After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn's full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. However, when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders. He must soon redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.
Director: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vélez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Daniel Kaluuya, Oscar Isaac
Release Date: June 2, 2023
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Rated PG for sequences of animated action violence, some language and thematic elements
Runtime: 2h 20m
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is the kind of sequel that ups the ante on pretty much everything that made the original so special. The fact that it manages to do so with incredible ease while never losing touch with its emotional center is an impressive feat. Visually, it’s an aggressive hodgepodge of animations styles thrown at the screen with reckless abandon. It’s an optic assault on the senses which makes every shot and sequence impossible to fully appreciate on a single viewing due the level of detail and depth contained in every frame. The action is kinetic and frenzied in its own way with each new set piece and character offering a very specific sort of visual style and approach. Directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson could have leaned on the visuals and delivered a middling story, but they manage to keep the story grounded with its character and their relationships. Shameik Moore and Hailee Steinfeld make up the film's emotional core with both delivering stellar voicework throughout. Moore's voice gives Miles a believable and relatable tenor to his interactions something that really shines in the quieter moments with Lauren Vélez and Brian Tyree Henry who play his parents. Steinfeld's character is given a bit more depth this go around with the added pathos making her far more interesting. The supporting spiders are all given their moments to shine but Karan Soni as Spider-Man India and Daniel Kaluuya as Spider Punk leave the biggest impression. Oscar Isaac as Spider-Man 2099 and Issa Rae Spider-Woman both have important roles, but you get the sense that both characters will get a bigger focus in the third entry which this film sets up with a tantalizing cliffhanger that'll give people of certain age flashbacks of Empire Strikes Back or Star Trek The Next Generation's The Best of Both Worlds so be forewarned.
A
