Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a 2023 animated superhero film from Sony Picture Animation.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was released to rave reviews in May. I hadn’t had any particular interest in seeing it. I watched the previous movie, Spider Man: Into the Spiderverse, in 2019, the year after it released. I enjoyed it then, but I felt the movie stood well on its own. I wasn’t sure if its unique animation and art style would be as fresh after several years of stylized animation, culminating in the excellent Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (read my review at this link!). Also, we’ve had so much multiversal shenanigans since that movie, which, in my opinion, peaked in Everything Everywhere All At Once. Do we need another multiverse movie? It almost seems like genre onto itself now.

However, the sequel was released to critical acclaim; while it wasn’t a billion-dollar movie by any means, it did well in what I described as a summer of flops like The Flash, The Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones 5, and more. It grossed almost $700 million, on a $100 million budget.

It had super strong audience support, too. I had friends talking about how amazing it was, and that it had a strong cliffhanger ending. It was a beautiful movie; the animation was even more kinetic than the first, and even more risks were taken in design and style and setting.

So, when I watched it last night, I was expecting something spectacular, a Dark Knight to a Batman Begins, an Empire Strikes Back to a Star Wars. I was hyped for an amazing sequel. I read through the Wikipedia of Into the Spider-Verse again, watched a few clips from the movie to jog my memory, and prepared for the best.

But it was… fine! Not great, not amazing, not horrible. Just fine.

World-Breaking

What??

Yeah, that’s a hard thing to say. People love this movie; I mean, adore this movie. It’s called one of the greatest superhero movies of all time. People are eagerly awaiting Part 3 of the trilogy.

But.

But.

While the animation is once again spectacular (I agree: it does outdo the first movie), while several of the characters have interesting ideas and arcs behind them, while Spot is a really fun villain, while there are great moments…

It didn’t hit me.

It didn’t hit me the same as the first movie.

Maybe it’s all of the questions that the movie leaves unexplained. (Spoilers ahead).

“Wait, are the timelines in each universe simultaneous, or are we also time traveling? Is Nueva York, and by extension Miguel O’Hara, in the future, or is his time running parallel to Miles’ New York? Wait, wait, wait, wait: so every single Spider-Man, from EVERY dimension, was in on the plan to let Miles Morales’ dad die? I don’t believe that Adam Garfield’s Spider-Man, or Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, or Tom Holland’s Spider-Man especially (in fact, they just had a whole movie fighting these exact same questions in No Way Home) would be OK with this plan. If all of the Spider-Men/Women/Animals have strong hearts or whatever, as Gwen said, then at least one has got to oppose. Plus, I think Spider-People are probably cool with democracy; why give into an autocratic organization where one Spider-Man judges the fate of all universes?”

“Wait, is every single Spider-Man so stupid, that they leave their ‘home base’ completely undefended when Miles runs away? Wait, if Miles Morales is the ‘original anomaly,’ how is he not glitching out in his home universe too? Was it only when he was bitten a year and a half ago that Miguel O’Hara began his Spider-Society to keep track of the multiverse? Was the death of Peter Parker in Miles Morales’ universe the breaking of a ‘canon event,’ since that was because of split universes? Shouldn’t that eat the entire universe, or is Miguel O’Hara wrong about that? If it’s revealed in Part 3 that he is wrong, how the heck did EVERY SINGLE Spider-Man GO ALONG with his CRAZY plan to contain multiversal threats? Wait, if this IS technically in the Marvel Cinematic Universe due to the Dr. Strange and other Spider-Man movie references, why didn’t they stop the Avengers from messing with time and Canon Events in Avengers: Endgame?”

“Oh WOW, there’s a SPIDER-DINOSAUR!”

Good Moments

Now, don’t get me wrong. There are some good moments in this movie.

Miles remains an enjoyable character, and while his arc of balancing family and superhero-ness isn’t anything new, it’s cool to see him grow up. He’s a very serious character in this movie, not cracking many jokes at all except with his first Spot fight, where it’s clear he’s using humor to hide. It’s kind of refreshing to not have him quip all the time. His relationship with Gwen remains good, too, romantic hints but also a strong friendship first. He didn’t hit me, per say, but he was enjoyable.

The movie did hit me when Spot sucked in the Dark Matter and prepared to kill Miles’ dad. That was terrifying. This goofy guy? Turns out he’s goofy, yes, but he’s goofy because of his situation, not because he’s a goofy person. In fact, he’s terrifyingly intelligent and efficient. In fact, he’s an eldritch horror monster, a unique villain created by the hero’s own mistakes.

It also hit me when Gwen returned to talk to her father, or when Miles talked to his mom on the roof of the party.

Miguel O’Hara is fun idea in this setting that’s so over-the-top and goofy, to see someone who takes his job extremely seriously, driven by the need to save. He contrasts well.

But…

But…

This movie is too broken. It leaves too many questions. When its drama, some of its big twist moments, rest on the mechanics of its shoddy worldbuilding, well, then the drama doesn’t work.

The drama with Spot, the family drama with Miles and Gwen, the idea of Miguel O’Hara, they work well.

But the rest of it falls apart.

It feels like two movies stapled together; they had this really cool idea for Spot, but then because of the post-credits scene in Into the Spider-Verse, they had to include the Spider-Society and all those things. Spot is fun, but he doesn’t get nearly enough time dedicated to his climb to power. It’d be cool to see him grapple more with his abilities. His switch to “hating Miles” is kind of sudden, like it could’ve taken one more encounter of Miles belittling him before he went totally nuts. Also, he teleports away after the black matter incident, and you think you’re about to race into the climax when SCREECH! You detour into the Spider-Society stuff.

But the Spider-Society stuff is what people. Ate. UP.

Just Fine

How do you square a movie with highs, but pretty breaking lows? How do you rate missed potential or half-baked ideas? Do the two cancel each other out?

How do you take in the beautiful animation, while also acknowledge this is a story that’s falling apart? Do the two cancel each other out?

How do you account for the fact that I’m not the target audience of this movie, that I don’t get the references and the jokes to other Spider-Men? That that doesn’t impress me or distract me from the universe breaking holes?

I’d square it away by calling it “fine.”