It's safe to say that 2018 has been a good year for Spider-Man. Like a really good year! He was in Avengers: Infinity war (2018, Joe & Anthony Russo) he had a very popular video game released on the PS4 and now he has his own animated movie. But it's also been a good year for Miles Morales, who featured in the video game and is the main character of this animated movie. With Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street) at the helm, this should be an interesting take on the character! But will mainstream audiences be open to this different version of Spider-Man? And will audiences pay to see it as an animated movie?
First Thoughts
This is not just the best Spider-Man movie I have ever watched but one of the best animated movies I have ever seen. The characters are fun to watch, the art and animation are beyond stunning and it truly understands its source material. This feels like a Spider-Man comic and it's perfect!
Miles Morales/Ultimate Spider-Man/Shamiek Moore
Mainstream audiences finally get introduced to Miles Morales. And whilst the movie has many Spider-People this is essentially Miles's movie! Portraying his journey to becoming the new Spider-Man and how to live up to the responsibilities that come with it. What's really good this version is how faithful it is to the comics. I'm glad that the filmmakers didn't gloss over his biracial side (He's half Hispanic) and made it a part of him, even getting him to speak Spanish several times. Something that is very good for representation and makes him unique to other characters. Which is really good since Miles Morales has often been criticised as being just a black version of Peter Parker.
Peter Parker/Amazing Spider-Man/Jake Johnson
This movie's take on Peter Parker is so very different from other versions that audiences have seen on the big screen. This Peter Parker is much older than other incarnations and considerably crankier. This is a Spider-Man who has been beaten down by life and is struggling with the notion of moving forward in life. Personally, I really enjoyed this new take on Peter Parker. It was good to see him finally deal with issues beyond just typical High School drama, and Jake Johnson (Jurassic World, The Mummy) is such a good fit with this Spider-Man. Almost like the role was tailor-made for him. I would really like to see more of this Spider-Man, even in live-action! I think Johnson can do it!
Gwen Stacey/Spider-Gwen/Hailee Steinfeld
Also joining the group is Spider-Gwen (Now called Spider-Ghost in the comics) who really holds her own next to her male counterparts and doesn't just feel like an added character just to appeal to women. She seems very strong and capable. My only problem with this interpretation of the character is that she doesn't have as much of a character arc as Miles and Peter. Whilst she does have an arc it's pushed to the side for the other two. Because of this, she doesn't really as much characterisation. Hopefully, the writers work on that for the upcoming all-female spin-off that's been announced. Because this Spider-Gwen does show a lot of potential.
Other Spider-Men/Women
As for the other Spider-people, they're not given a whole lot of characterisation beyond their stylisation. But I think it works here as they're mainly used to show just how expansive and crazy the Spider-Verse is. Also, they are just very fun to watch (My personal favourite being Nicolas Cage (Con Air, National Treasure) as Spider-Man Noir). What I thought was really clever was the use of different art styles to convey how different they all were. With Peni Parker drawn in an anime style whilst Spider-Ham is drawn like a Looney Tunes character, I thought was a very nice touch.
Story
I think what makes this movie's story really great is that it highlights what it means to be Spider-Man. Not since Spider-Man 2 (2004, Sam Raimi) has a movie truly captured the essence of Spider-Man. The fun, the hardships and the responsibility. But what it also understands is that Spider-Man isn't a person. He's an idea. An underdog who's always punching upwards. That's what makes him so relatable to readers and cinema audiences and I am so happy that this movie understands that!
Art-Style
This movie is arguably the most stylised and expressionistic mainstream animated movie I have ever seen! From the character design to their movement on screen is just stunning! I think what makes the art-style work considerably well is that it basically looks like a comic book come to life. It reminds me a little of the 2005 Ultimate Spider-Man video game's art style. Except this version is a lot more improved.
Stan Lee
This is the first Stan Lee Cameo after his passing, and that fact makes his cameo very emotional. But I am really glad that he got to cameo in this film because Phil Lord and Christopher Miller give Stan an incredibly good line. It's done for laughs but it's also quite an inspiring quote and I'm very happy that Stan got to say it!
Conclusion
This is an incredible animated movie that fans will love and artists will be mesmerised by. It understands the characters really well and does a terrific job of introducing new versions of Spider-Man to mainstream audiences. Particularly Miles Morales. I cannot recommend this movie enough!
So that's my review of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. What did you think of the movie? Did you agree or disagree with what I had to say? Leave a comment down below. And, if you liked this review then you can follow this blog for more content. Thank you for reading and Merry Christmas!
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