Yes, I know I’m way late to the party, even by my standards. I meant to see this movie a lot sooner, but life just keeps throwing me curveballs lately. Better late than never.
I’m sure by now I don’t need to provide a synopsis. I think by now we all know the general idea behind Into the Spider-Verse, and honestly, even if you don’t, it’s probably better to watch things unfold in the theatres. All you need to know is there are a lot of Spider-People involved, and that this is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen in my life.
I’m not kidding. I want in with high expectations after hearing a lot of positive buzz, and it still blew me away.
Pretty much everything about Into the Spider-Verse is perfect. The characters are lovable. The animation will blow your mind and then some. It’s funny, it’s heartfelt, it’s exciting, it’s fun.
In a movie that’s excellent from top to bottom, there are a few things that I would like to point out as being especially brilliant.
One is the amount of thought and detail that went into realizing every version of Spider-Man. Not just in terms of characterization, but even simple visual touches, like Gwen’s ballet shoes.
Something really cool they did that I didn’t notice in the trailers is that several of the more exotic Spiders are actually done in different animation styles. While Miles, Gwen, and the various Peters Parker are done in a uniform CGI style, Peter Porker is drawn like an old Bugs Bunny cartoon, Spider-Man Noir is in black and white, and Peni Parker is an anime character.
The other thing that Into the Spider-Verse does so well — and what more than anything puts it over the top from a fun blockbuster to a truly excellent piece of cinema — is how well this movie gets what makes Spider-Man compelling as a character.
There aren’t a lot of superheroes I really like. Spider-Man is one of the few I have genuine passion for. The reason for this is how relatable he is. He’s not an alien, or a god, or a billionaire, or someone with top secret government training. He might have some powers, but at the end of the day he’s just a nerdy kid who’s doing the best he can. He feels like a real person.
And Into the Spider-Verse nails that. All of the various incarnations of Spider-Man in this movie all capture that feeling of reality. (Well, okay, maybe not the pig, but still.) They’re all people with vulnerabilities, and real problems. They’re not perfect. They make mistakes. But they’re doing their best.
The thing about Spider-Man is that he’s not a hero because he can shoot webs. He’s a hero because he’s a normal (ish…) person who chose to use his abilities to make the world a better place, which is something anyone can do. That’s what makes him work as a character, and that’s what Into the Spider-Verse gets so right. Anyone can wear the mask. Anyone can be a hero.
Because I am a naturally critical person, and because I’m trying to at least pretend this a Serious Review by a Professional Writer, I will mention I do have one problem with this movie: It’s too focused on being an origin story for Miles Morales.
I’m tired of origin movies. It’s the same tropes over and over again. And especially in this case, we all know Spider-Man’s origin story. Yes, Miles is a different version of Spider-Man from the more iconic Peter Parker, but at the end of the day their stories just aren’t that different.
This bothers me especially in light of how colourful and interesting the other Spiders are. Miles is a good character, and I like him, but I wanted to see more attention put on Gwen, Peni, Noir, and hell even Ham. Gwen especially was played up a lot in the trailers but doesn’t actually get that big of a role in the movie.
But even then I have to say that as much as I’m sick of origin stories this is above average as origin stories go.
I can pick nits like that, but at the end of the day this is still an amazing movie. If you’re somehow even more of a slowpoke than I am and haven’t seen it yet, get your ass to a theatre and go see it ASAP. Into the Spider-Verse is not just another superhero movie. It’s something special.
Overall rating: 9.7/10