What are the critics saying about Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse?

It would've been easy for Across the Spider-Verse to lose audiences with its ambitious multiverse narrative as it sees Miles thrown into an increasingly unstable dimension filled with an elite supergroup of fellow Spider-People. But, the critics are quick to note that it has retained its authenticity and storytelling strengths. More importantly, the stylistic evolution and narrative focus on Miles' identity as a hero stands out.

Critics are also hailing the journey of Miles and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) as relentless and exciting, even though the plot occasionally takes a step back to make way for the visual eye candy.

However, the film didn't win all the critics over. While it's certainly bigger and bolder, some found its two-part format a weakness and detracting from the overall narrative flow.

A common pain point of Across the Spider-Verse is how it feels less like a complete film, coming across as an unfinished chapter in a much larger story.

It can be worth noting that Across the Spider-Verse branched off from what was originally just a single larger film. It's the first half of a two-part movie, the latter of which comes out next year.

Ultimately though, the few very valid negative comments about Across the Spider-Verse don't deter it from overwhelmingly positive responses. At the time of writing, Across the Spider-Verse boasts a 94$ score on Rotten Tomatoes. It isn't as high as the 97% of the original but the drop-off isn't big either.

Despite some criticisms and reservations, Across the Spider-Verse is a worthy expansion of the Spider-Verse saga.

Perhaps, most important of all, it's a big win for Sony, both financially and critically. It's in a good position to win a future Oscar for Best Animated Feature while pulling in around half a billion at the global box office if not more.