It’s been more than four years since Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse hit theaters. The 2018 animated film ignited fan fervor across the world with its daring art direction, incredible soundtrack, and more than relatable story. While it seemed impossible for a sequel to live up to the warm reception of the first, fans are in luck, it seems. Sony’s animation studio has done it again if early reviews are anything to go off of. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has emerged as a critical darling, with rave reviews on Rotten Tomatoes — it’s sitting pretty at 94 percent — just days before its worldwide premiere.
The highly anticipated sequel is quite a bit longer than its predecessor, coming with a whopping 140-minute runtime. It’s no surprise that the animated adventure will tack on almost 30 minutes to its predecessor’s runtime. The film boasts an innumerable number of cameos, and director Kemp Powers claims that the crew, “Doesn’t think there is any fat in this film.” With the high acclaim the movie has already received, his boast isn’t hard to believe. While American animation may tend to shy away from the lengthy runtimes, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has clearly taken a page from Japanese studios like Studio Ghibli and Kyoto Animation in terms of story beats per minute. Spider-Man cleanly and effectively uses the extra time to make an action-packed adventure that is sure to leave audience members glued to their seats.
While a more than two-hour-long runtime may be daunting, the tidal wave of positivity the film has already generated probably makes it safe to say that it will be entirely worth it. If audiences agree with the critical consensus, it stands to reason Sony should turn its gaze away from live-action flops like Morbius and reinvest more time and energy into animated releases.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse swings into theaters June 2, 2023.