Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Something something web-pun, does whatever a web-pun can

With the new console generation soundly upon us and Christmas bearing down on us, people are once again turning their eyes to the battle of the Launch Titles. Whilst decidedly not as heated as I the arguments I remember from my youth, popular consensus seems to be that the PS5 title Spiderman: Miles Morales is winning. And that got me to thinking that the best SEO I could do (the only SEO i've ever done for the blog come to think of it) would be to write a review of Morales silver-screen debut, Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse.

Released in 2018 and Directed by Bob Perischetti, Peter Ramsay and Rodney Rothman, Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse maybe the best animated movie ever made, or perhaps even one of the best movies ever made. I am very aware that the hyperbole you just read seems extremely, well, hyperbolic, but this movie is just that good. It has some of the best animation, writing, performances and characters i've ever seen. It also features the most realistic portrayal of teenagers i've ever seen, which is something that directors still seem to struggle with. Miles is a wonderful protagonist with a realistic character arc played perfectly by Shameik Moore, and the supporting cast knock it out the park every chance they get. Jake Johnson's Peter B. Parker is believably wearied after a few decades of Spider-man-ing, Hailee Steinfeld oozes wit and Cynicism as Gwen, and Nick Cage brings a cartoonish level or 1930's grit to Spiderman Noir.

We all know how Spidermen get made. Some poor sap gets bitten by something radioactive, starts climbing walls and fights crime. But it somehow feels fresh and new when we see it from Miles's point of view, surrounded by already established and skilled vigilantes along with the anxiety that comes from being a young man going into puberty. Whilst the actual villain scheme is fairly by the numbers, that's not the true focus. Kingpin's plot is the framing device for Miles's growth into the new Spiderman. Making this debut on the screen is a perfect way to introduce him to fans outside of the not as previously all encompassing sphere of comic book readers. And using the film as a way to get some of the parallel universe Spider people into the public eye is a a stroke of genius. The more people who know about Spider-Ham, the better.

You could watch this movie with the sound off and it would still be glorious. It homages every comic book style that has ever existed whilst also creating its own style. And they do it so bloody WELL! They made chromatic aberration part of the style and it looks good! Who even does that? It's no wonder this film swept up every Best Animated Feature award going after it came out. And it perfectly captured the place that Spiderman held in the zeitgeist, and features the only non-cringe inducing meme reference ever put to celluloid courtesy of a fan-service post credits scene. This movie is one of the few that has no wasted frames and I cannot even begin to recommend it enough.