I don't even know where to start with this movie. It was fantastic. Just before I watched this, I was like, "When did that last one come out?" and when I did the math I was shocked that it had been five years! After watching this movie, I could see why it would have been five years in between movies. The animation here is next level. There are so many intricate details that I am sure animators had to work out the kinks for YEARS before this was released. A prime example is when Spider-punk shows up. His whole deal is he is animated in a punk rock style, re: the posters you would have seen. So he moves at a different frame rate than EVERY THING AROUND HIM. That's insane.
There is a whole chase sequence of multiple Spider-Men in the back third of this film that is a beauty to behold and you can see they put everything they had into it. The action in this movie is spell-binding. Beautifully choregraphed sequences and even little moments show up well here. Also, this soundtrack, like the first one, is on point. Both from an orchestrated perspective, but also with the songs themselves. This movie is a whole vibe.
Let me step back for a minute though. None of this great animation and technical wizardry wouldn't work if the story wasn't there. I'm here to say that it is. We start of getting more of alternate universe Gwen Stacy's perspective on things. So much so, I was like, "Is this a Spider-Gwen movie or a Miles Morales movie?". I'm half kidding. All of this is important because it will drive the rest of the movie and how her relationship with Miles is affected and grows. I also loved that we now have a more confident Miles Morales, who knows what he is now and is eager to show that off. There's also a good through line of consequences of your actions. I say this in regards to who the main villain is and I will leave it at that.
You have two teenagers trying to figure their lives out while being super heroes. They are struggling with their own sense of purpose. I know it's been weeks, but I don't want to give anything away here. It definitely got me in the feels because all I can think about is what will Aaron's journey be like as he grows up.
There's a lot of great voice actors that show up here and it really comes through in the performances. I don't think anyone was taking this lightly. For me, the top part of this cast is diverse and I love seeing that. I take particular joy in hearing a voice and going, "Is that Issa Rae?" and then confirming my suspicions when the credits roll.
Finally, I loved all the different versions of Spider-Men in this movie and how their different personalities and usage of their spider-powers mesh with everyone. I won't give anything away here, but they are delightful. They really lean in the multi-verse aspect of this movie. It also ties into the ending, which caught me by surprise.
Basically, go see this movie and if you haven't seen the first one, go see that too!
