#MovieReview: The animated film of the year

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is not only the best animated film of 2023, but one of the best of the decade.

Thrilling, maximalist filmmaking of the highest order, Spider-Verse is a must-see for any fans of animation or superheroes alike.

Neither are typically this reviewer’s favourite genres, but this film is so unbelievably creative and propulsive that it defies genre conventions on who its fandom should be.

A follow-up to 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse, the sequel improves its joke count, narrative stakes, voice performances and crucially, its visuals.

It is a rote cliché to say that ‘every frame is a painting’ in a well-made movie, but it certainly holds true for Spider-Verse where repeat viewings will uncover hundreds of Easter eggs.

If you watch enough movies, the repetition allows you to develop an understanding of what the visual language of cinema is and what is possible within that context.

That landscape changed when silent movies became talkies, when talkies added technicolour, when practical visual affects improved and when CGI opened the door to new worlds.

Spider-Verse feels like a sea change of similar magnitude in the world of animation, where some of the craft is so advanced that it almost defies comprehension.

All six dimensions visited in this multi-versal story have distinct animation styles, with characters from each overlapping into different timelines and worlds.

This absolutely earns the intended effect of flipping through different comic books, where each author and illustrator would bring their own flourishes.

Where it could have ended up as a jumbled mess, all the worlds instead feel individually tactile and imagined, like they have been transposed rather than created.

And in a time of multi-verse fatigue, Spider-Verse shows the possibility of what can be achieved when enough care is taken to make it worthwhile, rather than when it is used as a weak plot crutch.

It is not perfect; two fight scenes drag on enough to become a little boring, it is 15 minutes too long and it ends on a lacklustre cliff-hanger to set up the next film in the trilogy.

But it is still worth the price of admission five times over and is one of the most exciting movies of the year.

This will be enjoyable to children, adults, new Spider-Man viewers and superfans alike, but somehow does not feel like artificial fan service.

An amazing high-wire act that delivers near-perfect popcorn entertainment.

Rated 13 for some language and violence.
5/5.

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