Review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse
Spider-Man has had a good year. While I can’t speak from a comic perspective, as a multimedia star he’s had quite the run. Many people are in love with Tom Holland’s portrayal of him in the MCU and his starring role in Avengers: Infinity War. Marvel’s Spider-Man for the PS4 is (allegedly) fantastic and even got a game of the year nomination. So here we are, last month of 2018 with one more Spider-Man. I’ve heard many people complain about Spider-Man movie fatigue, so is yet another new Spider-Man worth it? Let’s Rock.
STORY: Peter Parker’s career as Spider-Man is at its peak. You know the stories, we all do. This isn’t Peter Parker’s story however. Miles Morales is moving to a new elite high school, the son of a cop and a nurse, he lives in a New York where Spider-Man is swinging up and down the roads. However an incident with a mysterious spider bite pulls him into the world of heroes, a world shaken up by the Kingpin trying to break down the walls between dimensions. Thrown into chaos, Miles must work with those brought in from other dimensions to try to restore order and figure out what it means to be Spider-Man. This shouldn’t and probably won’t be your first Spider-Man movie. It references a lot of Spider-Man culture and is a fanservice romp for long time fans, yet is still a refreshing tale. The plot isn’t particularly deep or complex, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s simple, yet effective. Going through the logical order of a superhero story, yet packing some surprises along the way. I want to give bonus points for the story being told in a way that’s aware of the trailers and intentionally tries to subvert some preconceptions established by the trailers. While I may not be able to give this much credit on originality or freshness, I can compliment the ability of the story to deliver the emotional payoffs it needs. Some of the harder hitting moments are done fantastically and work within the simplicity of the tale. Story-wise I think my only real complaint was the climax being a bit too straightforward. The way the story is told shines brightly though, especially in its use of spider-man tropes and parallels. Since my format doesn’t have a spot for it, I’ll go ahead and discuss the humor and comedy here. The movie can be damn funny when it wants to be, not only in simple jokes, but in twisting expectations, pop culture comedy, and a lot of inside jokes for spider-man fans. The gag character of Spider-Ham manages to stay amusing throughout the whole film and never gets grating.
8/10. Simple yet effectively told. Also funi movie make me laugh.
CHARACTERS: Let’s start with Miles himself. He’s discontent with his new high school, trying to flunk out so he can move back in with the people. He’s got some issues with his family, mostly looking up to his Uncle Aaron, who’s not always on the good side of the law. While like Peter Parker he’s got a good brain and some social troubles, he’s less of a nerd wish fulfillment type. His dynamic with his Dad and Uncle is unique from Parker and is a strong point throughout the movie. While not shockingly new or interesting, Miles is a strong central character. The other spiders are also strong. Peter B. Parker is a late career Spider-Man, one movies never show us. He’s arguably washed up and the constant life toll of Spider-Man has clearly gotten to him. I found this take to be rather unique, and also relatable as we see the youths around him reminding him of what he once was. While some people may not like his negativity, I found him to be rather engaging as the group senior. Gwen Stacy brings the main cast into an effective trio. Being slightly older than Miles, she’s got a good dynamic of banter with him despite her claim to not keeping friends. She’s pretty prominent in action scenes and in general has a strong energy that puts her in the movie spotlight. While I can’t claim she has too much interesting going on, I think in large part that’s simply because it isn’t her movie. As for the other 3 spiders, they feel like a lower tier in prominence. While there, they don’t have much individual bits outside of their backstories (which get told together.) Peni and Noir were quite interesting, and I honestly felt like we really just didn’t get enough of them. If I can claim any problem here, it’s a utilization issue, but that’s something to be expected out of a one off movie. You can’t give every character the full spotlight they could use. As far as villains go the only one I can really discuss is the Kingpin. While maybe not needed, the movie did go the extra mile to give him a borderline sympathetic backstory. I was a fan of how his story kind of paralleled miles with his downfall being his inability to learn from his mistakes. All in all a pretty strong cape movie villain even if he’s not my favorite Kingpin. I also want to give a shout-out to this movie’s Aunt May. Being a spider-veteran she’s just freaking awesome in this film.
7/10. Some nice ideas and strong characters. Any real complaints are kinda inherent to the medium.
VISUALS: Oh boy is this a treat. I feel like the real appeal of the movie is the frankly amazing art direction. Pretty much every aspect is spot-on. The framing, design, movement, colors, etc. I can just keep singing the praises of this film. Miles’ street art is taken full advantage of. The use of the dimension clashing is rendered in some gorgeous design. The City at Night is rendered in some gorgeous neon colors and the costumes pop. I love how some of the characters from other timelines come in their own distinct art styles. The visual storytelling here is also amazingly done. The scene where Miles leaps from the skyscraper as a full Spider-Man, yet glass sticking to his fingers is an amazing scene. The comic book aesthetic of displaying internal thoughts and backstories is also super nice. I could keep going on but basically it all boils down to YES! YES! YES! The only real complaint I can muster is I noticed when the frame rate would change and that was kind of jarring.
10/10, Why would you do something in animation when live action is more accessible? Because you can get art design like this!
SOUND: I went in expecting the movie to look as good as it did, I didn’t expect it to sound this good. The music track is full of bops, and not just the non-diegetic tracks but the diegetic ones too. This movie makes near perfect use of both diegetic and non-diegetic music for some absolutely amazing effect. I want this soundtrack! The voice acting was also on point. Everyone sounded great and it all came together nicely. Specific shout-out to John Mulaney as Spider-Ham for sounding the Loony Tunes part. The sound effects flowed perfectly, this isn’t a movie to just see, but to listen to.
9/10, the only faults I could really come up with are things that I’d have to set aside for an album review of the OST, and that’s one hell of a compliment.
This isn’t just another Spider-Man movie. It’s a Spider-Man movie for those who’ve seen too many Spider-Man movies. It’s one of the best comic book movies in a world too full of them. Not only that it’s a case study in aesthetic utilization, the art and sound design are beyond on point. It takes full advantage of the animated medium to be as visually unique as it can be in the best of ways. It’s a full recommendation not only for superhero and animation fans, but for any fan of film. While this could be your first spider-man film, I’d definitely recommend watching it with more familiarity of the character and his lore. All in all one of the best animated films in the west, and one hell of an entry in the repertoire of a character dominating the media world.
PS: This movie wishes you a Merry Christmas!
