Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Starring: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry
Director: Peter Ramsey, Bob Persichetti, Rodney Rothman
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
Plot Summary
Miles Morales is a New York teen struggling with school, friends and, on top of that, being the new Spider-Man. When he comes across Peter Parker, the erstwhile saviour of New York, in the multiverse, Miles must train to become the new protector of his city.

The Spider-Man franchise has had an interesting development. Toby Maguire’s iteration started off well but progressively got worse with each instalment. Andrew Garfield’s Amazing Spider-Man was lacklustre in its execution. Then, we have Tom Holland, an actor that captures the spirit and charisma of Spider-Man, making him a character we could invest in and carry the next wave of Marvel superheroes. It seems like Spider-Man has finally found its footing, and Into the Spider-Verse further solidifies Spider-Man as the little guy’s superhero.

Into the Spider-verse focuses on the Spider-Man mantle by emphasising how the mask doesn’t represent one person, both literally and figuratively, as we meet several incarnations of the hero. The focus of the film is Miles Morales, an African-American teenager with a lot of expectations on his shoulders. He has an incredible mind but has an artistic soul that longs to be embraced. His origin story is one you’ve seen executed more times than necessary, but instead of dwelling on that moment, we jump straight into the action with Miles stumbling into a heroic showdown culminating in a devastating and reality-altering event forcing him to embrace his new superhero status before he can even understand it. 

That introduces a bizarre turn of events as we meet multiple iterations of this superhero, all trapped in the same reality. What follows is a brilliant dynamic between our Spider-men, with a particular emphasis on the developing mentor/trainee relationship between Miles and a run down Peter Parker from another dimension. The multi spider-people are used to further emphasise the film’s message that anyone can be a superhero, what matters is how you use that power as our heroes are forced to discover what it means to be part of a team.

The animation is incredible in this film, and it makes you feel like you’ve literally stepped into the pages of a comic, and with that embraces every outrageous superhero trope there is. The artistry of this film is impeccable and provides a vibrant burst of energy that is nothing like we have ever seen before. 

That is not to say that there aren’t any teaching moments in the film, but any lesson that crops up never veers into forcibly heavier territory. Those moments are utilised to make the viewers care for Miles as a three-dimensional teenager that has bitten off more than he can chew. 

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a vibrant take on this iconic figure. It takes every quip about previous Spider-man origin films and shoves it in our faces with a self-aware glee that is both hilarious and refreshing. It certainly makes a case for itself as one of the best Spider-man films to date.

What did you think of Into the Spiver-Verse?
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