30-second review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is so keenly aware of what it wants to be even though what it wants to be has never existed before. It’s a bright and bold loving critique of the superhero genre and a much needed hard reset. It doesn’t shy away from the usual tropes, but it tackles them in a way that is innovative, visually jaw-dropping, and laced with real emotion. With great power comes great responsibility, and the responsibility was in the right hands with Into the Spider-Verse.
Where to watch Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: Available to stream on Netflix. You can also buy or rent it on Prime Video.
With great power comes… oh, you get it. Full review below ?
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse leans into the ridiculousness of superhero movies but respects how empowering they can be. In an odd way, Into the Spider-Verse feels akin to The Cabin in the Woods. The 2012 horror film directed by Drew Goddard was a loving hate letter to the genre in played in. Into the Spider-Verse seems to be interested in the same thing.
It’s a meta-commentary on the oversaturation of superhero origin stories told over and over again—each hitting the same beats as the last. Hilariously, the movie begins with an origin story montage that pokes fun of previous movie incarnations of the superhero. Specifically, the Sam Raimi trilogy—even the infamous Spider-Man 3 street walk-dance.
In Into the Spider-Verse, we watch the origin story of 13-year-old Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), a half-black/half Puerto Rican teen who is unexpectedly thrust into the position of Spider-Man.
However, this is not your typical origin story. Yes, we hit the familiar beats of the Spider-Man story we all know—bit by a radioactive spider, unexpectedly discovers powers and doesn’t know how to control them—but there’s the added layer of Miles existing in a world where Spider-Man (Chris Pine) is already a fixture.
So, when that Spider-Man is taken down by baddie Kingpin (Liev Schreiber), Miles is inspired to take over. At first, he’s overwhelmed by his powers and the responsibility. However, he’s not alone.
Fisk’s evil plan is to open up a multiverse underneath Brooklyn for reasons I will keep unspoiled. However, in doing so, a Spider-Man from another dimension is brought into Miles’. This Spider-Man goes by the name Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson). In his world, he’s been Spider-Man for a lot longer than the one in Miles’ world and has become jaded—and overweight—by the job.
The movie is upbeat, colorful, and hyper-stylized in a way that comic fans will appreciate. Into the Spider-Verse is, perhaps, the best film interpretation of a comic book’s sensibility—it includes on-screen sound effects and the classic comic book text box without feeling gimmicky.
The filmmakers even went as far as slowing down the frame rate to 12 frames per second—the standard is 24—to make the action look like a moving image. This is best used in a hilarious action scene where Peter B. Parker and Miles first meet.
As they bounce through the streets of Brooklyn—hilariously attached by their own webs—chased by the police, there is a keen cartoon sensibility to the comedy and comic book veneer to the way the action is rendered. That carries throughout the movie and delivers some of the best action and comedic set pieces of the year.
At first, Peter B. Parker, who feels inferior compared his dimensional counterpart, is hesitant to take Miles under his wing. But when he finds out that Miles holds the key to getting him back home he finally accepts.
Now that the pair teamed up, they begin to form a mentor/mentee relationship that drives part of the emotional crux of the movie. The other emotional crux is Miles’ relationship with his police officer father Jefferson (Brian Tyree Henry) and with his Uncle Aaron (Moonlight‘s Mahershala Ali)—Miles often feels overwhelmed by his parents’ high expectations of him and goes to his uncle for a reprieve.
After a hilarious visit Aunt May (Lily Tomlin)—a badass assistant to this universes Spider-Man—Miles and Peter B. Parker realize that the multiverse has brought in even more Spider-People.
There’s the dark and gritty—to hilarious levels—film-noir Spider-Man (a terrific Nicolas Cage) who is rendered in high contrast black and white and talks in exactly how you’d expect a noir detective to speak. There’s the anime rendered Penni Parker (Kimiko Glenn) who fights with a spider-like robot she controls with her mind. And there’s Spider-Woman who turns out to be Gwen Stacey (Hailee Steinfeld), a young and energetic Spider-Person.
Together they work to take down Kingpin and return each Spider-Person to their own universe. Of course, there’s a time crunch. If they aren’t returned soon, their cells will degenerate. Along the way, they battle Kingpin’s goons in fan-service references, callbacks, and homages.
And what is so refreshing—especially with the MCU being the template for most superhero movies—is that there are real stakes and danger in the action. I found myself tensing at the light and funny action because it feels often like any character could be hurt or killed.
All the elements I’ve mentioned above make Into the Spider-Verse the boldest superhero movie in years and most innovative animated movies ever made. It’s so keenly aware of what it wants to be even though what it wants to be has never been done before.
Audiences have become desensitized by the at least three MCU movies, a cadre of DC movies, and a Sony Marvel movie coming out each year. Into the Spider-Verse is a refreshing reset to the genre. In a world where we know superheroes can do anything—with the help of CGI—how do you keep things interesting? Into the Spider-Verse solves this by playing with—and criticizing—the formula.
It’s bold, funny, sentimental, and one of the best movies of the year.
Hey! I’m Karl. You can find me on Twitter here. I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic.
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