Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is finally here, and it is,
in a word, amazing.
With a few tweaks, the next entry in the Spider-Verse saga could be even better.
Here are some aspects which the filmmakers totally nailed, and some which left a little,
very, very little, room for improvement.
But be warned: some spectacularly minor spoilers abound.
The film's animation is pretty much incredible.
It looks as if it were ripped from the pages of a comic book, in more ways than one.
Not only is the character design pretty much perfect, but the film makes frequent, clever
use of comic book tropes like dialogue boxes and sound effects which are spelled out onscreen.
At times, the animation straddles a fine line between the styles of comic books and cartoons,
which is altogether appropriate for a PG-rated film featuring the first onscreen appearance
of the Spectacular Spider-Ham, an alternate version of Spidey who is a talking, anthropomorphic
pig.
"I just washed my hands, that's why they're wet.
No other reason."
Into the Spider-Verse takes full advantage of its medium, with knockout action sequences
that would have been difficult, if not impossible, to create in live action, and characters that
simply wouldn't have worked otherwise.
But for all that Into the Spider-Verse gets right in this respect, there's one aesthetic
choice that could have perhaps been reined in a little bit.
The filmmakers took the comics-inspired look of the film to an extreme never before seen
on film, and when it works, it really works.
But when it doesn't, it becomes distracting.
The film's backgrounds sometimes become intentionally blurry, seemingly in order to help keep the
viewer's focus in the middle of the screen.
It's a strange contrast with the clean, sharp lines of the characters and foregrounds, but,
at times, it doesn't so much invoke comic book art as it does threaten to give the viewer
a headache.
Into the Spider-Verse finally gives Spidey fans the first big-screen appearance of Miles
Morales, the Afro-Latino teen who took over as Spider-Man in the now-defunct Ultimate
universe before plot machinations transplanted him into the mainstream Marvel continuity.
The voice performance by Shameik Moore is spot-on, expertly capturing Miles' awkwardness,
humor, and determination.
"Can Spider-Man turn invisible?"
Not in my universe.
You just poked me in my eye!
This is incredible some kind of fright of flight thing?
what's that?
He makes every step of the teen's arc from vulnerable kid to badass hero ring true, and
he has an excellent chemistry with a pudgy, schlubby alternate-universe Peter Parker,
voiced by Jake Johnson.
"Alright, time to swing,"
Just like I taught you.
When did you teach me that?
I didn't. it's a little joke. Team building.
But unfortunately, that chemistry also serves to highlight one of the flick's other shortcomings.
Into the Spider-Verse employs a hilarious device to introduce all of its alternate Spideys.
At the film's beginning, Peter Parker briefly explains his origin and career as Spider-Man
in a voiceover.
"My name is Peter parker"
I'm pretty sure you know the rest.
I saved the city, fell in love, and then saved the city
"again, and again, and again"
It's simple, it's concise, and it's repeated by each of the new Spideys as they're introduced
to the film.
This device is so light-hearted and funny that it's easy to ignore how it effectively
glosses over the origins and careers of these other characters, but it does, and this kinda
stinks.
We miss out on learning about the universes of Spider-Man Noir Peni Parker, and Spider-Ham.
While the omissions make sense from a storytelling standpoint, the movie is so fun that we can't
help but want more.
The characters shine during their brief time on screen, but the truncated introductions
end up leaving the alternate Spideys feeling just a bit underdeveloped.
Well, all of them, that is, except one.
Voiced by Hailee Steinfeld, Into the Spider-Verse's Gwen is everything fans could have hoped for,
highly capable, and with the mix of compassionate sarcasm that's a hallmark of any Spidey.
"hey guys"
Wanda?
It's Gwen
You know her?
"very cool."
Both the character and Steinfeld's performance are appealing enough that it's no wonder Sony
has greenlit an all-female Into the Spider-Verse spin-off, in which Gwen will almost certainly
take the lead.
Sure, Into the Spider-Verse is now only just hitting theaters, but Spider-Gwen's return
to the big screen can't come soon enough.
Into the Spider-Verse features more than one villain, but discussing them all would venture
a bit too far into spoiler territory.
The film's Biggest Bad is Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. the Kingpin, and while it's a perfectly acceptable
choice, considering the character's long history with Spidey, some fans might find that this
version of Fisk leaves a bit to be desired.
For starters, the character's rendering is pretty distracting, as he is roughly the size
and shape of a minivan, and literally shaped like one, as well, easily four or five times
larger than any other human character in the film.
Considering how ridiculous he looks in a movie with an actual talking cartoon pig, it's actually
kind of impressive.
All that aside, Into the Spider-Verse remains one of the very best superhero movies released
in 2018.
And with competition from the likes of Black Panther, Deadpool 2, and Infinity War, that's
really saying something.
"Act super normal"
selecting a bagel.
Spider-Man?
That's funny, I get that a lot.
"he's got the bagel!"