top of page
Search

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) Spoiler Free Review!

toshea217

I saw this movie in the cinemas three times…yep. That’s…what I did. Before I had only ever done that for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which although I don’t think is a terrible movie, probably didn’t deserve it. You know what does deserve it? Into the Spider-verse. The beauty of a film like this is that no matter how many times you watch it, it’s always a great experience. With the first Spider-Man film coming out in 2002, I have seen every major release of the wall crawling hero in action. To me he has been, and always will be, the greatest superhero of all time. And out all of the movies made about him, this animation is certainly the most creative and most ambitious to date. And despite it not taking the top spot (that’s reserved for the original Spider-Man 2), it is certainly a close second.


Directed by Peter Ramsey, Bob Perishcetti, Rodney Rothman, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, there is much to love in this film. So, what’s great about it? To name just one thing... I can’t recall another movie that is able to blend humour and heart in a way like this. At no point does it feel too over the top in either direction. It knows when not to ruin a touching moment with out of place humour. And far out this film is hilarious! Like seriously! And in the opposite direction, there are scenes that can make you tear up.


The basic premise involves Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) a young teenager living in Brooklyn, New York. He has a rather difficult relationship with his Father (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry), a police officer with big dreams for his son. This involves sending Miles to boarding school, a place he would rather be anywhere but. One spider-bite and an encounter with the multiverse later, Miles finds himself surrounded by a group of alternate ‘Spider-people’. The main of these is a version of Peter Parker (voiced by Jake Johnson) nearing his 40s, who Miles hopes will become something of a mentor. Together, the band of Spider’s must work together to stop Kingpin from inflicting imminent disaster! That’s all I’ll say.


Everything in this movie for the most part just works. The first 3 minutes had me instantly hooked and invested. Every character brings something to the story, and there are new takes on classic ch. This is the first time in a mainstream Spider-Man movie whereby we get to see an older and more worn out Peter Parker, and they present him in a way that is both humorous yet broken. We get a total of six of these ‘Spider-People’ and their dynamic is a joy to watch.


As for the faith perspective, it’s obviously not a religious film…it’s still flipping awesome. There’s a brief mention about a divorce, but it certainly doesn’t take a toll on the overall story. It very much explores themes of reconciliation and redemption. What I particularly love about one of themes is the idea of the special uniqueness of every individual person. As St Pope John Paul II (1978) points out in a Christmas address: “For God and before God, the human being is always unique and unrepeatable, somebody thought of and chosen from eternity, some called and identified by his own name.”. Every person with their personality, talents and vocational calling is a one of a kind. It’s one of the many reasons that every human being has a special dignity, no matter who they are. It can often be a temptation to think that we are of little to no value; after all, aren’t there billions and billions of people who are living and have lived? Yet, out of all those billions and billions, there is only one us. All are equal in dignity, yet not one person is the same. I really think this film articulates that in a really positive way. Love it!


Like it’s characters, the animation of this film is a one of a kind. It’s kind of a cross between free movement and stop motion, all for the purpose of giving the movie a comic book look. Literally. This movie looks like a comic book. It really is incredible to look at! I didn’t really read many as a kid (the odd one here and there) but I know enough to recognise many of the elements. For example, those rectangular greyish-blue boxes that appear in a comic that show a character’s inner monologue or thoughts are visible on screen whilst the character is doing a voiceover in their head. It doesn’t occur on every occasion but it’s a neat effect. There are many more comic animation tropes like this in the movie, and it’s always a source for a good chuckle. The action scenes are awe-inspiring, especially some of the swinging sequences. The way that they work the camera in some of these shots is really innovative as well!


VERDICT:

This film frickin rocks. You know it if you’ve seen it. It’s probably a bit too scary for younger kids, a few jump scares here and there. All I can say is if you haven’t seen it yet…why?


9/10.


45 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comentários


©2020 by Toshea Reviews. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page