Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Voices of: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Velez, Zoe Kravitz, Nicolas Cage, Liev Schreiber, Kathryn Hahn, Chris Pine, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Oscar Isaac, Lake Bell
Directed by: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsay, Rodney Rothman
Rating: PG
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) gets caught up in a dangerous plot by Wilson Fisk (Liev Schreiber) who wants to open a portal to other dimensions. A number of Spider-Mans from different dimensions enter his own, and Miles must band together with them to get them home.

Review:

Tim: Spider-Man has always been my favorite superhero, but I have to admit I've felt a little fatigue in recent years. He's been in 8 movies in 16 years (only 6 as the main star) and there's been 3 different actors to play him. So when I heard about Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, I initially felt skeptical. Did we need an animated movie, offering up yet another version of the character? Fortunately, this film from Phil Lord was bonkers in all the right ways. It was a surprisingly different take on the character and it felt unique and entertaining in its own way, easily differentiating itself from the other versions. I walked away really impressed with this film. It's pretty cool that it won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

The film is certainly unique, telling a story that would be impossible in live action. The Kingpin opens up a portal to other universes, bringing in different versions of Spider-Man. So, we have a black and white Spider-Man Noir teaming up with Spider-Ham, anime Peni Parker, Spider-Gwen (or Spider-Woman), and a couple of different versions of Peter Parker. Best of all, Miles Morales is the main character. Morales was always such a cool twist on the Spider-Man story and I love that this character finally gets to shine on the big screen. It was legitimately fun seeing these different versions of Spider-Man team up to battle Kingpin, Doc Oc, and a series of other baddies.

You have to acknowledge the unbelievable animation here. There were a number of jaw-dropping moments that were just so beautiful. The use of cutting edge computer animation with hand-drawn animation gave the film a unique look and feel, like you were watching an animated comic book. This film certainly looks like nothing else out there and I was so impressed with its stunning visuals. The color, the action, it all blends beautifully together. There were a few moments where I was fooled into thinking I was watching live action footage. The film truly looks remarkable.

The voice cast was great, too. Sameik Moore does a great job as Miles. It was fun hearing Jake Johnson and Chris Pine as two versions of Peter. Hailee Steinfeld works well as Gwen. I loved hearing Marhershala Ali and Brian Tyree Henry here. It was fun to recognize Nicolas Cage's voice, and John Mulaney was great as Spider-Man. Liev Schreiber added great voice work as Kingpin. As a whole, the voice cast really, really worked well.

The story was a unique, entertaining one. It's the kind of story that leaves you wanting more. The film was longer than most animated movies at just a shade under 2 hours, but I wouldn't have minded it being longer. That's pretty rare to feel that way. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse proves that this character has a lot of miles (ha, ha) left in him, if used properly. This movie was wildly successful, both commercially and with critics. I'm excited for the inevitable sequel. It's always impressive when a movie surpasses your expectations.

*Update- Five years after my initial viewing of this film, I watched it again, this time with my 8 year-old son. I would say that if anything, I appreciated the movie even more the second time around. I still feel like it clocks in below the "greatness" threshold, but this is an extremely good movie. One thing that really stood out to me was how influential the animation style proved to be. With more years as hindsight now, you can directly see how this style influenced films like The Bad Guys and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Even half a decade later, this film is so beautifully rendered, the combination of 2D and 3D animation styles looks like nothing else out there. The technical work on this film is astounding and it's even less of a surprise that it won an Academy Award for Best Animated Film.

The story holds up as well. The film manages to introduce a whole bunch of Spider-(Wo)Men and it never feels cramped. The story is always primarily focused on Miles and all the other characters are introduced to impact him in different ways. It's genuinely impressive how the script manages to make every character feel worthwhile and none are especially shortchanged.

I know in my original review, I complained a bit about Spider-Man fatigue. It's funny, in recent years, that's flipped. Spider-Man: No Way Home completely reinvigorated the character (humorously following this film's path a bit too closely) and then later this summer, the sequel to this film is expected. The anticipation for that one is high- it'll likely be the first film I ever go to in theaters, just my son and I. It's further proof that when you make really good movies, audiences will keep coming back. I'm really looking forward to see how Miles' story continues.

As I said previously, this is an expertly crafted, refreshingly original take on Spider-Man. I'm an even bigger fan of this film than I was in 2018 and I'm so excited to see the next one.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
The Lego Movie, Spider-Man