“Spider-Man: Across The Spider Verse” is the sequel to the Academy Award-winning 2018 film “Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse,” and it builds on the first movie in every way possible. So far, the animated feature has grossed over $560.3 million. Here are my top 5 reasons why I believe it’s the best Spider-Man movie.
1. The Characters
Each character in the movie has a compelling and interesting arc. Miles has to choose between saving his dad or letting him die for the sake of the universe. I believe every Spider-Man story should challenge the character’s moral rule “with great power comes great responsibility.” “Across the Spider Verse” does this perfectly. Also, the characters are much more relatable, including Hobie Brown, who is one of the many “spider people” who are introduced in this movie. With Miles Morales being a Black and Puerto Rican teen like myself, it’s easy to understand and relate with the character. Shameik Moore’s voice performance as Miles Morales is unmatched. And the Spot, played by Jonathan Ohnn, is a villain in the comics (he actually showed up all the way back in the first film and he used to be a normal guy until he was turned into the Spot). This villain is very cheesy and funny while also being very menacing and serious.
2. The Animation
“Across the Spider Verse” is the best of any animated movie of all time. The character of Spider-Man and his world just works better animated over live action. Cartoons such as “The Spectacular Spider-Man” (released all the way back in 2008) adapts the character far better than any live action Spider-Man movie, and this movie does that just as well. It uses hundreds of other animation styles such as Lego animation, an oil paint animation type, and even a punk rock poster animation type, and it all still blends together well. The majority of the movie has the choppy comic book animation style from the first film, and they make it even more comic-book style. This translates into a very vibrant and expressive movie that goes back to the old days of animation.
3. The Story
The story is also very unique compared to the other Spider-Man movies. It follows Miles being pitted against the other “spider people” for choosing to save his father even if it means the universe is in grave danger. A loved one having to be saved is something we have seen in every Spider-Man movie but not like this. In the trilogy that Sam Raimi directed from 2002-2007, every single movie involved Spider-Man’s love interest Mary Jane being in danger. In “The Amazing Spider-Man” films released in 2012 and 2014, both people he tries to save end up dying. Miles’ destiny of having to save his father is much more creative and compelling than the other movies. One of the only problems with the “Across the Spider Verse” story is that it is part one of two.
4. The Cinematography
The shots in this movie are absolutely amazing in unconventional ways that parallel the first film. Upside down shots and the attention to detail put into the film are just amazing and look better than most Spider-Man movies. I still believe that the web-swinging scenes from the Andrew Garfield films are equal if not better than the swinging scenes in this movie, but cinematography in this movie is still the best in any Spider-Man movie, making for a very visually appealing film.
5. The Villains
The villains Miguel O’Hara and Spot are a bit more unique and fresh, but at the same time on par with some of the villains we saw in other Spider-Man films. Miguel O’Hara (or Spider-Man 2099), the futuristic Spider-Man is the sort of an antihero that challenges the established morals of Spider-Man; and the Spot is goofy and cheesy, yet menacing. In comparison to the Raimi-directed films, all the villains are a bit of a copy of each other; the Lizard from the Andrew Garfield films was great, but the Goblin and Electro were simply a mess and over-stuffed. The well-balanced villains in “Across the Spider Verse” allow you to see both sides of the story, and although neither of their stories are complete due to the movie being part of a two-part series, they are both very good villains for the movie.
“Spider-Man Across the Spider Verse” is the best Spider-Man movie because of its amazing, diverse and relatable cast of characters that represent teens like me. And all the actors’ performances are amazing. The film features some of the best voice acting, and the film’s beautiful visuals, stunning creative animation, and well-directed storytelling shine bright. The movie puts itself up as the best Spider-Man movie of all time, but also one of the best animated movies of all time.
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