The old Spider-Man adage “With great power comes great responsibility” has been taken to heart by “Spider-Verse” producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who are now officially two-for-two in creating brilliant superhero flicks.
The 2018 first film “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” broke out as an Oscar-winning pop-culture marvel, and the sequel “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (★★★½ out of four; rated PG; in theaters Friday) seems poised for similar success with a massive cast, bigger stakes, a more stunning visual palette and a compelling cliffhanger. And like central teenager Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), it’s grown up a bit: The heart and humor are still there, but a serious side also permeates the impressive follow-up.
The half-Black, half-Puerto Rican Spider-Man of Brooklyn, Miles struggles with having a secret identity while also dealing with schoolwork and family life. He’s actually been grounded by his parents when he’s paid a welcome visit by his Spider-bestie from another world, Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld).
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Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson, this “Spider-Verse” shifts the focus toward Gwen, revealing her emotional backstory amid an epic amount of world building. Swinging through Miles’ New York City, she tells him about her new gig working with an elite task force called the Spider Society that keeps the multiverse safe. And courtesy of a random attack by a Renaissance version of the villainous Vulture, Miles gets a crash course in their whole mission.
Led by stoic and imperious Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac), aka the futuristic Spider-Man 2099, the Spider Society seeks out “anomalies” found outside of their own Earths and puts them back where they belong. Miguel is surly from the start with Miles, and that beef turns into real conflict when Miles refuses to confront a tragic aspect of every Spider-Man. The kid winds up being chased by Miguel and his fellow heroes, although another greater threat is on the loose: A mysterious baddie called The Spot (Jason Schwartzman) has the ability to navigate the multiverse and he’s gaining power the more he goes unchecked.
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if the dazzling first “Spider-Verse” tale was the closest anyone had come to putting its viewer in an actual comic book, the follow-up pretty much says, “Hold my web fluid”: Each of the debuting Spider-people pops with a fresh design – for example, Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya) looks peeled from the cover of a 1970s London music zine – and different Earths bring a dizzying number of art styles, often in the same scene. “Across the Spider-Verse” even weaves in some live-action elements as it ties intriguingly to other popular Marvel films and franchises.
But this is the most Spidey-esque “Spider-Man” film ever, if just for the amount of pure Spider-ness: Newcomers like Spider-Man India (Karan Soni) and pregnant Jessica Drew (Issa Rae) swing in as part of a huge supporting cast that also includes dino-rific Spider-Rex and vehicular Spider-Buggy. Trying to see everything happening on screen is honestly overwhelming, though “Across the Spider-Verse” always rights itself focusing on core relationships.
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The buddy dynamic between Miles and Peter Parker (Jake Johnson) was one of the highlights of the 2018 movie, though it’s sidelined here as Peter returns in a backup role (and with a new Spider-baby in tow). This time around, heartfelt moments between Miles and Gwen as well as Miles and his mom show the youngster maturing at the same time he learns truths about the multiverse and faces an existential crisis, as “Across the Spider-Verse” builds toward a whopper of a climax.
The sequel both honors and reimagines the Spider-Man mythos for a new generation of movie fans with an artistic bent, a love for its characters and a willingness to break the rules to create something special.
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