Hello all!
As I find myself eagerly anticipating the next animated Spider-Man movie starring Miles Morales, I decided I would post an official review of the last outing that stands as my favorite Spider-Man movie thus far. Let's get to it.
What's the story about: Into the Spider-Verse is an origin story for Miles Morales' take on the famed superhero. Dimensions collide and spell doom for his world as he's introduced to a multiverse of superheroes and responsibility. A group of his Spider-people must help him before the multiverse collapses.
Miles Morales' has become an incredibly popular figure from current Marvel comics and if this movie is any indicator, there's a good reason for it. This movie is aware of every Spider-Man iteration done and pays homage to the fans and newcomers alike. At the time of this movie's release, there have been three iterations of Spider-Man thus far, Tobey's Maguire's sulky and insecurely imperfect but heroic iteration, Andrew Garfield's fun but pained iteration, and Tom Holland's truly young and eager iteration that was a part of the MCU. Each brought their own aspects to the character of Peter Parker that gave it individuality and flavor, but this story took what audiences knew and expected and asked the question of what a Spider-Man that wasn't Peter Parker would look like. Miles Morales hails from Brooklyn and possesses heritage from two different communities. Spider-Verse's main character does the significant task of making the character the most realistic and relatably brilliant interpretation thus far. While Tom Holland has done an admirable job making Peter more realistic and quirky, I found his movies overfilled with hijinks and lacking emotional weight. I related to Miles' struggles and reluctance to believe himself a hero more than Peter Parker's grandiose ideas of heroics and godly abilities which always plays out with a "chosen one" kind of mentality. I am a huge fan of Spider-Man, but I've found that every iteration has missed an integral part of balancing heroing and life like the comics.
But besides the main character being fantastically portrayed and handled, this truly ensemble cast movie of comedy, drama, responsibility, and coming of age has a lot more to offer in terms of character. Because of Miles' reluctance, his character arc requires others' presence in order for him to get the push he needs. In this category, we have Gwen Stacy and Peter B. Parker, two mentors/peers that come across just as perfectly as Miles does. Gwen is intelligent, strong, and deeply struggling with her own issues beside Miles. And Peter B. is a very reluctant mentor who is more selfish and jaded than any we've ever seen (while played for laughs, there is a seriousness that can be found in the performance that is touching). But this movie also boasts a group of other Spider-people that somehow don't feel bloated or needless. To be honest, each character of any significance in this movie is handled with intelligence and purpose in a way that none feel out of place. Even Kingpin, who is my favorite on-screen version of him, has a story that actually feels justified and understandable alongside two other primary antagonists that feel fleshed out and established.
After rewatching this movie for the third time, I'm still fairly baffled at what the final product is. It's a sensitively warm coming of age comedy, it's a fascinating and brilliantly unique superhero origin story, and it's also a focused character study on a struggling teenager whose friends and family are crucial when circumstances feel so isolating. The script is intentional, hilarious, and poignant when it needs to be. The visuals are stunningly over the top and incredibly original making it truly feel like a comic book, while feeling so much more dynamic. The characters are perfectly acted and purposefully included when there are so many to balance (and they actually pull off the feat of having three primary antagonists that don't feel shoehorned in). And more than anything, this story is told simply but with enough flare and efficacy that it makes you think you've never seen anything like it. Honestly, the last animated movie that hit this hard was Inside Out and I'm honestly stunned. This is a movie I'm excited to share with my kids and hope they can love it like I did.
Final Verdict: ★★★★★ 5 Stars - Into the Spider-Verse is everything a Spider-Man origin story needs to be (and simply one of the best superhero origin movies ever made) while also being incredibly original, fresh, endearing, and hilarious. This is a story we needed, but never asked for, in the superhero genre and specifically for Spider-Man. The lore is taken for granted, it's hilariously represented, and it's wonderfully flipped on its head. If you aren't thrown off by the visually epileptic colors, the story just works. This movie earned its Oscar and should be placed in the top-tier level of superhero movies, animated movies, and movies in general. This is the kind of movie that reminds me why this medium is so loved.
Let me hear from you! If you like what you read, want to hear more thoughts on this movie, other reviews, or talk movie recommendations and Essential Reading, leave a comment below.
