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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

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Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse 2023

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Bob Hoose

Movie Review

Miles Morales is Spider-Man. He might not be the best or the only Spider-Man. (I mean, his past experience with other Spider-Men, Spider-Women and even Spider-Machines from the multiverse have taught him that.) But in the couple years since he was first bitten by a radioactive spider, he’s definitely grown into his own. He’s a hero.

Of course, being a hero ain’t always easy. I mean, trying not to disappoint his parents, keeping his grades up at school and making sure nobody knows he’s slipping out the window dressed in spandex every night is a challenge. But he’s still the best superhero 15-year-old you’re ever gonna meet.

At least, that’s how he sees it.

But then Gwen Stacey shows up for a visit.

Gwen, you may remember, is actually Spider-Gwen from Earth-65, a different multiverse version of Miles’ own world. She helped him out in the past. And Miles might just have a tiny crush on her and have a notebook full of drawings of her pretty face under his bed. (But we don’t need to talk about that.)

Anyway, Gwen showed up, and it was great to see her again. But then Miles accidentally learned that Gwen was there on the behest of a new Spider Society. This group of multiverse Spider-Men are tasked with keeping the interlinked multiverses free from problematic anomalies. Gwen was sent to Miles’ world to catch a guy named The Spot.

That’s cool and all, even though Miles thinks of this interdimensional bad guy as more of a goof than a menace. But what really irks him is that this Spider Society never contacted him! I mean, he is the resident Spider-Man and all.

So when he secretly trails Gwen, he discovers that this Spider Society (led by the über-powered leader Miguel O’Hara, a grim and brooding hero from the future known as Spider-Man 2099) —doesn’t want Miles involved in any capacity. He tells Miles that it’s ‘cause the group only has a limited number of specialized members. But, c’mon, their base is packed with hundreds of Spider-People. Maybe thousands of ‘em. One of them is a T-rex. Another a punk rocker. How specialized can that be?

On top of that, Miles finds out that this trans-dimensional Spot guy has a particular bone to pick with him. He’s gone to lengths to pump up his dimension-hopping powers. And he’s set on taking down Miles’ family.

People may look down on Miles, but they can all go crawl up a lamppost for all he cares. He’ll take care of everything on his own. Why? ‘Cause he’s Spider-Man: the best 15-year-old superhero you’re ever gonna meet!

Positive Elements

Miles’ relationship with his parents, and Gwen’s relationship with her dad, may seem like they’re simple side stories compared to the bigger, multiverse-saving story here. But they’re no less important. In fact, you could argue that those relationships powerfully shape the emotional core of the film.

All of the parents here have some struggles with their kids, but they also love them dearly and sacrifice regularly for them. And the parents all take time to adjust their approach to their young charges, while still trying to hold them accountable. In fact, Miles overhears his dad publicly say, “I love you Miles. And I will always be there for you,” even though he doesn’t know that his son is listening.

And when Miles seems to be deliberately rebelling against his folks (which he kind of does, but it’s for heroic reasons they don’t know about), his parents lovingly ground him. It should also be noted that though they keep their heroic alter egos a secret from their parents, Miles and Gwen make that choice in part to protect them. We also see these heroes grapple with when and how to “confess” the truth about this important, but hidden, part of their identity.

For their part, Miles and Gwen both come to realize how much their parents are trying and express their sincere and deep love for their parents, both physically and verbally.

Miles’ mom, in particular, goes out of her way to understand her teen son. He may come off as an angsty teen to her (since she has no clue about his hero side) but she takes time to try and understand the things he may be struggling with and guide him gently.

Oh, we should also mention this is a super hero movie, which means plenty of opportunities for heroism, risk and sacrifice by many characters here.

Spiritual Elements

Miguel O’Hara is of the mindset that some events, even deadly events, must happen. So he is willing to let some people die if he determines that they should die for the sake of the world at large. Miles, however, disagrees vehemently. As a hero, he is committed to saving anyone and everyone he can. And he refuses to look the other way.

In a sense then, the movie raises a question that resembles the age-old spiritual tension between predestination versus free will. Here, it’s not quite so spiritual; but the story does seem to be pondering how much we submit to the idea of fate and how much we challenge it. And the story appears to land on the side of an individual’s ability to choose good and change a situation that may look hopeless. Similarly, the movie also grapples with heavy philosophical questions about how, for instance, you weigh the ethical question of saving one person at the expense of others … or vice versa.

Gwen also confronts her policeman dad, who initially feels obligated to arrest her when he learns that she is Spider-Gwen. In that interaction, we might say that we see the tension between grace and truth, love and law. How do we know when to apply which? And what do we do when grace and truth seem to be in conflict with each other?

One scene pictures a family holding hands, bowing their heads and praying before a meal.

Sexual Content

When Gwen pops up and leaves her sweater in Miles’ room, Miles’ mom thinks that their relationship might be fairly intimate. And when Miles learns that Gwen left a sweater in a different Spider-Man’s room, he sorta wonders if that guy is Gwen’s boyfriend. (But there’s no show of physical intimacy in either case.)

That said, when Miles and Gwen first get together, he starts hinting at his feelings and moving toward getting closer with Gwen. But, even though it’s fairly obvious that she feels similarly, she stops him with this sentence: “In every universe, Gwen falls for Spider-Man. And in every other universe, it doesn’t end well.”

The latter statement is, of course, a reference to the fact that Gwen Stacy’s death in the original Marvel Universe (known as Earth-616) remains one of the most shocking storylines the comic book publisher ever put to print.

