When Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse swung into cinemas in 2018, it proved something startlingly obvious, but stubbornly unchangeable: not every studio animation needs to look like Toy Story. This epiphany has been keenly felt since, but COVID-19-delayed sequel Across the Spider-Verse proves that the trendsetting series remains Miles ahead of the copycat competition.
A supremely confident, ravishingly rendered follow-up, Across… dazzles from its music-infused, Gwen-centric opening moments. Since becoming ‘the one and only Spider-Man’, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) has been letting his Spider-duties get in the way of his studies. The Spot (Jason Schwartzman) is one such nuisance – an inept villain of the week who turns major threat to the multiverse. Pursuing the Spot to alt-universe mega-city Mumbattan with Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), Miles meets Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac) – the humourless leader of the multiverse-protecting Spider Society – and learns a truth that threatens to tear his world apart.
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