“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is a sequel blast

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Animated adventure featuring the voices of Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Jake Johnson, Oscar Isaac, Jason Schwartzman, Daniel Kaluuya and Issa Rae. Written by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Dave Callaham. Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson. Now playing at theatres everywhere. 140 minutes. PG

⭐️⭐️⭐️½ (out of 4)

Peter Howell

Movie Critic

Extraordinary animation and muscular transformations make the continuing Spidey saga(s) of Brooklyn teen Miles Morales and his family, friends and foes even more of a marvel. Directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson and Kemp Powers approach this first part of a sequel to the 2018 multiverse adventure (Part 2 comes next year) as a series of colliding comic books, with many worlds, moods and characters — there are dozens of Spider-Men and multiple Spider-Women and villains. The multivarious web strands are pulled together by the energy and wit of the characters, especially Shameik Moore’s earnest Miles and his friend and romantic fascination Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), a.k.a. Spider-Woman in another realm. 🌓

(Originally published in the Toronto Star.)