After an embarrassing decade, Sony finally gets something to stick.
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” could perhaps be viewed
as the ultimate poster child for Thomas Edison’s take on genius being 1 percent
inspiration and 99 percent perspiration within the context of the greed consumed
busy idiots running Sony’s output.
After an embarrassing cinematic output in recent history,
between litigation threatening the potential payoff of seeing a meaningful
adult Peter Parker ever making his way back to the big screen for the near
future via the MCU’s Spider-Man and the frustrating financial success of “Venom”
emboldening the same studio heads that killed 2 iterations of this character
already to produce a super villain Cinematic Universe using the foundation of
the superhero movie equivalent of Tommy Wiseau’s “The Room,” the unholy duo of
Amy Pascal and Avi Arad have finally managed to make a strong, genuine, and
heartfelt product that’s not only a love letter to the property they’ve spent
the last decade abusing but is easily the second best “Spider-Man” movie to
date, second only to Sam Raimi’s sophomore outing with the franchise in 2004.
Following a world in which Peter Parker has managed to grow
up fairly successful in life despite balancing his part time service as
Spider-Man to protect and inspire the people of New York, brilliant but lazy teenager
Miles Morales finds himself in over his head when he accidentally witnesses a
tragedy befall the Spider-Man of his world, forcing him to reluctantly take up the
mantle when a spider bite from a lab aiming to replicate Parker’s circumstances
grants him similar capabilities.
Tasked with closing a case Spider-Man was unable to
complete, Miles now has to figure out his abilities and face off against The
Kingpin of New York crime, while learning from alternate reality Spider-Men,
including a veteran, middle aged Peter Parker, who’s substantially less
enchanted with the job than his younger and more naive successor.
Highjinks of interdimensional nature ensue as a cavalcade of
metatextual media commentary and Easter eggs of “Spider-Man” mythology pepper a
film that embraces its nature as a cartoon adaptation of a comic book with
theatrical resources.
What sets “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” apart from
almost any animated blockbuster of the last decade however is not only its
underlying substance beneath its striking sense of style but how the two feed
into one another to perpetuate a symbiotic relationship.
The art style, reliant on a slightly choppier animation frame
rate intent on evoking the feel of a comic book in motion from panel to panel, is
not only eye-poppingly gorgeous and more unique than any animated film to
release since CGI became the status-quo for Hollywood animation but lends
itself to a plethora of styles and designs that enhance the sense of character
of each of the film’s inhabitants.
Miles is presented as a fun loving, well meaning, energetic,
and bright everyman teen of the modern age; a budding artist with friends, a
taste in music, family he loves, parents he loves despite their requisite
embarrassment of him, and even a subtle touch of connection with his culture,
walking and talking with people on the street as a typical New Yorker, while
swapping in and out of Spanish with his Puerto Rican mother Rio.
As such, much of his scenes come across visually with a sort
of street art/graffiti-esque pop as though every scene he inhabits is playing
out on a mural painted on a back alley’s side wall.
This sense of stylism extends to every other character, from
the punk visual style of Spider-Gwen, the more traditionally animated yet subtly
expressive Peter Parker, the Looney Tunes-esque Spectacular Spider-Ham, and the
black and white 2D/3D silhouetting of Spider-Man Noir.
“Into the Spider-Verse” keeps its story focused on Miles’
coming of age origin story but the number of artistic styles executed by each
of the individual Spider-Men simply sharing the screen is an outright
staggering masterpiece of animation to behold on the technical side. What
really nails that aspect home however is what truly makes the film so unique
amongst animated features and the execution of that aspect that makes it one of
the best superhero movies of the decade.
Despite the blast and a half to be had from humor and
visuals alone, “Into the Spider-Verse” defies expectations of most children’s oriented
animation by not really being a comedy.
The screenplay is certainly punched up with wit left and
right but the movie doesn’t shoot for laughs in favor of the playing out of its
own drama and the consequences of action.
Miles has to learn the responsibility he bears by taking up
the mantle of Spider-Man thoroughly, which means facing danger without running
from it, sacrificing comfort for the greater good, and dealing with the pain of
personal loss.
His journey in turn teaches him how to be Spider-Man in ways
unique to him, not unlike many kids coming of age with aspirations of their own
and in celebrating the ways in which the everyman can be a hero beyond the
story of Peter Parker, what could have become a cynical cash grab shilling
marketable spin-off characters to multiple demographics ultimately becomes a
powerful and heartfelt celebration of the “Spider-Man” legacy and all of the
forms that it has taken throughout the ages in a manner far more effective than
even the comic books have done in a long time.
It’s hard loving a film this much, waiting for the other
figurative shoe to drop, as Sony undoubtedly has a slew of spin-off ideas
waiting in the wings to ride the success of this movie beyond the sunset in
such a way that might inevitably make its own achievements feel bittersweet. While
some of the more gonzo concepts and stylistic choices may not gel for everybody
however, studio cynicism and debatable preferences can’t detract from what has
been accomplished with this movie.
That its also a love letter to its medium, source material and creator, as well as a powerfully effective coming of age drama and a thoughtful reflection of what it means to be a hero beyond the flash and bang of the “super” part of the genre make it one of the best films of the year and a better interpretation of its source material than even Marvel managed to portray on the big screen.
9 Thwips out of 10
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