Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
(Columbia Pictures/Sony Animation Studios/Marvel Entertainment)
By Lucas Allen
Much like Superman and Batman, Spider-Man has endured a legacy of his own, going from the comic pages to the big screen. Different actors portrayed the character in different live-action movies, with the current star Tom Holland gracing the role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But on the other side comes Sony, finding new ways to give the character a new life on the screen with the brand new animated offering “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” which should appeal to different generations of fans. It’s done by the creative minds of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who brought you “The LEGO Movie.”
Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is a Brooklyn teen with aspirations to be like his Uncle Aaron (Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali). But his policeman father (Brian Tyree Henry) wants him to be a better man by attending boarding school.
One night, Miles gets bitten by a radioactive spider and develops spider-like powers of his own, much to his shock. He then sees Peter Parker (Chris Pine) battling the Goblin while trying to destroy a molecular collider that the evil Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) wants to use to open a parallel universe. Parker gets killed in the process and the machine opens up a multi-verse with different Spider-Men.
Miles meets the older Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), who reluctantly agrees to help him learn how to control his newfound powers. Then there’s Gwen Stacy (Hallie Steinfeld) who’s Miles’ classmate, but turns out to be Spider-Woman who came in first before the accident.
Finally, Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage), Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn) and her pet robot, and Spider-Ham (John Mulaney) join in on the insanity. Together, these multi-dimensional heroes will team up to stop the Kingpin from destroying the space-time continuum. The first thing you’ll notice is how unusually different the animation is for this movie. It’s going for that ultra-comic book look that moves like 2D animation but with an extended 3D look. Characters will look clear as day in the foreground, while the backgrounds have a split-image look that’s hard to explain. Some will feel weirded out by it though the more colorful-minded viewers won’t have a problem with it.
No matter how you feel about it, there’s no argument that the animators worked very hard to make it look fresh and new on the screen. Much like “The LEGO Movie,” especially “The LEGO Batman Movie,” the movie is chock full of Easter eggs and subtle humoristic moments that fans can easily identify with.
The action and humor zips by at such a frantic pace in each scene that it’s easy to miss a single joke and punch shown. There are also nods to the character’s storied history along with tributes to co-creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, who both died this past year, that will surely leave a tear in your eye.
Plus, the addition of the multi-dimensional Spider-Men are quite interesting enough that one could be interested in looking them up in the comics. Each voice actor brings a likable personality and some funny moments for each character resulting in a lovingly strong cast.
Moore is perfectly cast as the rebellious teen, while Johnson nails a different version of Parker as a bitter old man. In another great case of actors redeemed in comic book movies, Schreiber chews the scenery in a much better performance than playing Sabretooth in the misnomer X-Men entry “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.”
Both Cage and Mulaney offer scene-stealing moments like the former giving his all voicing a hero the second time after playing Superman in last summer’s “Teen Titans Go to the Movies.” “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” wonderfully expands on the character’s mythos in animated form with eye-popping visuals and a well-written story.
The filmmakers and animators deserve kudos of the highest degree for delivering on a product that isn’t the cynical cash-grab of some modern animated films. With so much potential in this animated multi-universe, expect plenty of sequels and spinoffs to come our way.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: PG (for frenetic sequences of animated action violence, thematic elements, and mild language)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.5 Stars (Out of Four)
