Spider-Man Across The Spider-Verse Review: Sequel is 'miles' ahead of Spidey lore

It was in 2018 when we first met the cinematic version of Miles Morales, the high-school-going, Jordan-wearing Spider-Man of African-American and Puerto Rican descent. Hailed as a positive step in diversifying the web-slinger once only known as Peter Parker, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse also introduced us to many other Spider-People from alternate dimensions such as Spider-Gwen and even Spider-Ham!

As expected from its wordy title and flashy trailers, the new sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse amps up the “spidey count” by introducing all sorts of wall-crawlers ranging from the cranky futuristic vampire Spider-Man Miguel O’ Hara (AKA Spider-Man: 2099) and the certified “chai lover” native of “Mumbattan” Pavitr Prabhakar (our very own Spider-Man: India).

ALSO READ: A brief history of the Indian Spider-Man Pavitr Prabhakar

Still, unlike Marvel and DC’s recent cinematic endeavours, the new Spider-Verse film doesn’t feel overstuffed with so many alternate dimensions and their alternate heroes. There are enough Easter Eggs to tingle the “spidey sense” to the staunchest of Spider-Man fast and enough vibrant energy to hook new converts to the fandom. 

Much like its predecessor, a lot of inter-dimensional travelling is involved. The consequences of our actions in changing our futures are also touched upon carrying on the long line of time-travel mishaps we have witnessed in pop culture since the times of Back to the Future. Even DC’s upcoming multiversal adventure The Flash plans to reinterpret the same old sci-fi trope of “hero changes timelines only to cause some universe-altering events”. 

Miguel O’ Hara himself recalls the timeline chaos created in the Tom Holland-starrer Spider-Man: Far From Home. To quote the character who speaks in Oscar Isaac’s rich, textured voice, “And don't even get me started on Doctor Strange and the little nerd back on Earth-199999.”

Even without any time-travel involved, Miles Morales and his peers face the obstacle of drastically changing timelines that their inter-dimensional web-slinging might create. And yet the rehashed trope doesn’t feel dated. These days, in an era of the so-called “Marvel fatigue”, understanding multiple dimensions can be quite a headache. 

The Spider-Verse film still has enough exposition in its dialogues to help you understand the whole timeline mumbo-jumbo that Miles has caught himself in. And in this case, exposition works as you don’t have to Google the many Disney+ shows and movies that you need to watch to understand the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe production. 

But obviously, science isn’t the only driving factor. This is a Spider-Man movie after all. So, a balance of emotional family drama and some good old spidey humour is bound to be spun and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse aces this balance. The audience bear witness to a more layered backstory for Gwen Stacy as we get to see her trials and tribulations beyond just being a Spider-Woman. On the other hand, we also find Miles’ mentor Peter B Parker returning, this time with his infant daughter Mayday. The father-daughter provide a delightful segue from the drama with Parker even urging the brooding O’Hara to joke a little as “Spider-Men are supposed to be funny”.

Miles himself gets enough space to develop both with and without his masked identity as he finds a new nemesis in the Spot, a bumbling scientist-turned-villain who can create hole-like portals out of anywhere. Voiced by a likably charming Jason Schwartzman (who almost sounds like a hybrid of Ryan Reynolds and Andy Samberg here), the Spot makes for an interesting villain whose backstory only deepens as the plot twists increase (the twists are as many as the holes that Spot creates). 

But the Spot isn’t the only thing that Miles fights. He must also fight his own ideas this time. Be it in the comics or the movies, Spider-Man has always been a light-hearted hero who must also deal with a whole lot of emotional trauma. From mentors like Uncle Ben and Aunt May to lovers like Gwen Stacy, everyone donning a Spider-associated mantle has to face the loss of a loved one. With Miles already haunted by Uncle Aaron’s death in the previous film, Across the Spider-Verse finds him trying his best to prevent any more tragedies. But sacrifice is what makes one a Spider-Man. So, who wins this time? The predestined reality or Miles’ “everything will be alright” attitude. 

In this sense, Across the Spider-Verse ends up becoming more introspective than expected. The clash of ideals between Miles and the rest of the Spider-People rises to a point where a civil war is bound to kick off. 

Even Far From Home which was heavy on the emotions wouldn’t feel as organic as this animated adventure. Yes, Far From Home was quite a tear-jerker but it also capitalised well on the nostalgic value that Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire’s highly-anticipated return as Spider-Men brought.

Much like Far From Home, Across the Spider-Verse is also heavy on fan service. But given that it also introduces us to new characters and their pain while fleshing out the tragedies of its pre-existing ones (Spider-Gwen again has gone through a lot), it works as an ambitious and emotion-driven epic in its own right. 

Part of the spectacle is obviously the stellar animation that has become even more vibrant and immersive since Miles’ last outing in 2018. Each dimension is adorned with its own colour scheme. Even action scenes with deliberately glitchy combat are aesthetically-pleasing. And despite a majority of the film dipped in neon tones, it still doesn’t feel like a psychedelic overkill. 

The world-building is also accelerated with the music department, thanks to both Daniel Pemberton’s rousing background score and the Metro Boomin-curated soundtrack, complete with some catchy hip-hop and R&B hits. Yes, the first film’s soundtrack is still memorable with its “Sunflower” and “What’s Up Danger” but the sequel’s album is bound to grow on you eventually. 

As an Indian, the biggest fear before watching Across the Spider-Verse was thinking about how it would deal with the Indian Spider-Man Pavitr Prabhakar (the worst name you could give to an Indian character because who even is named Pavitr). 

Fortunately, Spider-Man India is hilarious, instantly likable and not as stereotypical as the 2004 comic-book series that introduced him. Yes, there is the occasional cliched sitar orchestration playing in the background but the character thankfully looks and sound normal, nothing like Apu from The Simpsons or Raj from The Big Bang Theory. Karan Soni (Dopinder from Deadpool) voices Pavitr only for a few scenes but he steals the show whenever he’s around. 

Despite his customised kurta-dhoti combo of a costume, Pavitr is thankfully not depicted as some sort of mystical Hindu figure. Instead, he’s just a happy-go-lucky youngster who shames non-Indians for using blasphemous culinary terms like “chai tea” and “naan bread” and also takes a jab at the British for stealing Indian treasures. 

So, with emotional storytelling and visually-rich world-building, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is definitely worth all its hype. And with the Indian Spider-Man serving as pleasant surprise, even Indians can rejoice. 

Just like the population of its Spider-People, Across the Spider-Verse also ends with a plenty of cliffhangers. That's why the hype for next year's finale Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is already bound to emerge already. 

Barring perhaps the anime hit Suzume, Across the Spider-Verse is definitely the best animated film of the year. Only Studio Ghibli maestro Hayao Miyazaki’s upcoming anime might surpass. But for now, the spider crawls to the top.

We're going with 4 out of 5 stars for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.