Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse!
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has only just premiered, but it’s already breaking Letterboxd records. The highly anticipated sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has been receiving positive reviews all around for its stellar continuation of Miles Morales’ story. If the current ratings and reviews are anything to go off of, the Letterboxd record is only the first of many for Across the Spider-Verse.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is currently tied for being one of the highest-rated titles on the film review site Letterboxd.
O Auto da Compadecida, National Theatre Live: Prima Facie, Radiohead: In Rainbows – From the Basement and Suga: Road to D-DAY all currently have a 4.7-star rating on Letterboxd, with Across the Spider-Verse being one of the only narrative entries amongst them. It’s also the highest-rated animated entry and Marvel-related title on the site.
Why Across the Spider-Verse’s Reviews Are So Positive
From its emotional tone to the energizing action sequences, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has found success with both critics and general audiences. The sequel follows Miles’ continuing journey as Spider-Man after coming into his own identity at the end of the first film. He now faces a multiversal threat in the villain, the Spot, with some unexpected adversaries on the way. In the era of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, Across the Spider-Verse is a refreshing take on the concept that explains it in an intriguing way through canon events and anomalies.
Just like its predecessor, Across the Spider-Verse has a striking design that pops on the screen. Each of the 56 Spider-Man variants has their own distinct art style, as well as unique homeworlds like Gwen’s Earth or the India-influenced Manhattan, Mumbattan. The scenery, paired with Metro Boomin’s soundtrack, offers a perfect backdrop to the emotional, touching stories Miles and Gwen go on with each of their families and hero identities. Both trying to do the right thing as their worlds’ respective Spider-Person, seeing their relationship blossom as they confided in each other was one of the film’s best aspects.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse mixes highly emotional moments with light-hearted points of comedy, creating a roller coaster of an experience that clearly resonated with audiences judging from the Letterboxd ratings and reviews. With the film’s cliffhanger ending and Miles’ fate in the hands of his friends and fellow Spider-People, the beauty of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse should carry right into the Spider-Verse franchise’s third installment, Beyond the Spider-Verse, which is due for a March 29, 2024 release date.
