Here's what you need to know; Miles Morales' first week at his new school has proven to be a nightmare, one exacerbated by his dad's career in the NYPD and his passion for graffiti, a whole new nightmare is about to come crashing into his life however as he's bitten by a radioactive spider and starts developing super powers. But when Kingpin's latest scheme rips a hole in reality, Miles is forced to come to terms with his new responsibilities as Spider-Man and save the universe, but Kingpin's plan has another effect as Miles realises that he's not the only Spider-Man.
This film has been getting some rave reviews, I've seen it called the best film of 2018 a few times, I've seen it called the best Spider-Man film a few times too, and maybe that one's true. But all this sudden excitement kind of came out of nowhere for me, I wasn't really interested in this film until recently, Spider-Man isn't my favourite super hero personally but the idea of a multiverse and a bunch of Spider-people coming together was cool to me, especially when I saw that some of the Spider-people were completely bonkers, it was them that made me want to watch the film, and so it was on a Wednesday night in a completely empty cinema that me and a friend watched Into the Spider-Verse, so what did I think of it.
Something that stood out to me instantly about this film was the visual style, because I honestly have never seen this kind of animation before. The animation does look weird at first and it takes time to adjust to it, especially when it comes to depth of field, the setting of New York is striking in its appearance, and characters are all distinct and exaggerated, especially the Spider-people. The film's animation looks janky, but whereas this look doesn't work in a film like Planet of the Monsters because of its ugly designs and visuals, Into the Spider-Verse is a visual feast, exploding with colour and style, especially in the action sequences. But that seemingly isn't enough, because then there's the thought bubbles, yeah, this film takes a bunch of visual traits from comic books, to a surprising degree, in fact to the point that you could literally call this a comic book movie, because that is what it looks like. Into the Spider-Verse isn't simply an animated film, this film pulls a Lego Movie and pushes its animation and visual style as far as it can go, which might not be surprising given that Lord and Miller, the guys who wrote and directed The Lego Movie, also wrote and produced Into the Spider-verse. But the thing that stands out most in the film is the Spider-people, specifically the visual styles unique to each one; because one of them is an anime girl and another is a Loony Toon, Into the Spider-Verse doesn't just have a bunch of different universe's respective Spider-Mans meeting, it goes nuts with it, it has fun with it, and the bizarre way their unique styles clash in the film is one of the most enjoyable things about them.
The film's outstanding and bizarre visuals naturally allow for some cool action sequences, but the action sequences in this film aren't simply good, they're possibly the best of any Spider-Man film, not counting Infinity War. There are some high-tension chases in this film as Miles is pursued by Prowler, but when people are actually throwing down and not simply running for their lives, the film's action is kind of rad. There's an awesome throw down in a forest with Doctor Octopus, and an even more awesome throw down in a living room, my favourite of the two. Then there's the finale, which is, of course, a giant action sequence as Miles tries to stop Kingpin's super collider and send the other Spider-people home. It's a shame that Miles is alone for the latter half of the fight, but for the first half when Spider-Ham and SP//dr and Spider-Man Noir are throwing down, it's really awesome, and I wanted more of that in the film. I do understand why Miles is alone in the show down with Kingpin, and it works, emotionally, but as usual, there's a mindless part of me that would just like a little more Spider Mech in his action. But like the rest of the animation, the fights aren't conventional, rather they fit more in with the conventions of this film's style and the comics it borrows that style from, and again comparing this to another animated film; Planet of the Monsters, this was the kind of inspired visual action I was expecting from Godzilla's first anime, the two films aren't really comparable at all, but it's what I know. The film also has a unique style in its music; as well as having wacky visuals that shouldn't work but really do, the film's music consists of tracks from musicians like Post Malone, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Jaden Smith, meaning that I should hate it because I am not a fan of any of these musicians or their songs, and outside of the context of the film, yeah, I don't like them that much, but in the context of the film, how the music is used and when it's used works surprisingly well, and it gives the film a very different feel from all the previous Spider-Man films, one that's currently unique to this new Spider-Man. I usually talk about characters and story first in reviews, but Into the Spider-Verse's style is something that must be talked about because it's the first thing you notice and it's the film's most striking and novel aspect by far, and I like it, I really like it.
