Given the state of how Spider-Man movies usually are, and with how widely repulsive Sony Picture’s last animated film “The Emoji Movie” was, it is very safe to assume that the public was going to look at “Into the Spider-Verse” with much caution and concern. So, when the reviews came rolling in and started to praise this as the best Spider-Man movie period, it’s easy to raise an eyebrow at the reaction and shrug it off as paid reviews. However, this reaction is genuine, as “Into the Spider-Verse” is a beautifully animated movie with some of the best action scenes I have ever seen.
The plot, despite involving some dimension travelling, is relatively simple. Miles Morales is your hero for the day, if you couldn’t tell by his last name. He’s your standard student, trying to survive the next day in his new school, impress the girl he likes, and so on. Except when a spider bites him in a way, I dare not spoil since it is way funnier than I thought it could be, he finds himself taking up the role of Spider-Man, replacing the original Spider-Man who met a fate that makes me question what 2018 had against Mr. Parker. Seriously, first “Infinity War” and now this? What are the odds?
It only gets weirder when he finds another version of Peter Parker, a version of Spider-Man from another dimension who has seen better days to put it nicely. The two have to stop a plan that King Pin has that would put the entire universe in jeopardy. It only leads to complications, with this having to be done in a certain time frame. If not, any other version of Spider-Man from this dimension will glitch out and cease being more or less. Other versions of Spider-Man being Spider-Gwen, the girl Miles was actually crushing on, Spider-Noir, a cheesy parody of crime Noir dramas, Peni Parker, an anime inspired Spider-Man, and Spider-Ham, a more lighthearted version of Spider-Man as a pig.
Despite the oddity of the scenario, it never feels like it’s too much. Each character is introduced at times where the audience feels like they’re ready for them, and they each have their own personalities and even unique art style. Personally I was surprised by how much I loved Spider-Ham. I thought he was just going to be a standard loud mouth comedic relief, but he was given actually pretty emotional lines and quiet moments; they all work extremely well.
That’s another thing; the art style is glorious. It feels like it is a comic book that popped up on the big screen. Text boxes, big bold letters, and even comic book covers keep popping up throughout the movie, and they never feel out of place. There were many fun techniques they utilized to bring more comic specific ideas to the silver screen.
The story is hard to talk about in terms of trying to not spoil too much, because this is something that you NEED to watch without anything spoiling you beforehand. It manages to be simple enough to follow along with some funny and heart wrenching moments.
When it came time to think about potential faults the movie had, I honestly couldn’t think of any, and even found myself disagreeing with other faults the critics listed. I honestly have nothing but high praises to sing for this wonderful film.
Anyone can wear the mask, even if you made a terrible movie last year. Sony, consider yourselves redeemed.
Overall Score: 10/10