Yeah, it's true. This movie absolutely SLAPS. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is undoubtedly the greatest Spider-Man film ever made and possibly one of the greatest comic book films ever made, period. With an absolutely loaded voice cast and a realistically emotional story, I could not ask for anything more in a film about the world's favorite web-slinger. Oh wait, yes I can: a lead character of color set in an accurate yet futuristic depiction of New York City and we EVEN GOT THAT. Along with stunning, mesmerizing animation and a heroic, heartwarming message, this film is bound to be a modern day classic.
The best part of this entire film is how fresh it felt. Even though they are completely different tones, it reminded me of Logan in how much the story took me away from the comic book mythos and drew me into the actual story of these characters. The pure, human story of struggling for acceptance and finding your place was such an original take on a character for a superhero movie and it worked brilliantly for our lead Miles Morales, voiced by Shameik Moore. The writing made me (and I'm sure every other audience member) actually feel like we could be the one to wear the mask. In a world full of despair and often times hopelessness, Miles was able to overcome his insecurities and learn that truly anyone could be a hero, no matter how small the action. This message is what stood out to me the most and also defined this fresh take on the typical superhero origin story. While the message behind this film was so sincere and authentic, the plot was incredible as well. Bringing the multiple different universe's versions of Spider-Man into the story was not only hilarious but created so much good dialogue and interactions between these characters. Comic book fans will find themselves very satisfied with this film due to these zany characters, and especially because of its plethora of references and tiny nods in both the writing and the imagery.
Sony's animation department have really outdone themselves in this film, especially in the wake of countless Disney and Illumination products being released. While the use of this new age of animation can be done very well, it all begins to look like the same, cookie-cutter style. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has proven that a fresh style in animation can be used to not just tell a different kind of story, but to provide the audience with a breathtaking and colorful experience. This animation can be quite an eyeful at times but makes the film appear as a literal comic book come to life. The consistent style throughout this film was the classic comic book ink feel, which fit the tone incredibly well. The Comics Code Authority seal in the beginning was a fantastic touch as well. I also adored how the different Spider-Men from the multiple universes were all animated slightly differently. Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) was sleek and modern, Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage) was the black-and-white vintage hero, and Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn) had a more fun and traditional anime style. And of course my personal favorite, Spider-Ham, voiced by comedian John Mulaney, who had the cheesiest and most ridiculously cartoonish feel to him. All of these different characters blended well together to make this film the most colorful and stylized superhero film ever.
Voice acting is quite an impressive art these days, as it can truly make or break whether a character seems believable or not. Every voice in this film fit their respective characters brilliantly and brought that much more enjoyment to their scenes. Shameik Moore was fantastic as Miles Morales and his mentor Peter Parker, voiced by Jake Johnson, was great as well. Johnson, despite being type-casted in many projects, is good at what he portrays and in this case, it was a middle-aged, out-of-shape, divorced Peter Parker from an alternate reality. These two stood out to me the most but the entire cast was fantastic, along with vocal cameos from Mahershala Ali, Zoë Kravitz, Kathryn Hahn, Liev Schreiber, and even Chris Pine. The soundtrack of this film brought another level of creativity as well, fueling the futuristic New York setting with hip-hop and modern music that actually felt authentic.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is my favorite animated film from this entire year and most likely will be for some years to come. Children will love it, comic book fans of all ages will adore it, and most importantly, it is a touching and relatable family film that anyone can enjoy. I've been quite worn out of superhero movies lately but I would absolutely recommend this film as it provides many things that the genre has failed to provide, including an actual human story and a splash of beautiful creativity.
My Rating: ★★★★½
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