Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse Review

Wow. Just wow.

Story- Inter-dimensional happenings are always a gamble like time travel as me and my boss always discuss, but they really handled it well, funny enough in a kids movie of all things. Miles Morales is just a normal kid, but one day he's bitten by a dubstep spider. He then runs into Peter Parker aka Spider-Man, who's fighting Fisk, who is attempting to mess with inter-dimensional travel. Peter Parker is killed, but as a result of Fisk's recklessness different Spider Men (and a woman, and a Pig) are brought into Miles' world. This gives him the extra help he needs to come into his new powers and fight to keep the universe from crumbling. I felt this story was really well paced, and Miles has some true character growth. A few bits felt just a tad rushed, like when he develops more control over his powers, but in the long run it makes sense when you think about it.

Cinematography/Props- Since this is an animated movie, I'll talk about the visuals and the different shots that were surprisingly used in this movie in lieu of props. One thing I will say though is that the product placements were way too obvious given that this was an animated movie, so SONY HEADPHONES LOOK AT THEM. Also Nike. So this movie is ridiculous. I don't get how something can be so breathtakingly beautiful. This movie deserved every award it could possibly get. The visual style has the aesthetic of a comic book, from the text boxes that appear when Miles is talking in his head for example, or the page flipping transitions, I loved it all. It's also a super vibrant movie, making the visuals pop that much more. Also I can't believe how unique some of the different shots were in this movie. There's one scene in particular where Miles is jumping off a building and the camera does like a 180 and just the composition is purely amazing.

Acting- There's literally too many actors to even name in this section, but there wasn't a single unconvincing performance so props all around. I'll mention Shameik Moore because he's Miles, who is the focal point of the movie, and Jake Johnson, who plays the alternate Peter Parker. Both did a really good job and for it being an animated movie, they really communicated with each other well to make you believe their relationship as partners and friends. Also Nic Cage as brooding Spider-Man Noir, that was amazing. He's redeemed himself through cartoons with this performance and Superman in Teen Titans Go, what a twist. Also as one of Stan Lee's final cameos, that was a beautiful sendoff for a larger than life man.

Directing- Phil Lord is just amazing. He directed 21 Jump Street and the Lego Movie, both of which I loved, and now this masterpiece (and yes, it is without a doubt a masterpiece). It's kind of surprising to have this good of a track record, especially given how young he looks, but he continues to impress. What I really love about a lot of more children-based movies these days is that they aren't just for kids, there's a lot of references and humor for the adults too, and this movie continues that trend. The end end credit scene in particular was appreciated by me because I used to have a collection of the old newspaper Spider-Man comics, which sadly I don't anymore. I also dug the fact that the movie was almost self aware without quite breaking the fourth wall. Miles somewhat understood genre conventions, in part due to his exposure and experience with admiring Spider-Man.

Soundtrack/Audio- The feeling of this soundtrack oozed "hipness". Honestly, I personally didn't care for the soundtrack at first because it was primarily rap music, which is one of the genres I never really care to listen to, however I could understand it's meaning and significance. However, after letting the tracks grow on me a bit, I've come to appreciate it a bit more. I was trying to expand my genre awareness and this was a good excuse to do so. The relevance of the music in the eyes of Miles works on both a personal and an environmental level. The audio of the different effects that were used on screen such as the thwip of the webs and the different shifts from the text boxes really added to that fantastic aesthetic.

Final Verdict- A+. I feel that this is the new standard for the quality a superhero movie or even a movie in general should be. I was enthralled the entirety of the runtime, and I can't recommend this amazing movie enough. Probably my favorite superhero movie ever besides Deadpool for sure.

#superhero #family #spiderman #JakeJohnson #ShameikMoore #NicCage