Spider-Man’s career into cinema has been fraught with two reboots and now this animated film from Sony. To be honest, for us, Spider-Man needs a break, but this film, “Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse” has certainly exceeded our low expectations. Taking place in the Marvel’s Ultimate universe, we are introduced to a young college kid, Miles Morales and his hero’s journey to becoming Spider-Man. But wait, there is more than a simple, basic coming-of-age story, this film plays with the idea of the Multiverse and the various Spider-Mans (Men?) who must band together to defeat the crime lord, Wilson Fisk a.k.a Kingpin.
As mentioned before, the film is animated and this is one of the most colorful, beautiful cel-shaded models that I’ve seen. It’s smooth and really captures the comic book aesthetic while feeling unique and fresh. We are thrown through web-slinging chases, epic supervillain fights, embarrassing close encounters, and dazzling plot twists, all which one would want in an ideal comic book film. Also, this film handles the whole Multiverse plot quite well, as these types of plots can feel convoluted if not done right. The basic plot is that Wilson Fisk desires to resurrect his family and to do that he has to manipulate the space-time continuum. The side effect is obviously cosmic instability which leads Miles and a Peter Parker from another universe to become Master and student. Miles is just learning the ropes of being the Spider-Man of his reality and Peter, being wizened, out of Spider shape and generally reluctant, somewhat agrees to teach the eager Morales. Along the way we meet webslingers from other parallel dimensions that add to the weird conversations between people who share similar backgrounds; this sometimes contributes to the film’s oddly surreal quality.
The voice acting cast includes Shameik Moore as Miles Morales, Jake Johnson as Peter Parker, and Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy, also Liev Schreiber lends his voice to Kingpin and Nicolas Cage even throws in some lines as Spider-Man Noir. Overall this film sparkles with talent and is a great tribute to the legacy of Spider-Man. If you love Spider-Man you will love this film and as for those who were disappointed by Spider-Man: Homecoming and are skeptical of another movie exploiting the hero’s marketing power, “Into the Spider-verse” actually tells a compelling, webheaded tale worthy of Stan Lee.
Cinehorde Review 