Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

By James Davidson

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse” is a new animated Spider-Man movie by Sony Entertainment. The movie follows Miles Morales, a teenager living in New York City, who becomes the Spider-Man of his universe. He must learn how to control his new powers and stop the evil Kingpin from literally tearing his universe apart. Miles is joined by five Spider-people from other universes who plan to help him stop the Kingpin from destroying the entire multiverse.

I am a huge Spider-Man fan, some of my fondest memories are racing home from school to complete my homework, so that I could watch the Spider-Man cartoon with my dad and brother. I have collected and read more Spider-Man comic books than I can count (or find a place to store). I was excited and somewhat skeptical of this movie. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be able to live up to the standards that I set for it in my head. I have to say, not only did this movie meet my expectations, it exceeded all of them.

I wasn’t sure if making such an ambitious movie animated was going to work, but the animation was incredible. The artists made the movie feel like a comic book come to life, with the inclusion of thought balloons and the visualization of onomatopoeia (sound words), the entire movie was stylized like a comic book and I loved every minute of it. The artists even hand drew all of the scenes for Spider-Ham, a pig with spider powers from another universe. Hand drawing all of these scenes just adds an aesthetic to the film that you don’t get from other movies.

Aside from the art, the plot and writing were also done well above par. The plot was complex enough to hold the attention of any adult that wants to go see this movie, yet it is simple enough to not lose the attention of the smaller children in the audience. All of the characters in the film are phenomenally well-written. The main villain of the movie, the Kingpin, is searching other universes for copies of his family to bring back to replace the wife and son who died in an accident. But while searching the other universes, the machine he is using is also destroying them. He is doing something terrible, but his grief is relatable and you can understand why he is doing what he is.

I really enjoyed seeing the other spider characters, all of which are based on real versions of Spider-Man found in comics. There is Spider-Man Noir; a Spider-Man from the1940’s, who is voiced by Nicholas Cage and is dark and sinister. Spider-Ham, also known as Peter Porker in his universe, who was bitten by a radioactive pig and is goofy. Peni Parker, a young Japanese girl who has a psychic connection to a spider living in a robot, which gives her control over the Spider-bot. Peter B. Parker, an OG Spider-Man that is older and, as his partners keep pointing out, slightly flabbier than the original Peter Parker. And lastly Spider-Gwen, the Gwen Stacy from her universe who gains spider powers and is out to avenge the death of her best friend, Peter Parker.

All of these characters were extremely fun to watch interact with each other and exciting to see on the big screen. They must all face their own individual struggles while trying to get back to their own universes. I could go on for quite a while about the intricacies of the plot and characters, but I don’t have that much space, so you will just have to go see it for yourself.

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is not only one the best superhero movies to come out, it is one of the best movies released this year, period.  This movie was an excellent way to introduce Miles Morales, the next generation’s Spider-Man, to the world. I recommend to take your entire family to enjoy this movie. I can’t wait for it to come out on DVD and/or Blu Ray, so I can watch it over and over again. If you haven’t guessed by now, I am giving this movie 5 out of 5 stars.