Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Jake Johnson, Oscar Isaac, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Daniel Kaluuya, Karen Soni, Shea Whigham, Greta Lee, Mahershala Ali, Amandla Stenberg, Jharrel Jerome, Andy Samberg, Jack Quaid, Rachel Dratch, Ziggy Marley, Jorma Taccone, J.K. Simmons, Donald Glover, Elizabeth Perkins, Kathryn Hahn, Ayo Edebiri, Nicola Delaney, Nina Lentini, Atsuko Okatsuka, Peter Sohn, Melissa Sturm, Lorraine Velez, Nic Novicki, Taran Killam, Metro Boomin, Josh Keaton, Sofia Barclay, Danielle Perez, Yuri Lowenthal.
There are cinematic events that deserve nothing finer than the glory of the largest screen available.
Imagine attempting to watch Steve McQueen leap over the barbed wire that separated the evil and hate of Nazi Germany and the freedom offered by neutral Switzerland on a miniature screen, think of the scene in Independence Day when the aliens blow up the White House on a pocket-sized television. Do that and then fully comprehend the immensity of the animation brought to the audience’s attention as Sony showcase their belief in Spiderman: Across The Spider-Verse…you don’t watch such moments on nothing more than a size of screen that gives credence to the fact that is a sheer and phenomenal work of art.
The absolute concentration that is required on behalf of the viewer is the payback for the depth of animation conceived and put in place, the intensity to capture every single frame with that which honours the graphic novels and comic books to which the web-slinger has appeared in from his first appearance and through the ages, and which rightly sees one of Marvel’s, indeed Jack Kirby’s finest creations take centre stage again as every conceivable joke and heart wrenching moment is played out to its maximum potential.
In many ways in Spiderman: Across The Spider-Verse is akin to the blockbuster action of Avengers: Infinity War and End Game, its power resonates and digs deep into the soul of the viewer, and the love that the public has for one of the most iconic concepts of the 20th Century gives this film its place amongst the live action counterparts, and indeed utilises them to dramatic effect, with style, panache, and huge dollop of self-deprecation which is the staple of the comics across time.
Much praise must be placed at the door of all, the writers, the artists, and the voice cast alike, and in performances by Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, and Jason Schwartzman, who is captures the gem that has been awaiting in The Spot, what transpires is just a prelude to one of the great Spider-Man stories of all time.
A seismic event in cinematic and animation history, Spiderman: Across The Spider-Verse is arguably one of the great films of 2023, one that is as polished as it is loveable, and all the while retaining that which stamped its authority on the conscious of the fan from its first outing to its inevitable reign at the top of the graphic novel heroes.
Ian D. Hall