Director: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vélez
Have I Seen it Before: Nope!
Did I Like It: These movies are making me feel quite foolish.
Years ago, when Sony announced that they were bringing their admittedly haphazard skills to an animated Spider-Man movie focusing Miles Morales (Moore), I was skeptical. Morales is a big part of the comics, but a pretty deep cut for the larger audience. Additionally, Sony Animation had appeared to go out of their way to avoid tapping into a breakthrough hit, unless one counted Hotel Transylvania (2012)—which I wouldn’t—or Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009–which I probably should, as Lord and Miller were also involved in that case.
Boy, was I wrong.
The original Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)* is so good that the live-action Spider-movies have become tame (if still enjoyable) by comparison, to the point where Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) had to reach for a bit of the—pun not intended, but resigned to—multiversal madness.
So, when the sequel came around, I was pretty sure I had it all figured out. The LEGO Movie (2014) was resplendent, but The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) was merely a passable animated film, and once again, Lord and Miller were involved there. There is no way that more time with Miles and company would measure up.
Boy, was I wrong.
Everything that was great about the first film here is expanded and made all the more poignant here. While multiple universes are performing a delicate dance/traffic jam around this movie, the theme of Miles and Gwen (Steinfeld) ongoing uncertainty about where they belong goes beyond the meet-cute of the first film. The film is just as, if not funnier than its predecessor, which is no small feat, as I could have easily been turned off by the fact that Spider-Ham and Spider-Man Noir—easily the two most demonstrably funny characters from the first film—are relegated to a silent cameo in the film’s final moments. Some might be turned off by the cliffhanger here, but I imagine anyone complaining about that at this point will be mollified when the entire picture of the trilogy is complete.
But next year’s Beyond the Spider-Verse couldn’t possibly be any good, right? How many trilogy cappers are truly satisfying?
*How could that have been nearly five years ago? Why is time becoming increasingly wild, with certain years flying by in a snap, and other years feeling like they are a decade long? Don’t answer that, I think I may know the answer.