Inti Navia 
I got to see “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” a day early. Expect this to be an Oscar winner.
The sequel to the 2018 film “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” it follows Miles Morales, an Afro-Latino teen living in Brooklyn. Now the only Spider-Man in his dimension, it’s clear from the get-go that he really misses his rag-tag group of spider friends from the first movie. An unlikely nemesis to Miles emerges, and threatens the safety of the entire Spider-Verse.
In an interview with Empire Magazine, the writer and producer for the “Spider-Verse” movies, Chris Miller, had this to say about the sequel: “People who’ve seen ‘Across’… have told us that it feels like ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ of the ‘Spider-Verse’ franchise. It shows you worlds you haven’t seen, and it’s an emotional story that ends in a place where you need to see the third one. So, yeah: this is our ‘Empire.’”
This sums up the movie perfectly. It’s filled with dozens of new dimensions, hundreds of great jokes, and possibly thousands of Spider-Men. You could spend hours combing through the movie frame-by-frame, looking at Easter eggs from the comics, video games, and even the MCU.
The most notable from the cast include: Daniel Kaluuya as Spider-Punk, Oscar Isaac as Miguel O’Hara, Issa Rae as Spider-Woman, Karan Soni as Pavitr Prabhakar, and Brian Tyree Henry as Jeff, Miles’ dad. Of course, you can’t fail to mention Shameik Moore, who voiced Miles. He brings a weight to the role. A weight that only a true Spider-Man could carry, and Moore delivers it to perfection.
Your jaw will drop in the theater once you see the animation. It’s the first of its kind, combining 2D and 3D, made especially for the first movie, and this sequel takes it 10 steps further. It really demonstrates just how far filmmakers can take the medium, in ways that live-action could never replicate.
“Across the Spider-Verse” is filled with cameos by certain famous actors, jokes that had the theater erupting in laughter, and most importantly, love. It’s clear how much time and effort the animators poured into the film, and it pays off. I’m just gonna say it. This movie is better than the first one.
This movie is only part one of two. “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse” is slated for a 2024 release. It can’t come soon enough. Folks, just like Miles Morales, let’s do this one more time: Go and see this movie!
By Inti Navia, Senior, ChiArts
All Platforms: @intinavia
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