A scene in Gwen’s bedroom includes a brief glimpse at a poster above her bedroom door that reads “Protect Trans Kids.” And her father, who’s a police officer, appears to be wearing a trans flag badge on the shoulder of his uniform. While you’d almost have to be looking for these visual cues to notice them at all, online conversation in response to them is speculating about whether Gwen is trans or at least symbolically representing the trans community. (For more thoughts on this subject, check out Adam Holz’s blog “Responding to the Spider-Gwen Trans Conversation.”)

Violent Content

A central idea here is that if Miles (or others) violate the way certain events are supposed to work out according to that predetermined fate mentioned above, it will introduce deadly and destabilizing anomalies that threaten to wipe out the entire Spider-Verse. We see that begin to take place in a couple instances. In those cases, buildings start crumbling, the world is demolished and sucked into a quantum hole and people begin falling apart in clouds of ash. A father, for instance, watches in horror as his beloved young daughter disintegrates in his arms.

There is also, of course, quite a lot of bashing, smashing and explosions as various Spider-people battle against evildoers and villains. Huge glass windows, concrete walls and ceilings are smashed and send shards and debris falling down on the heroes and the heads of innocent bystanders. Miles, Gwen and other Spider-heroes work quickly to save as many lives as possible in the face of mass destruction.

Gwen kills a large beast only to discover it was a friend who had transformed. She’s seen as a killer in her father’s eyes, and he holds her at gunpoint for the crime.

The Spot seeks to replicate the explosion that gave him his powers in an attempt to increase them.

Miguel O’Hara has a vampiric appearance, sharp claws and pointed teeth. And he’s super strong. He battles with Miles and bashes the teen violently around while ripping up the scenery around them. We discover that in some of the multiverses, important people, such as Miles’ dad, are already dead. And, of course, the death of Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben is a constant part if the Spider “canon” and thus mentioned repeatedly. We see large spiders bite people.

There’s also quite a bit of thumping goofiness in the mix as Miles, early on, struggles with The Spot who’s trying to steal an ATM machine. The two tumble in and out of interdimensional holes, sometimes being punched or kicked by seemingly disembodied fists and feet.

And, of course, all of that pummeling and sometimes potentially deadly action is swept up with swirling comic book-focused displays of color and stop-action-like imagery. So even though there is no evident bloodiness, the combat takes on an even more visceral, pounding feel on the screen.

Crude or Profane Language

The dialogue contains a smattering of crude language including two uses of “a–,” and one each of “h—” and “d–n.” There are also several “oh my gosh” exclamations and uses of “jeez,” “heck” and “crap.” In a running gag, two people say “shoot” over and over some 18 to 20 times. The villain known as Typeface exclaims, “Go to Helvetica, Spider-Man.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

Someone drinks a vial of chemicals and transforms into a huge Lizard creature. And Miguel injects himself with something undefined that keeps his vampire side in check. Adults drink wine in a social situation.

Other Negative Elements

Some potty humor jokes are tossed out about The Spot and his dimensional holes. Miles’ mother makes a joke about which orifice a Spider-Man might shoot his webbing from.

Conclusion

The first animated entry in this Spider-Verse trilogy, 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, was a high-flying and web-slinging success in my humble, non-wall-crawling opinion. It had some expected superhero violence. But Miles Morales’ Oscar-winning origin story was exhilarating, fast-paced and involving. It packed in great family friendly lessons. And had an incredibly vibrant comic book aesthetic that was unlike anything before.

Pretty much everyone with a reviewer’s pad and pen in hand agreed.

Of course, that means that pic number two, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, has a lot to live up to. And the moviemakers have indeed redoubled their efforts in penning a story that moves with frantic urgency and energy from start to finish.

However, that can also be a bit of a problem.

Across the Spider-Verse is bigger and faster. Its action is nearly non-stop; battering you from every side. The breathtaking visuals flash across the screen—this time with characters adopting their own personal comic-art themes—in a brilliant blur. The story information, Easter eggs and fan-service nods quickly rata-tat-tat across the screen. And where there were some six different multiverse Spider-characters in the first pic, there are now hundreds, thousands maybe.

That will leave fans and comic geeks likely cheering and returning for multiple multiverse viewings. (And those multiple viewings may make it more likely that eagle-eyed viewers will notice the above-mentioned affirming nods to the trans community.)

But … what about the average families and their non-comic geek kids? Well, I’m afraid you may be faced with a bit of overload. Across the Spider-Verse is, frankly, very hard to keep up with. And if you don’t know the first film well, or the many layered Spider-Man multiverse history from the comics, then it will be almost impossible to figure out what’s actually happening until you’re some two thirds of the way through the film.

On top of that there’s a bit more language mixed into the amped up thumping and action. And on top of that this 2 hour and 20-minute second feature in the trilogy doesn’t even end with a satisfying conclusion. It’s more of a cliffhanging lead into next spring’s Beyond the Spider-Verse.

Does that all add up to me saying you should stay out of this particular cinematic web? No. There’s plenty here that’s praiseworthy as well. For those who hang through it all there are some terrific statements here about loving families, growing up, and the consequences of making questionable choices. We see the important role that parents play, both loving moms and dads. There are even some spiritual connections to be made and potentially talked about.

Altogether, though, it could be little much. I mean, Miles and the Spidey crew are all pretty … spectacular. But for some families, the frenetic barrage of images and ideas might feel kinda overwhelming, too.

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Bob Hoose

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.