'Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse' Film Review

Our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has had an interesting go of it the last few years, hasn’t he? Spider-Man's recent cinematic exploits have been interesting. Spider-Man’s Sam Rami trilogy ended with a studio-forced mess in Spider-Man 3. After deciding that Spider-Man needed a reboot, enter Andrew Garfield under the direction of the aptly-named Marc Webb. Those movies had excellent core character chemistry between Garfield and Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacey. The film tried to do too much to set up the bigger universe without telling an exciting story in the sequel.

The fallout of Amazing Spider-Man 2 played a role in reuniting the web-head with Marvel. The Marvel/Sony deal bore immediate fruit with Spider-Man’s arrival in Captain America: Civil War. Marvel/Sony released his first MCU film in Spider-Man: Homecoming. The film, a great solo adventure that walks the path of classic John Hughes films. And of course, we can’t forget about Spider-Man’s appearance in Infinity War, which hit us right in the feels.

So we have watched Peter Parker regain his Hollywood clout but where does that leave Sony? They can’t exactly make a live-action film of Spider-Man during the deal with Disney so what do they do? Make a Venom film with no mention of Spider-Man at all! Venom did an excellent job of making money for Sony and was not as bad as expected. Yet, it didn’t fill the Spider-Man sized hole in the Sony lineup. Sony decided to take a gamble on making a full-length animated feature. The idea still had people cautious even after a fantastic teaser trailer.

Now that we got the backstories out of the way enter Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse. This is a tremendous addition to the Spider-Man film mythos and also finds a unique voice in a sea of superhero sameness. From the opening shot of the classic Comic Code Authority Seal of Approval to the classic Ben-Day dots to the final shot this film takes you on a ride. The film embracing all the previous events in previous Spider-Man incarnations. They give you aspects of the Sam Rami trilogy, Amazing series, and even the MCU Spider-Man. You get the idea that this film is at its core a love-letter for the worlds and characters of Spider-Man. Rodney Rothman and Phil Lord put you at ease in within the first five mins of this film. This film was written by not just screenwriters but people who love and grew up in the pages of Spider-Man. Miles Morales creator Brian Michael Bendis also helped add to this movie by advising on the film.

If Peter Parker’s origin was the classic origin story for kids of the 60s, then Miles Morales is the origin written for the modern era. He is not just the “Black/Puerto Rican” color-flipped version of Spider-Man. Miles Morales comes into the film as a complicated, complex character complete with being a reflection of Brooklyn, New York. The thing that makes him complicated is the dichotomy between the expectations of his parent’s and the freedom his Uncle shows. Miles parents, cop Jefferson Davis-Morales (Brian Tyree Henry), and hospital administrator Rio Morales (Luna Velez) want what any parent wants, for him to be a successful member of society. This goes as far as Miles placed in an advanced school away from the family and comfort of Brooklyn. His free-spirited/troubled Uncle Aaron Davis (Mahershala Ali) provides a sanctuary away from changes in his life. Instead of the usual pull between Dad=good and Uncle=bad, the film shows you that his Uncle is actually a more understanding parental figure than his own parents. You get a lot about how Miles is feeling about being lost in the sea of changes going on with him.

Miles complicated life gets crazier when he gets bit by a spider and gets those traditional Spider-Man powers. He has a Joseph Campbell-like call to adventure through interaction with the purest version of Spider-Man ever on screen. After that fateful meeting, he finds himself in a world with Spider-Men (and women) each from a different corner of the Spider-Verse. This is where the film indeed becomes something special. Each Spider-verse character represents a different aspect of Spider-Man and its greater universe. Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage doing Humphrey Bogart) represents the darker brooding side. Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfeld) represents the free-spirited, rebellious but smart aspects of Spider-Man. Anime version of Spider-Man aka Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn) which represents the anime elements of the universe. This is an almost nod to the live-action Japanese Spider-Man series. The most fun one was the charismatic Peter Porker/Spider-Ham(John Mulaney). Peter Porker made me miss the days of classic Looney Tunes and even has his own mallet. The “leader” of this group is an alternative version of Peter Parker(Jake Johnson) who is an older, lazier version of Spider-Man. He is someone who, as an adult in his 30s, I can definitely relate to.

The great thing about these heroes is that they all help explain the Spider-Man mythos his hero’s mantra if you will. It has a pretty powerful scene about the realization you make when you become a hero and some great use of the classic, iconic “With great power—” line. They picked some of the best characters from the vast Spider-Verse but they're two noticeable characters who would have worked in this film. They possibly work aspects of one iconic character into another character. There is another Spider-Man who usually is in the multiverse storylines but explained away elsewhere in the film.

These Spider-People will come together to face the Kingpin, who is trying to use a Hadron Collider-like device, to achieve something dangerous and ultimately sad. If I had a real bone to pick with this film the villain portrayal is not the best and a little bit above one note. This is understandable and forgivable because the Spider characters are so well written. You should not be distracted as the story moves quickly and does not dwell too long in the few flaws it has.

The visual presentation in the film is unlike anything in recent memory. The directors (Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman) dive you deep into the pages of a real comic book. They take loving advantage of not playing in the real world or dealing with its real-world physics. New York in every incarnation is beautiful and colorful. There are a few shots in this film that are absolutely breathtaking. The film looks like those comic books I grew up reading complete with the color saturation. All the way down to the imperfect color bleed that happens to some pages. The imagery might be a little bit to adjust to, but within a few mins, your eyes should adjust quickly. This movie is a welcome change to all the Disney/Pixar-like 3D films that we get every year. Come Oscar season this film should win the Academy Award easily or at least get a Best Animated Film nomination.

So for a verdict for this film Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse is a well-timed celebration of everything Spider-Man. 2018 was an excellent year for Spider-Man with Infinity War, an outstanding Spider-Man game, and Venom. Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse represents all of the best aspects of our favorite friendly Neighbor wall-crawler. This film is one of my favorite movies not only of the year but the best Spider-Man film since Spider-Man 2. While Spider-Man: Homecoming was a good film, it lacked some of the core things that make Spider-Man such a rich character. If you read the Ultimate Marvel line with Miles Morales, you know that they took quite a few things from Miles and gave it to Peter Parker.

This reminds you that while Spider-Man being in the embrace of Disney/Marvel Cinematic Universe is a lot of fun to see. However, the Spider-Verse really is rich enough to be its own stand-alone movie series if it’s handled with care. I look forward to the further adventures of Miles Morales and friends and really have high hopes to what they present to us next. I give this film a grade of A or eight and a half out of 10 (depending on what grading system you like). After all the handling of Spider-Man by various studios, all it took was a unique vision, great storytellers and one big leap of faith to make the Spider-Man film we all needed. One last thing, there are some beautiful Stan Lee and Steve Ditko tributes that brought a tear in my eye.