This isn't just a different film in its style and visuals however, because this film also features Miles Morales as Spider-Man, making this the first time I've seen anything of this character, and do you know what, he ain't bad. I'm not a fan of his musical tastes, but again, it works for this film, and our introduction to him as he clumsily sings along to Post Malone in his room before scrambling to get ready for school, then getting busted for vandalism by his own Dad, it's a very natural introduction that introduces both Miles as a character and one of his primary struggles; the relationship he has with his family. His enthusiasm for street art brings him into conflict with his NYPD Dad, but the film doesn't dwell on this conflict, instead getting to what's important, the Spider-Man shit. Miles isn't the only Spider-Man in this film, and if I'm honest, it's all the Spider-people he meets in this film that really make it for me. Peter Parker is exactly what the trailers showed him as, an old, cynical, out of shape take on the Superhero, but what really makes it work is the heart behind this Peter Parker; he's in a bad place, one that's played for laughs, but it also feels very sincere, and his ark throughout the film as he vows to get his life back together was every bit as compelling as Miles' ark to become Spider-Man. Then there's Spider-Woman, voiced by my latest celebrity crush; Hailee Steinfeld, who is played up to be the competent one of the three, how very surprising. Of the main three Spider-people, she also gets the least development, with as much as she gets being a will they won't they with Miles that's not really developed at all in the film, the issue with Spider-Woman in this film that she's the least developed of the three main Spider-people, and doesn't hold a candle to the weird ones, and while she's a bit of a cynic, she's not as cynical as Peter Parker, she's ultimately a likable but underwhelming character, and given the film's premise of alternate dimensions and the very touching way it handles the relationship between Peter and Aunt May, who's basically Alfred in this film, I'm surprised they didn't try something similar with Gwen and Peter.
But, unsurprisingly, my favourite of the Spider-people are the three weird ones, Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Ham and SP//dr. Unlike the main three, which all come from normal-ish dimensions, these three come from very different places, and each brings a unique and awesome visual style with them, as well as countless tropes and conventions of their respective genres, Spider-Man Noir for example is in black and white and acts like an archetypal Noir PI, while Spider-Ham is a literal cartoon who uses cartoon logic and slapstick comedy as weapons, what all three of these have in common is that I want to see them in solo films now, this is Sony after all, so naturally the film sets up for sequels and spinoffs, it's just that these are spinoffs I want now, because a Spider-Man Noir or SP//dr solo film could be really cool. It's also here that the film goes into meta-humour territory, and Into the Spider-Verse has some very good meta-humour. The various Spider-people make for a lot of meta-humour, but outside of them, there's just a lot of winks and nods as the film makes references to previous Spider-Man films, TV shows and comic books, and there's a Stan Lee cameo, of course. Into the Spider-Verse doesn't try to be Deadpool though, while there is meta-humour and references, they aren't constant, this frees up room for some feels, and, to my surprise, Into the Spider-Verse has the feels. The film's main villain is Kingpin, and he's fine, his motivations could have had the feels, but they aren't developed enough for the audience to care, so while we understand his struggle, we don't empathise with it, unlike Miles and Peter. Then there's Doctor Octopus, and the alternate reality spin they put on him was something I really wasn't expecting, it was cool, but the villain that I remember most from the film was Prowler. I can't say quite what it is about Prowler, because it would spoil possibly the film's biggest twist, which is almost certainly in the comics, but he was easily the most menacing villain in the film, thanks in part to his cool design, to the relentlessness of his scenes, and to his very jarring and unsettling theme. Then the twist happened and I started really loving the Prowler.
It can get weirder
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse wasn't a film I had my eye on when I first heard of it, but that's since changed, having seen the film twice, I can say that Into the Spider-Verse is a really good film, though I'm not going to go as mad for it as others have. It's not a very easy film to fault because it does everything it sets out to do and it doesn't fuck anything up along the way, it's got a likable hero, a bunch of awesome side characters, and a handful of serviceable villains, its visual style is incredible and its action sequences are probably the best of any Spider-Man solo film, and it's music, while not my thing, works for the film. Spider-Man not being my favourite Marvel hero, the film didn't quite hit the sweet spot that it clearly has for others, but I really enjoyed it all the same, and I hope that they make all the sequels and spinoffs this film sets up, because more of the Multiverse would be fine by me. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is definitely worth watching.
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