What Rotten Tomatoes Reviews Are Saying About Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

There's no question that, among fans of comic book movies, 2018's "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" is regarded as one of the best on-screen adaptations to ever exist. Phil Lord and Chris Miller's mind-bending multiverse movie (they did it before it was cool, kind of!) is a delight from start to finish, following Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) as he goes through the familiar "Spider-Man" song and dance — he gets bitten by a radioactive spider. That's when things start to get beautifully strange, though, thanks to a machine built by grieving villain Wilson Fisk (Liev Schreiber) and Miles' relatively unwilling mentor Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), when several different Spiders-men and women emerge from the collider to meet Miles. Problem is, with the barriers between dimensions breaking down at a rapid rate, because staying in the wrong dimension means your cells end up decaying, so not only does Miles have to battle a number of villains alongside his allies, everybody needs to get back home eventually.

The sequel, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," is easily one of the most highly anticipated comic book movies and follow-ups set to hit theaters, and the critical embargo has finally broken. So what do critics think?

They like it. A lot.

This probably won't come as an enormous shock, but according to early Rotten Tomatoes reviews, critics enjoyed "Across the Universe" quite a lot. As Ben Travis at Empire wrote, "'Across The Spider-Verse' cranks every dial to 11, and somehow doesn't collapse in on itself. Visually astonishing, emotionally powerful, narratively propulsive — it's another masterpiece." ScreenCrush's Matt Singer agreed, saying the sequel builds perfectly on its predecessor: "Expands Into the Spider-Verse's already eye-popping animation in even more audacious directions."

Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent agreed, writing, "Out of every multiverse, this is the easiest to root for." Over at The Daily Beast, Nick Schrager was effusive in his praise, saying a new standard has been set: "Setting a new benchmark for diverse, agile, breathtaking animation, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" is as striking as non-live-action films come."

Peter Bradshaw at The Guardian had a small caveat but clearly enjoyed the movie nonetheless, saying, "It's dynamic and intriguing, though the detail and the emotion can get lost in the splurge." Meanwhile, Brian Truitt writes at USA Today that the movie contains multitudes when it comes to the narrative arc and emotional journey: "The heart and humor are still there, but a serious side also permeates the impressive follow-up."

Considering how encouraging the early reviews are, it's reasonable that fans are probably getting more excited than ever for "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse." So what can they expect from the movie? Well, now that he's in better control of his powers as Spider-Man, Miles teams up with Gwen Stacy — his love interest in this particular "Spider-Man" tale, who's voiced by Hailee Steinfeld as she was in the original — to save several different Spider-people from something called "The Spot." Faced with the foutcome that The Spot could take down the entire Spider-Verse, Miles meets a group called the "Spider Society" and its leader Miguel O'Hara (Oscar Isaac), and though he should be fighting alongside them he finds himself at odds with their mission. Jake Johnson, Bryan Tyree Henry, and Luna Lauren Vélez are among the returning actors, and they'll be joined by newcomers Isaac, Issa Rae, Jason Schwartzman, Daniel Kaluuya, and Lonely Island buddies Jorma Taccone and Andy Samberg, among others.

"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" hits theaters on June 2, 2023, and fans will finally get to see if it lives up to the original. Apparently, they can remain pretty optimistic, if critics are to be believed.