Rating: PG
Runtime: 1 hour, 57 minutes
Directors: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Quick Impressions:
Spider-Man is having a good year. Just a few weeks ago, I watched my husband and daughter play through that amazing new Spider-Man game by Insomniac on the PS4. That video game has a spectacular story, great voice acting, and the most captivating Mary Jane I have ever seen on the screen. (She actually gets to do stuff! Useful, exciting stuff! You sometimes play as her, which was always my favorite part to watch because she doesn’t have any special powers. She’s just gutsy and smart.)
And now here I am raving about Spider-Man again. Into the Spider-Verse is not only the best animated film I’ve seen all year, but it’s probably the best popcorn flick I’ve seen all year, too. (Take that with a grain of salt, though, because I deliberately skipped Mission Impossible, not because I don’t like Tom Cruise (although I don’t) but because I missed the last Mission Impossible and have no idea what’s going on with the characters.)
Maybe this movie isn’t as good as early-in-the-year hits Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War…but, then again, maybe it is. While flawed, A Quiet Place definitely holds up (even improves) under repeat viewings, and both Jurassic World and Venom are extremely underrated. (The former is a visual feast, and the latter is so funny thanks to a game Tom Hardy.) A Simple Favor was terrific, too. And even Rampage was better than expected. But Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is probably the only popcorn flick this year that had me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. I truly did not know how it would end. I mean, I had some ideas, but I always felt a bit off balance, confronted by so many plausible possibilities. And the movie is not only a gorgeous work of art, but the story is so intellectually engaging.
My mother remarked afterwards, “That was animated, but it wasn’t really for children.”
And yet my three-year-old son loved it. Of course, he’s currently obsessed with YouTube vlogs about The Mandela Effect, so part of the draw for him was the many worlds plot. Still, I think what he took away from the film was an overwhelming desire to become Miles Morales, the most awesome hero ever. Even though the story is sophisticated enough to intrigue adults, my son was captivated by the entire thing. At one point he asked my husband to take him to the bathroom, but apparently the entire time he was gone, he bounced nervously on his toes saying, “Hurry! Hurry!” because he couldn’t bear to miss the movie. After we left the theater, he pretended to be Miles for hours and frequently remarked that other heroes (Superman, Batman, et al.) paled in comparison to the amazing Miles.
Into the Spider-Verse has been racking up critics’ prizes and ought to be a shoe-in for Best Animated Feature at all the big awards shows. Based on what I’ve seen, only Isle of Dogs and Incredibles 2 would also be worthy winners. (And surely the recent death of the widely beloved Stan Lee can only work in this movie’s favor.)
If you’re a fan of Spider-Man, or you’re just hoping to spend a Saturday afternoon taking your kids to a movie that’s actually good, you need to check out this film.
The Good:
One thing that makes the movie seem so awesome, of course, is that the trailers for it always seemed kind of sketchy and iffy. The plot is ambitious and sounds hard to pull off, and I think the two Andrew Garfield Spider-Man movies have made it hard for fans to trust Sony. (I actually enjoyed those two films, but Sony’s move to reboot the series so quickly, obviously motivated by the desire to retain the rights, makes the studio look like the corporate villain.)
So just the fact that this film’s plot does work, and that its animation style is so innovative and gorgeous, makes fans sit up and say, “Hey, wait a minute! This project was made with intense love and care. This definitely isn’t a case of Sony just throwing out any old garbage to cash in!” And that’s such a refreshing shock that we get this wave of overwhelmingly positive feeling toward the movie.
This film also dares to give us something jaded audiences have been trained not to expect–a Spider-Man movie that doesn’t spend 3/4 of its runtime rehashing the Peter Parker origin story that we all know.
At this point, movie audiences have been beaten over the head with Spider-Man’s origin story so many times that it has literally become a running pop culture joke that everyone is in on. (The repeated origin stories are a much-hated fixture of all superhero films, but Spider-Man is the worst. It feels like the franchise is rebooted every fifteen minutes. I mean, siblings who grow up together all know a different Spider-Man. It feels excessive.) And this movie turns that origin-story fatigue to its advantage in a brilliant way.
Not only does it make a running joke out of it, (“You know the story,”) but it also pulls the rug out from under all of us (except, probably the people who read the comics) by showing that, actually, we do not know the story, after all. Into the Spider-Verse dares to give us a different origin story…and not just one.
It’s kind of jarring suddenly to realize, “Hey, wait a minute! I don’t know this story! I have no idea what’s going to happen next!”
This is really awesome for a couple of reasons. For one thing, we get to experience the journey of Miles, a new protagonist with a legitimately fascinating origin story that’s fresh and exciting and powerful.
For another, the movie gets to surprise the jaded audience with the idea that maybe all these years, we’ve actually known only a tiny piece of the story. For those who have Spider-Man fatigue because you think the franchise can offer nothing knew and you’ve seen it all–you’re wrong.
Both of these facets of the film are so awesome. Following Miles, we see that even in territory we think is familiar, there are still so many people we know nothing about. Miles and Peter have even met each other, and yet they metaphorically live in two different worlds.
And then there are all the others who wear the Spider suit who literally live in different worlds. (I mean, you can be cynical about this and cackle, “Sony has found a way to make money off Spider-Man forever.” But, I mean, it’s a good idea, a really unexpected way to branch out and breathe new life into the franchise.)
This is just a fascinating movie. It manages to be cerebral, emotional, funny, suspenseful, action-packed, and exciting all at once.
