Review : Spider-Man - Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
As we march closer and closer toward Marvel fully owning all of their comic properties and integrating those characters into the MCU, we are seeing Sony do all that they can to make their final impressions a positive one with their character rights. I may have fully given up on the X-Men franchise, but I’m not quite ready to throw in the towel on the Spider-Man franchise, as it still seems to surprise me. When the announcement of Spider-Man : Into the Spider-Verse occurred, I was not initially excited, to be fully honest. After seeing the movie, however, I have seen the error of my ways.
Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is a Brooklyn teenager on the verge of attending a new boarding school, despite his wishes to stay around the way where things are familiar. His parents, police officer Jefferson Davis (Brian Tyree Henry) and nurse Rio Morales (Luna Lauren Velez), believe in his potential and do all that they can to support him despite Miles going through the teenage stage of separation from the family. Miles does gravitate, however, to his uncle Aaron Davis (Mahershala Ali), a fellow artist who makes time for Miles when he has the time. One night, Miles sneaks out of the school and, with the help of his uncle, is introduced to a hidden area in the NYC Subway system where he can do graffiti freely. While in this area, Miles is bitten by a random mechanical, radioactive spider, and over the next day, Miles begins to notice strange changes, especially during an interaction with new friend and potential crush Wanda (Hailee Steinfeld). Out of curiosity, Miles revisits the subway location, only to happen upon a battle between Spider-Man (Chris Pine) and Green Goblin (Jorma Taccone), which eventually leads all three to a lair where Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) is attempting to activate a supercollider with the help of Olivia Octavius (Kathryn Hahn). In the ensuing melee, the supercollider is destroyed, Kingpin reveals Spider-Man to be Peter Parker before killing him, and Miles nearly escapes from the pursuit of Kingpin henchman Prowler. Miles, realizing his new powers and responsibilities in the wake of Peter Parker’s death, is surprised when a slightly different looking Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson) suddenly shows up. As Miles pursues lessons from the newly emerged Peter B. Parker, the two realize that Kingpin’s supercollider has begun to compound the multiverses, resulting in multiple iterations of Spider-Man to suddenly appear in Brooklyn, including Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), Spider-Noir (Nicolas Cage), Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn) and SP//dr, and Wanda, who reveals herself to actually be Gwen Stacy taking up the mantle of Spider-Woman. With the help of Aunt May Parker (Lily Tomlin), the collective seeks to put an end to Kingpin’s plans and (hopefully) return the misplaced heroes to their original locations in the multiverse.
This film is a celebration of all things Spider-Man, and is appropriately light-hearted with the lore. The span of genres, eras, cultures and art styles covered within the film is invigorating and, at times, breathtaking. The level of metahumor in this movie rivals that of the Deadpool franchise, with the film able to make fun of key story concepts, the lore if Spider-Man, and even itself in stride. The repeating joke of origin stories plays beautifully, providing both an ode to the range of Spider-Man films and a perfect setup of comparison for Chris Pine and Jake Johnson’s respective Peter Parker characterizations.
Aaron Davis makes an interesting correlation between gentrification and vigilantism in the sense of how some changes are inevitable, an interesting point to make in light of how much Into the Spider-Verse seems to be an deep examination of how change can be a positive thing. NYC and it’s deep cultures are a central element to the film, with both music and graffiti playing major parts in the aesthetic. The family concept that is inherent to the Spider-Man lore is turned on its ear, allowing for moments that echo the original story but set up different dynamics.
The clean animation in this film will more than likely get a nomination (if not a win) for Best Animated Picture, with the Benday Dot integration into the skin texture being a personal favorite touch of mine. The various styles of Spidey-Senses associated to each character stand out, with Miles having his portrayed as a mix of comic book, graffiti and psychedelic touches. The designs of the heroes and villains are some of the best committed to film, including top-notch design for Miles, Spider-Noir and Kingpin. The production design is full of homage and easter eggs, fully embracing the multiverse opportunity and milking it for visual humor. If the Miles Morales Spider-Man ever makes it to the live realm, he better be rocking these Air Jordans that fit so perfectly into the character design.
The energy that Shameik Moore brings to Miles Morales falls perfectly in line with the light-hearted, whimsical nature that the Spider-Man lore was built upon, while simultaneously updating everything effortlessly into the modern day. Hailee Steinfeld’s underlying confidence suits her portrayal of Gwen Stacy, with situations that would make a normal teen go to pieces handled with grace that doesn’t show her hand until the appropriate time. Mahershala Ali takes limited recognizable time and creates a clear attachment with the audience via Moore’s collaboration, which makes his moments later in the film hit harder. Jake Johnson embraces the loser Peter B. Parker nature and drenches it in endearing charm. Brian Tyree Henry and Luna Lauren Velez work well together as well as forming the strong loving foundation of the movie. Kathryn Hahn revels in her Doc Oc performance, especially the swerve of a reveal that is provided. Liev Schreiber’s Kingpin is horrifyingly intimidating in the sense of his intense focus and shortness. Wonderful appearances from Nicolas Cage, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Chris Pine, Lily Tomlin, Jorma Taccone, Marvin Krondon Jones III, Zoe Kravitz, Post Malone, Joaquin Cosio, Lake Bell and heartbreaking moments from Stan Lee and for Cliff Robertson round things out.
Hands down, this was one of the most enjoyable moviegoing experiences of the year, animated film or otherwise. I know for a fact I will be back in the theater at least one more time for this one... it’s films like these that are going to make my 2018 Best Films list a tough one to compile.
