Review
The Amateur: surprisingly cool for a «part-time spy»
by Patrick Vogt
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – a breathtaking and bombastic ride through the Multiverse
31/5/2023
Translation: Veronica Bielawski
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a bombshell that includes all the components we came to love in its Oscar-winning predecessor which make it so great. Still, it didn’t quite hit home emotionally for me.
Spider-Man is and always has been one of my favourite superheroes. As a child and early teenager, I absolutely devoured the comics. Every now and then, there would also be periods of radio silence between me and the superheroes. That changed in 2002, when I turned 25 and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man hit theatres.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, rest assured that you can keep reading without hesitation. This movie review contains no spoilers. Everything mentioned here has already been revealed in trailers.
Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can do
A good year has passed since the events of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Miles Morales, your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, sees to peace and order in Brooklyn.
In day-to-day life, he has to deal with the typical struggles of a 15-year-old: parents who don’t get him, planning his future … and there’s Gwen Stacy, aka Spider-Woman from the first movie. Miles just can’t get her out of his head, even though they’re literally worlds apart.
Gwen, on the other hand, is now working on a secret mission and has her hands full in the Multiverse. When she lands in Miles’s dimension during her mission, the two reunite.
Once Miles finds out who Gwen is working for, it’s inevitable – he goes on a wild ride through different worlds. Along the way, he meets old acquaintances and new allies with whom he has more in common than he thought. At the same time, danger is brewing that could have devastating consequences for the entire Multiverse. And the further away Miles moves from his loved ones in the process, the more it becomes a journey towards finding himself.
From «Into» to «Across»
Into the Spider-Verse rightfully snagged heaps of awards, including both the Oscar and the Golden Globe for best animated film. Given this success, it was only a matter of time until a sequel came along. And, after the premiere was postponed by over a year due to the pandemic, it’s finally here with Across the Spider-Verse. Was it worth the wait?
Heck, yes! The second part of the Spider-Man franchise centred around Miles Morales does everything the first film already did right. These animations are inspiring and even more manifold and offbeat. And again, the soundtrack seems perfectly planned out; I really felt and heard Brooklyn.
What didn’t really get to me, surprisingly enough, were the saddest scenes. I say surprisingly, because I’m known to get teary-eyed very quickly during sentimental scenes. Perhaps these scenes felt too set up or predictable, I can’t quite put my finger on it.
The lowdown: bring on part three!
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will be in cinemas in German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino starting 1 June 2023, and in French-speaking Switzerland from 31 May 2023. Runtime: 140 minutes. Age rating: 10 years, recommended from 12 years.
Header image: Sony/Marvel
I'm a full-blooded dad and husband, part-time nerd and chicken farmer, cat tamer and animal lover. I would like to know everything and yet I know nothing. I know even less, but I learn something new every day. What I am good at is dealing with words, spoken and written. And I get to prove that here.
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