Peter’s scenes with his Uncle Ben have provided such a powerful, resonant emotional backbone for his Spider-Man story? Well, Miles’s Uncle is Mahershala Ali!
Also, his dad is voiced by Brian Tyree Henry. This is such a heavy-hitting voice cast. And so much of the emotional story is just as intense as what you’d expect from a serious Oscar contender.
Miles is a really captivating character, the kind of person it’s easy to sympathize with and root for. Following his journey, we’re never left looking around for Peter Parker (much as we continue to love him). We’re like, “Cool! There’s a new Spider-Man! We don’t know anything he’s going to do yet.”
My family doesn’t read the comics, but somehow we all knew about Miles Morales and were so excited when he showed up in the video game. His Spider-Man origin story here is even better. My husband had such an insightful comment about the spider and what its appearance to bite Miles implies. I don’t know how his origin story goes in the comics (or if there’s more than one), but I think it would be pretty hard to top this version.
The artistic style of this movie–the way it’s made to look like comic book pages, and even occasionally includes sound bubbles–not only looks cool, but it also helps to establish mood and advance plot quickly.
The way the stylized presentation clearly shows us that each Spider-Person comes from a different world is amazing. It also opens up so many possibilities (that Sony can and should milk for cash). Gwen Stacy (voiced by Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld) honestly seems just as interesting as Miles, though we know less about her. I’d love to see her reappear in a sequel. I would also watch a live-action Spider-Woman movie.
I have no doubts that Nicholas Cage would agree to reprise the role of Spider-Man Noir for a stand-alone film. He’s an Oscar winner, too, and I think a spin-off of the same caliber could actually be good for his career (though why he would want to trust my instincts, I have no idea).
At first I was a little taken aback by John Mulaney’s Spider-Ham, but the film really impressed me by making this wackiness work. (Is that character actually from the comics, or is it a nod to The Simpsons?) I loved Kimiko Glenn’s Peni Parker, too. Honestly, I would watch a movie set in any of these heroes’ worlds. (In fact, I’m curious about how things will turn out for Jake Johnson’s character. And is there a Miles in that world?)
Into the Spider-Verse also features fantastic supporting performances from Kathryn Hahn, Chris Pine, Zoë Kravitz, Liev Schreiber, and Lily Tomlin. (I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t identify them by character, but I will say that Pine gets a chance to show off his amazing pipes.) (Oscar Isaac also makes a weird, post-credits cameo.)
Shameik Moore voices Miles Morales. I’m not familiar with his other work, but he makes a wonderful Miles. I wonder if he could reprise the role in a live-action movie.
I didn’t notice the movie’s score much, but the soundtrack is really appealing.
Best Scene:
My favorite part of the movie comes when Miles and his companion from another world try go on a stealth mission to replace a broken “goober.” Not only are their antics exciting–both hilarious and suspenseful–but there’s a reveal that genuinely surprised me. I watch a lot of movies, so I usually see everything coming. This never even occurred to me, and I actually felt very stupid yet delighted.
There’s also a scene later on when Miles takes off his mask in hopeful terror. This is amazing.
Best Action Sequence:
My son absolutely died of laughter when Miles was first discovering his ability to stick to buildings. He stood up and whispered in delight, “I knew you told me I would like this movie,” and he laughed and laughed and laughed.
I’m also a huge fan of the swinging through the forest part. My husband loved the look of the big fight at the end set in such an unusual space.
Best Scene Visually:
I was so impressed by the way the film (so quickly) revealed the main villain’s backstory to the audience. This material was presented so quickly, yet so clearly. This sequence definitely highlights the benefits of a comic book format for telling stories like this efficiently.
The Negatives:
I’ll begin with a warning that the movie is not really for little children. Despite its PG rating (which is the same as Zootopia), it actually contains some very intense, frightening sequences, and also some very “boring,” talky sequences. These moments are geared toward adults and teens. My son was sometimes scared. He never wanted to leave. He just sat in his daddy’s lap where he felt safe and watched the movie intently. But other children his age (and even older) might become intensely distressed. My almost ten-year-old daughter cried several times, but she enjoyed that. It’s an extremely emotional movie, and Miles is a compelling, sympathetic protagonist, impossible not to care about.
The movie isn’t rated G, so the rating isn’t misleading. I just know kids love Spider-Man, and this will scare some little ones. So I thought I’d mention that.
Honestly, I loved Into the Spider-Verse. I was so happy we were taking my parents to what was a genuinely amazing movie for once. And I stayed intellectually and emotionally engaged. I didn’t have to make up little games to keep myself interested (which definitely can happen with inferior animated films or action movies).
My only tiny complaint is that I wish we’d seen a bit more from Mary Jane. Her character was so awesome in that video game. They really focus on the Gwen Stacy character here, and that’s great, no complaints about her. But with all those multiverse shenanigans afoot, I really think there’s room in the story for at least one Mary Jane with something interesting to do. (At the very least, I hope she got a refill on that bread in time to enjoy it.)
I do feel like the character might get more development in a sequel, though. Why else hire a voice actress with name recognition?
Overall:
Even though I did love Isle of Dogs, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is my favorite animated movie of the year, and one of the best movies of the year period. (My husband is thinking it might be his new favorite of 2018, with Green Book and Sorry to Bother You a close second and third.) I’m less committal, but I genuinely enjoyed every minute of this movie and can’t wait for a sequel, so I can go back Into the Spider-Verse.