Swinging from universe to universe comes the second installment of this animated saga with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos (Producer for Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra), Kemp Powers (Writer on Pixar’s Soul), and Justin K. Thompson (Production Designer for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs franchise).

 

The film throws you into this insane story by starting off with Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) in her universe. You get to see certain events occur that lead her to meeting Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) to join the Spider Society. We then jump to Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) dealing with a “villain of the week” called The Spot (Jason Schwartzman). What seems to be a harmless villain turns into somebody that could destroy the whole multiverse. Miles then teams up with Gwen and the Spider Society to stop the threat, but he must break one of the Society’s codes to save someone dear to him. The only problem is O’Hara will do anything to stop him from doing that.

 

This movie was a rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish dealing with loss, friendship, loneliness, and family. The story does a great job of sinking its teeth into you and never let's go until the credits hit. I was clinching my fists out of pure stress while sitting through this film. The devastating thing is that this is part one of a two-part story. I liked the fact that this isn’t just about Miles.  They make Gwen's story a big part of the main story as well. The acting by the entire cast was phenomenal and they did a great job portraying their respective characters. Also, the animation blew my mind by how amazing it looked. I know the animaters worked very hard to make the viewing experience unique.

 

It is a strong start for movies coming out in June and, if you have the time, head out to the theaters to see this movie. Like Uncle Ben says, “with great power comes great responsibility.”

 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5