Only a few moments into Across the Spider-Verse’s two-hour-and-20-minute runtime, we can begin to understand why this sequel to 2018’s Oscar-winning Into the Spider-Verse took almost five years to arrive. Dramatically bold and visually (and sonically) fearless, the movie is exhausting in the best possible sense, inviting the audience along on a mind-boggling adventure and daring us to keep up.
Let’s assume you’ve seen the first film—although is what we get when some of the best talents in the business take their imaginations off the leash, giving us lightning-paced heroics densely packed with layers of detail I haven’t even fully processed yet, and I’ve already seen it twice.
