

#SPIDER GAG MOUTH MOVIE#
Here’s a mild spoiler warning: If the first movie was about Miles being a refreshing new voice who – like anyone – could don the mask, the second is about him fighting to forge his own individual path and find his people.

That Across the Spider-Verse even has a pulse makes it stand apart from most recent comic book movies and franchise fare, for that matter. Sure, it’s just animation, but it feels like these two characters fill that scene with more pheromones than Disney’s sexless Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) could conjure over two dozen movies put together. It’s a romantic image, the two of them in their own world, on a whole other plane, her hair elegantly floating upwards thanks to gravity. The tempo slows down as Gwen crashes Morales’s universe (again), inviting him on a lovely web-slinging version of a stroll through skyscrapers, which ends with them sitting upside down on a Manhattan ledge as only Spidey-types can do.

The awkward boyish crush that was adorable in the first movie matures into something deeper in the sequel. Miles texts his parents during that frantic, physics-defying wrestling match through Brooklyn to say, “Inaminit.” The perfectly succinct collision of words matches both the character and the movie’s tendency to cram so much into tight windows. Miles is reintroduced in action, snacking on a Jamaican beef patty while jostling with a teleporting would-be villain who calls himself the Spot (Jason Schwartzman) as his parents await his arrival at a school meeting with a guidance counsellor. Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), not to mention Spider-Noir, Spider-Ham and the other multiverse Spider-kin. Parker (Jake Johnson) and Gwen Stacey, a.k.a. Shameik Moore returns to voice Miles Morales, the misunderstood Afro-Latino teen who hit a growth spurt after he was last visited by Peter B. What are the best movies to watch in 2023? Our critics pick their favourites The diversity in looks matches the expansive story, which sees the filmmakers spinning an even bigger and more intricate web of characters who get tangled up in each other’s dimensions.

Once again, The Lego Movie duo of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (serving here as co-writers and producers) and their team of directors and animators build a thrilling and affectionate ode to comic book visuals, throwing down inky sketches, hip-hop flavoured graffiti, impressionistic water colours and even dynamic renaissance drawings, often within the same scenes.
#SPIDER GAG MOUTH FREE#
Like any great sequel free from the legwork of setting things up, this one is more contemplative and soulful. Its superb sequel, Across the Spider-Verse, keeps up that momentum, goes further with the artistry and is perhaps even more rewarding. Into the Spider-Verse was almost a chore to keep up with, albeit a joyful one. We’d be so busy giggling about a brilliant sight gag, or stunned by some beautiful composition, that other moments would just fly by undetected. The spectacular animated take on the friendly neighbourhood web-slinger(s) – which refocused the narrative from Peter Parker to Miles Morales – came out swinging, hitting us with dazzling sights, a wicked (spidey?) sense of humour and the boundless energy of a restless teenager throwing everything they’ve got at you fast and furious.
