Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) Review

"Do animals talk in this dimension?"
-Peter Porker



Teenager Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is struggling to fit in at his new school.  Things only get more complicated when he is bitten by a radioactive spider and receives superpowers.  Miles accidentally uncovers a plot by crime lord, Kingpin (Liev Schreiber), to access parallel universes.  Kingpin's experiments accidentally cause several other people with spider powers to be drawn into Miles' universe, including an alternate version of Peter Parker (Jake Johnson).  With the fate of all universes at stake, Miles has to learn how to use his powers to stop Kingpin and get all of the others back home.


What Works:

Into the Spider-Verse is one of the most purely creative films I have seen in some time.  The filmmakers really went all out to make something special and unleash the craziest aspects of their imagination and they succeeded.  This film is a breath of fresh air on every level.  I'm of the opinion that most superhero movies these days play it too safe.  That's not to say they're bad, but I've been hoping to see more superhero movies take risks in the types of stories they tell.  Into the Spider-Verse definitely takes some bold moves with its story.  It gets absolutely bonkers and feels more like an episode of Rick and Morty at times, and, for me, that's a very good thing.

The animation is stunning and I do kind of wish I had watched this film in 3-D, which I never do.  Regardless, this movie looks and feels like a comic book.  It does take a few minutes to adjust to the visuals, but once you do, you fall into the world of Spider-Verse and never look back.

The villain of the movie, Kingpin, doesn't get a massive amount of screen-time, but I really like everything they do with him.  The design of the character is amazing.  His look stands out in a film with tons of interesting visuals.  The development he gets via flashbacks is very brief, but extremely effective.  In just a few seconds, we know exactly who this guys is and why he is doing what he is doing.  His motivations make sense and we can feel some sympathy for him.  Liev Schreiber does a great job in the role and gives us an excellent and complex villain.

The rest of the cast is also excellent.  Jake Johnson gives us a very different Peter Parker than we're used to and gives us a lot of gold.  Shameik Moore makes it very easy for us to like and relate to Miles giving us an excellent protagonist.  Nicolas Cage is perfect as Spider-Man Noir and I would totally watch a whole movie just about him.  Everyone does a fantastic job and brings their A-game to their performances.

Finally, the 3rd act is over-the-top, bonkers insanity and I loved it.  The visuals were crazy and there was a lot happening, but the film did a good job of guiding us through the chaos.  I always knew what was happening narrative-wise even if the action happening on screen was nutty.


What Sucks:

There are a few minor things I could probably nitpick, but I was having too much fun to care.


Verdict:

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is an insane film that has so much creativity packed into it, you can't help but enjoy it.  The story is bold and original, the characters are great, the villain is excellent, and the 3rd act is completely bonkers.  I wasn't expecting a lot from this film, but it delivered in more ways than I can count.  It doesn't matter which dimension or universe you are in, this movie has definitely got it going on.

 10/10: Amazing           

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