Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse follows Miles Morales, a young man who has just transferred to a private school out of his control. He has troubles with his parents and troubles at his new school, having a difficult time fitting in. His only solace comes from his uncle, who is not at the best place with his father. All of a sudden, while hanging out with his uncle, Miles gets bitten by a radioactive spider, causing him to gain spider powers. But that's not all. After meeting Spider-Man himself and realizing he has powers, a certain event (that I don't want to spoil) causes holes to other dimensions to form and for other Spider people to come through. The various strange Spider characters must all work with Miles to get back home, as well as defeat the evil Kingpin and his villainous partners.
Let me cut right to the chase. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is the best Spider-Man film ever made. It's better than Homecoming, it's better than the two Amazing Spider-Man movies, and yes, it's better than the Sam Raimi trilogy. I know, it's a bold statement to make, especially considering it's only been out for a few days (at the time of the publication of this review). However, I feel strong in my opinion that is the best Spider-Man film ever. Not only is that the case, but it's also the best comic book movie of the year AND one of the best movies of the year in general. Let me explain why.
Let me start off by talking about the animation. From the first trailer, I found the animation to be a little off putting. However, after seeing the full film twice, I must say, this is one of the best looking films of the year. The colors are beautiful, vibrant, and pop off the screen. The design of the characters and environments are all fantastic and wonderfully realized. On top of that, the animation in general is unique. The art style is one I have never seen in a movie before. It strongly gives the indication that we're watching a comic book in motion. There's even a texture over the pictures that looks like the page of a comic. It's incredibly stylish, and the movie looks absolutely gorgeous as a result.
The animation and colors aren't the only things going for this movie aesthetically. The editing is fantastic, especially when it comes to the action scenes. They are so fast paced with amazing choreography. They are visually busy without ever feeling overwhelming. The editing is very snappy, with a lot of clever camera angles and sound mixing. The film flows very well and never feels like it slows down. Its pacing is phenomenal, and it aids to my overall enjoyment of this film. The action is some of the best of the year.
This is all not to say that this movie is style over substance. In fact, Into the Spider-Verse has one of the best origin stories I've seen in a while. Not only is the story solid at its core, but it's well written, with down to earth dialogue and character interactions. There is a lot of strong heart and genuine emotion in this film; a lot more than I was expecting. There are quite a few moments where the film slows down and lets people have serious discussions. It's nice to see an animated kids movie with adult conversations sprinkled in.
What helps these emotional moments work even more is the comedy. This is one of the funniest movies I've seen all year. The comedy is fast paced and meta, but it's also so clever. There is a lot of slapstick with fantastic timing, and the jokes themselves are often hilarious. There were multiple moments throughout the film where I was laughing hard. The film does a nice job contrasting between the comedy and the drama, and that makes the story all the more effective.
I love all of the characters in this film. They are highly entertaining to watch, and there is quite a bit of depth between the relationships, particularly the triangle between Miles, his father, and his uncle. It's the fuel for a lot of drama for the movie, as well as some of my favorite moments of the entire film. There is a lot of good character decisions in this film, and they all are incredibly fun to watch, especially all of the spider people that Miles meets. They provide a lot of great comedy and they have a nice camaraderie with each other. All of these characters are incredibly likable and charming throughout the entirety of the film, making it even better than it initially could have been.
The music is also really good. Spider-Verse uses a lot of modern rap songs, which should annoy me, but it actually works quite well here. The songs give the film an atmosphere and a personality that works very well with the environments, animation, and story. Plus, the way the audio is edited is quite clever. The volume will alter depending on the camera angle, and it's nice to see the sound mixers putting extra detail into making the music choices fit into the world for the most part. And the score that is used in the film is fantastic. It's intense and fast paced with a lot of frenetic strings. They saturate the action scenes, and they are all the more exciting for it.
The use of music isn't perfect though. In fact, my biggest problem with the film has to do with the soundtrack, and while it's not a make or break flaw, it's still one that bothered me. While the soundtrack does great with setting the scene environmentally, it does not have the same effect with the more emotional scenes. There are a couple instances where the film plays a pop rap song during these moments, and while I can understand their purpose, I think their inclusion deeply hinders the emotion. Instead of getting me to feel what Miles is feeling, I'm rolling my eyes at the misplaced pop song, making a sad scene feel corny. Luckily, there were only a few moments where that happened, and they didn't last for too long.
My other complaint has to do with the main villain- Kingpin. I love the design and I enjoy how menacing he is, but he is quite underdeveloped. The film tries to give him an emotional backstory for us to understand why he's doing what he's doing. However, it doesn't take up too much time and it feels like a mostly inconsequential reason for his methods. His backstory could have used more time for us to understand who he is, because as is, he isn't very compelling as a villain.
Overall, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was an absolute blast. It combines beautiful animation with a great origin story that highly entertained me throughout its run. It's so good, that I saw it twice in one weekend, which I don't usually do. This is a film that everyone can get something out of. I highly recommend it, for it's not only one of the best animated movies of the year, but also one of the best films of the year in general. Go see it. It's excellent.
Score: 9/10 (Amazing)
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