A Review

The term "escapist cinema" is a word that I feel has lost its meaning. What was once used to describe media made as a viewing pleasure that also touches and inspires us has changed into a cop out excuse to justify mediocrity. It's ok if 'that' movie sucks. It's not supposed to be good. It's "escapist." That's hogwash and "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse" is a movie that proves it. An energized, visually spellbinding reminder that mainstream entertainment can be exciting and at the same time be meaningful and innovative, just like its brilliant predecessor from 2018.

"Across the Spider-verse" is everything that movie was and more. It's a conceptually ambitious re-imagining of the essential elements of a Spider-Man story. All the definitive character traits like responsibility, sacrifice, and maturity are revisited in a far-reaching and hard-hitting multiverse adventure story that surpasses even the MCU's "Spier-Man: No Way Home" in degree of scope. It's a movie that can be consistently funny and jovial before turning dark and tragic, and never once hits a false emotion.

It also one-ups the original "Spider-verse" in displaying what is possible in the world of modern animation. Some people seem to think they visually over did it this time around, but I didn't have any problems with the graphics. I was able to comfortably follow along with the kinetically high-speed pace of the plot while also not getting disoriented by the strobing colors and shifts in animation styles.

One of the most surprising things about it is its runtime. At 140 minutes, "Across the Spider-verse" is the longest major studio animated feature ever produced. But it earns every second of it. It spends that time wisely, not only further developing Miles Morales' maturing role as Spider-Man, but revealing more about Gwen Stacy to the point that she becomes as much of a main characters as he is.

To write anymore about what I loved about this movie would spoil it. It's best you just see it for yourself and experience it with as little idea of where it will end as possible. I should note that like Denis Villeneuve's "Dune," this is only a first chapter that doesn't close out with everything wrapped up in a bow like we are used to. But what we get is more than good. It's great! And more than satisfying as we wait for the third and final part of the trilogy, a movie I am already dying with anticipation to see.