Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is an animated superhero film directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman. It is based on the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales/Spider-Man and it is the first animated movie in the Spider-Man film franchise.
The film features an ensemble voice cast of Liev Schreiber, John Mulaney, Luna Lauren Valez, Nicolas Cage, Lily Tomlin, Brian Tyree Henry, Mahershala Ali, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld and Shameik Moore.
The story of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is set in a shared multiverse called the ‘Spider-Verse’ which has alternate universes with various Spider-Men. In this film, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) becomes one of the many Spider-Men and he must work with the others to save New York City from Kingpin (Liev Schreiber).
My Expectation For Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
This is not an exaggeration; every single review and reaction to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse proclaimed it to be one of the best films of 2018, one of the best comic-book movies of 2018 and one of the best comic-book movies ever made. Clearly, this raised my expectations for a film I did not know much about.
I tried to go into this film knowing little about the plot but the praise that Spider-Verse received made me think that I was in for something special. Still, Avengers: Infinity War was the best superhero film I had seen in 2018 and Spider-Verse would have to be special to top Infinity War.
My Thoughts On Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Avengers: Infinity War remains my favourite comic book film of 2018 but I really liked Spider-Verse. Make no mistake, this film is a game changer for animation. It is visually gorgeous and unique in its style.
Still, what makes Spider-Verse a very good film is its story, the heart of which is the relationship between Miles Morales and his family. Indeed, the tug-of-war for Miles between his father and uncle made for some very poignant moments throughout the movie.
Still, as much as I liked Spider-Verse, I feel as though my appreciation for this film would have been greatly enhanced if I was a hardcore Spider-Man fan. I cannot imagine how awesome this film would have been for them.
I am a very casual fan of Spider-Man so most of the easter-eggs and specific, deep cut references went over my head. Certainly, I had no idea so many iterations of Spider-Man existed in the first place.
Nevertheless, I found so much to like in Spider-Verse despite how much this film was made for the hardcore fans of Spider-Man. This movie is funny and has some brilliant characters within it. Obviously, Miles Morales and Peter Parker (Jake Johnson) are standouts but my favourite character was Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage).
I loved his role in the film and what he brought to the story. Moreover, because of the range of characters as well as the dense story, Spider-Verse has to juggle a lot of moving parts and it does this very nicely which was a big achievement.
My Final Thoughts On Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
My only real issue with Spider-Verse was how the momentum of the film was a bit stop/start which slightly hampered the pacing. Additionally, while Kingpin was a decent villain, I would have liked for his character to have been a bit more developed than it was.
Still, I understand that Spider-Verse is a film about the hero’s journey and it is a great journey to go on. Spider-Verse is a very good time at the cinema and it does deserve a lot of the praise it has received. It also deserves award recognition and it should be a lock to win Best Animated Film at the 2019 Oscars.
