The first thing to say is that this is not, for want of a better phrase, a full film. It is half a film which will conclude with next years Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.

It is therefore difficult to properly judge it as, as of yet, nothing has been resolved. My opinion on it may change completely once I have seen the next instalment, as so much rides on how they tie it up

We start here not with Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), but with Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), for this is not just Miles’ film. While he still gets main billing, and the main story arc is his, Gwen takes far more of the centre stage than she did in 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse. She has her own emotional beats, which are completely separate to the main story, and add more depth to the character; filling in some of the blanks that were left by the previous instalment.

After a flashback showing what led Spider-Gwen to where we previously met her, we see her heading out to fight The Vulture. This is where things begin to unravel for her, as this is not her version of The Vulture, but a renaissance inspired version that has fallen through the cracks between universes. This coming together of Universes, she is told, has the potential to destroy the world as she knows it.

We are seeing a lot of multi-verse films coming through at the moment, and I think Across the Spider-Verse deserves credit for coming up with a new spin on this. I cannot say much further about the plot without giving too much away, but as the film builds on this premise, introducing the canon events plotline, it develops a new and interesting idea that, as far as I’m aware, has not yet been explored in film.

Again, whether they manage to stick the landing is another thing entirely, but I’m interested to see where they go with it.

One thing that Across the Spider-Verse does have going for it, despite the unresolved story, is the huge amount of fun to be had in meeting the expanded Spider-Man/Woman/Horse etc included. Whereas some, such as Spider-Woman (Issa Rae), Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac) and Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya), get a decent amount of screen time, the sheer number of variations that we meet fleetingly is impressive. Across the Spider-Verse wrings a lot of jokes from this, and adds a huge number of easter eggs – most of which will have gone over my head – for fans of the comic books, and of the history of Spider-Man.

According to co-director Justin K. Thompson there are 280 variations of Spider-Man, and various incarnations of marvel villains, in the film and, without wanting to spoil the surprises, meeting them is where the film shines.

At 140 minutes Across the Spider-Verse is now the longest animated film made by an American studio, however, for me at least, it never outstayed it’s welcome. Perhaps it is the sheer amount happening on screen, that distracts you from how long you have been watching, but the beautiful art direction makes it totally worthwhile.

The watercolour style of Spider-Gwen’s home in particular is superb. The scenes and the colours bleed into themselves, changing with her conflicted emotions and reflecting what is beginning to happen in the Multiverse.

Each Universe in the film has its own unique art style, which can be incredibly helpful to audiences. The film does, at times, zip from place to place, and being able to have that visual nod as to where we are really helps to keep the audience focussed, where it would be easy to lose track.

Into the Spider-Verse won a number of Best Animated Feature awards, including at the 2019 academy awards, and based on the quality on show here it is hard to imagine Across the Spider-Verse not following suit.

While the visuals, though, are second to none some of the dialogue leaves a something to be desired. As my friend Chase pointed out as we left the cinema it felt at times as though characters communicated solely by making grandiose speeches.

Perhaps this was an attempt to capitalise on how great Jeffersons (Brian Tyree Henry) through-the-door speech was in the first film, but it felt more forced here.

Across the Spider-Verse is a film that will live or die depending on how good next years finale is. It was an incredibly enjoyable romp through the multiverses, with some exquisite art design, and consistently funny jokes, but narratively it is all too early to say.

There is a lot of promise, and I am intrigued to see where they go with a lot of the story points, but we are only halfway there.

There are a lot of reasons to have faith in these writers to pull it off though, and it is certainly a journey I am pleased to be halfway through, rather than not on at all.