By John Corrado

★★★½ (out of 4)

When Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse came out in 2018, it really felt like the film was pushing the boundaries for big screen animation, mimicking the look of a comic book with its inventive and highly stylized mix of 2D and 3D animation.

Now we have Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, a sequel to the Oscar-winning film that pushes this incredible visual style even further. The result is a visually stunning film that feels nothing less than groundbreaking in terms of animation, as it mixes vibrant styles into a pop art opera.

Directed by the trio of Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson, this sequel pushes the boundaries for comic book movies, even surpassing the first one in terms of its story and creativity. It’s a bold, exciting film that arrives at a time when a level of “superhero fatigue” has set in, due to many live action comic book movies essentially offering more of the same. In this way, Across the Spider-Verse feels like it is able to rejuvenate the genre, by realizing the full potential of what a comic book movie can be.

The film continues the story of Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), the Afro-Latino teen from New York who became Spider-Man, but still has to keep his identity a secret from his police officer father Jeff (Brian Tyree Henry). It also advances the story of his love interest Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), who exists in a different reality and is hiding her own Spider-Woman identity from her police captain father (Shea Whigham).

Gwen is part of an elite team of Spider-People from across the multiverse known as the Spider-Society, led by Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac), a brooding, ultra-serious Spider-Man from the year 2099. A new villain emerges in the form of The Spot (Jason Schwartzman), a rogue scientist who has the ability to harness black holes that allow him to jump between the different multiverses, and is opening up various portals between these worlds.

When I say that this is an eye-popping film, that’s not hyperbole. The animators have really pushed what is possible with the art form this time around, blending elements of hand-drawn animation and frames that have the appearance of watercolour illustrations with the bold, distinctly graphic aesthetic. It’s an incredible achievement. The film delivers one dazzling image after another as characters jump through a series of set-pieces, including a thrilling action sequence set in the bustling city of Mumbattan (a cross between Mumbai and Manhattan) featuring Indian Spider-Man Pavitr Prabhakar (Karan Soni).

Each of the different multiverses have their own unique style (including a stop-motion Lego universe, animated by the 14-year-old Preston Mutanga who caught the attention of the filmmakers with his Lego recreation of the trailer). There’s also the introduction of Hobie Brown (Daniel Kaluuya), an anarchist Spider-Punk who appears to move through the film at a different frame rate. Each frame of the film is packed with little details to dazzle the senses. But, aside from just offering constant eye candy, it also features a strong, character-driven story that is rooted in themes of family and responsibility.

Multiverses have been en vogue as of late with Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the Oscar-sweeping Everything Everywhere All At Once, and Across the Spider-Verse offers the best case for why there is still juice left in this premise. This is a piece of wildly entertaining, artistically daring pop entertainment that manages to feel refreshing in the current cinematic landscape. The film also blends in some vaguely meta commentary exploring the themes of what is considered canon within superhero movies, and how to break from that mold.

It’s a highly ambitious film, not only mixing different art styles but also juggling multiple characters and storylines across a whopping 140 minutes (which is unprecedented for an American animated film). But it all works, and the running time honestly flies by. The film builds to a cliffhanger ending that does feel somewhat abrupt, but leaves us even more excited for next year’s final instalment, Beyond the Spider-Verse. It can’t come soon enough.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now playing exclusively in theatres.