Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ has fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously, something which has been sorely missed in most recent superhero films. While the better examples of this genre and the more awful ones bear a lot of self-importance: the fate of earth, self depiction imbalance between good and evil, profit making of multi billion dollar firms and the emotions of sullen fans all ridden on a costume wearing brooding figure. Or a bunch of them. The opposite of this is a self grandiose feeling that seeks to be subversive but ends up being more bitter and pessimistic. Regardless, a lot of these movies feel like a task.

We can revisit this matter in the future. What I mean to say is that this animated version of the Spidey universe is astonishing and it is marvelous in ways similar to the last few installments of “Spider-Man” that have come out. Its creatively vibrant and eclectic nature and its child-in-a-candy-store fascination with pop culture allows “Into the Spider-Verse” to be on par with the first “Lego Movie.” This was envisioned and brought to life by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman who directed the screenplay written by Rothman and Phil Lord – this three also managed to retain the essence of the superhero which has been clung to for over half a decade. And by the look of things, he is still the same smarts, self reflective superhero teenager from a suburb of New York, fighting off cruel supervillains and struggling with identity issues.

Well, he is and he isn’t. “Spider-Verse” has done away with the previous concept of a single, ‘right’ Peter Parker as it draws from theoretical physics – specifically, the highly controversial multiverse hypothesis. In much the same way as superheroes can mangle the rules of engaging storytelling, so can space-time disruption allow for an almost unlimited variety of web-slingers across dimensions. Alongside Spider-Man Miles Morales, there are Chris Pine and Jake Johnson’s versions of Peter Parker. There is also a futuristic anime heroine whose robot spider greatly resembles Kimiko Glenn, a cartoon pig belonging to John Mulaney, Spider-Woman who is canonically Gwen Stacy also known as Hailee Steinfeld, and a black-and-white film noir avatar portrayed by Nicolas Cage.

The persona variety of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” consists of Miles Morales: shameik moore, Spider-Ham ‘ John Mulaney, Peni voiced by Kimiko glee, Gwen Stacy ‘ Hailee Steinfeild, Peter B. Parker: Jake Johnson and Nicolus Cage as ‘ Spider-Man Noir’. Picture’s courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing.

A Brooklyn middle schooler goes through a twist on the standard origin story that turns it into one of the most relevant Spider-Mans. Miles Morales (“Oh My God Sugar Ray”). His mother is a nurse (Luna Lauren Velez), and his father is a policeman (Brian Tyree Henry). He gets enrolled in an elite boarding school where, alongside the humiliations and anxieties that accompany adolescence he experiences the side effects of the radioactive spider bite.

Just like his arachnoid bitten friends and with the assistance of an overweight Peter B Parker from another universe, Miles goes through an initiation of sorts which we have seen multiple times. On the way to learning that ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ he indeed does go through stages of wonder, joy, as well as sadness.

Doc Ock, Kingpin, Scorpion and Green Goblin are just some of the antagonists who oppose that power and we have encountered quite a few ourselves. But we have yet to see an onscreen Spider Man who looks like Miles, or in other words, a Spider Man who isn’t Caucasian. A part of Miles’s character is that it is such a big deal and yet, no big deal at the same time. One of the wonders of the Spider Verse is that it is a breakthrough as well as an affirmation of the ethos that has defined the character from the beginning.

Just like the original Spider-Man, who was a striving child of the working class in New York, the Spider-Man character is a child of the sixties and serves as a hope for rebels and outsiders of all backgrounds. Furthermore, he is an inherent democrat and pluralist which describes all the positive attributes of the character. These days, Marvel, in its comics, movies, and TV shows, seems to have aimed to make being inclusive a core part of fan culture and company policy. “Spider-Verse” manages to achieve the goal effortlessly without any excessive scrutiny or dogma. Indeed, it is a movie for all.

As I noted, this movie is very entertaining. The plot is smart, well intertwined, and engaging. A blend of humor with heartwarming emotions makes this story even better. It also touches the great creative boundaries of imagination. “Spider-verse” has enough characters to please the devoted fans of Marvel, while also being fully digestible to those who are more casual fans of the franchise.

The characters come alive through animation which the audience can surely appreciate. Old fashioned artistic styles combine with modern digital approaches. Spider senses are depicted through curly lines and interdimensional static through electronic pulses. While visual coherence and the rules of physics have been broken, the beauty of it all upholds the notion that these rules were meant to be bent.

Even the peak conflict as of late has been the most boring, loudest, and the least creative part of almost any superhero movie – and even that has a bonkers, trippy, psychedelic quality. On an epic scale, the absence of polish in live-action film making is far less appealing, more like a gimmick than art. “Spider-Verse,” while not adept at using things like techniques, manages to discover increased creative potential in comic book art.

It discovers some realism too this might be the first “Spider-Man” movie that can aspire to be a great film about New York City, rather than rely on old clichés. New Yorkers of all ages, shapes and colors are rendered so beautifully and ufologically faithful that it’s hard to believe they exist. And the streets, subways, apartments and school yards are just as stunning. People are always on the go, everything is in motion at the same time, music is blaring and even the way they talk is frantically quick. Even the tourists from other dimensions are sad to depart.

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