like "Into the Spider-Verse" but this sequel strikes the right beats to be a piece of work worth discussing. From "who can be a hero" the question becomes "what does it mean to be a hero."
Related: WATCH: More Spider-People appear in new 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' trailer
Nothing else has to be said about the excellent voice cast. Moore, Steinfeld, Henry, Vélez, and Jake Johnson (back as Peter B. Parker) mesh well with newcomers Isaac, Issa Rae, Jason Schwartzman, Daniel Kaluuya, Karan Soni, and many more people to keep an eye out for.
The same can be said about the sublime score by Daniel Pemberton and matching soundtrack that is complemented with crisp sound design; one might forget that this is an animated film by how imaginative it becomes!
Some may find how the story pauses too abrupt and others can be distracted by the different animation styles that are experimented, but one cannot deny "Across the Spider-Verse" is a true exhilarating ride through comic book pages that it serves its grand purpose.
The fact that this movie not only dives deeper but also leaps past the even more famous quote about Spider-Man concerning great power and responsibility is a testament to how this, its predecessor, and hopefully the sequel are making a case as the best Spider-Man — if not just superhero or animated — movie ever.
There is still a lot for Miles to learn about being Spider-Man, be it by destiny or duty, but one thing is for certain — nothing is going to stop him from always taking that leap.
"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" is now showing in Philippine cinemas.
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