Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Name: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Director: Joaquim Dos Santos
Genre: Animation
Released: 2023-01-01
Duration: 2h 20m
Rating: 8.6
Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Oscar Isaac

R 2023 Animation · At 140 minutes, it's long but moves with kinetic energy that justifies every frame.

Universal masterpiece

8.5/10

IMDb

95%

Fresh

86/100

Metacritic

★

4.4/5

Letterboxd

🎬

8.3/10

TMDB

Before you watch

Watch Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse first, this picks up directly after those events

Rewatch

annual tradition

Attention

full focus

Phone-check

low

Ages

holds up

The brief

This thing moves like pure visual cocaine - every frame explodes with inventive animation styles that shift between comic book panels, watercolor smudges, and neon-soaked cityscapes that make your eyes work overtime. Shameik Moore brings genuine teenage anxiety to Miles as he stumbles through multiverse politics, while the film somehow balances massive interdimensional stakes with intimate family drama without either feeling shortchanged. At 140 minutes it never drags because the pacing mirrors Miles' frantic energy, jumping between worlds and moods with the same restless creativity as a teenager's attention span. If you loved the first Spider-Verse or think Marvel movies have gotten too safe and samey, this is the antidote you've been waiting for.

kaleidoscopic animation coming-of-age anxiety multiverse chaos vibrant comic book energy family drama teenage rebellion visual spectacle

The verdict

If you crave visually stunning animation and don't mind superhero stories that prioritize artistic experimentation over straightforward plotting, this is an essential watch that redefines what animated films can achieve. If you prefer simpler narratives or get overwhelmed by rapid-fire visual styles and multiverse complexity, you'll likely find this exhausting rather than exhilarating.