Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse sets animation bar sky-high

Universes, universes. Everywhere you look nowadays, there’s universes. 

Dr Strange has been dancing through them, the last couple of Gamoras aren’t the same Gamora as the first few Gamoras, and somewhere out there the Joker is Batman’s mum. 

Seriously, google it - it’s not just Marvel that’s marching through the multiverse, there’s dozens of Gothams with a host of different Wayne stories too.

Cynics say the idea of countless dimensions where anything can happen is simply an excuse for lazy writing, a chance to tippex out past-their-sell-by-date plotlines that no one wants any more, and there’s some merit in that theory - defeating Thanos by ‘going back in time’ anyone?

But done well, done with the right amount of imagination, creativity and sheer artistic brilliance, the premise can sing to the heavens. And that’s what Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse delivers.

Here are two-and-a-bit hours of animated splendour the like of which has never been seen before, even outshining the magnificent first big-screen outing of Miles Morales. The plot, the humour, the dark bits, the light bits are all perfectly crafted. 

Reviewers were warned of spoilers before their early access, but to try to explain the plot in 800 words would be futile. Safe to say though that there are myriad Spider-verses, and myriad Spider-Men, Spider-Women, Spider-Beasts and Spider-Things.

So much happens, there’s so much to see that it would be impossible to tag all the side jokes, Easter eggs, superhero allusions and meme references in one sitting. It’s an avalanche of nerd heaven from the opening minutes when Gwen quits her band, The Mary Janes. 

What follows is a tale that needs to be watched, concentrated on, consumed. You can’t go into this thinking you’ll like this because you like the Avengers - it’s so much more than just six or seven set pieces tied together by a couple of minutes of witty dialogue. 

You need to pay attention, but if you do the reward is immense - possibly the greatest superhero plot yet to be unleashed on the world. 

And yet we haven’t yet touched on the one thing that makes this movie different to the relentless procession of caped crusaders and wise-cracking meta humans, the one thing that lifts it above them all - the animation.

“There is beauty in this film. Stunning creativity. Breathtaking takes on how pictures can tell a story. ”

The undercurrent of a reverence to comic books is its base, but this takes animation to a new level. It is a new dawn of what a cartoon can be. 

So go see it. And see it again. And then buy it and see it again. First time round you’ll learn why you should never order a chai tea, but there’s so, so much more in there to discover.

By Matthew Mills.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (PG) is in cinemas now.