Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse review: The past, present, and future of superhero cinema12/16/2018 By embracing what has come before instead of ignoring it, Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse is able to separate Spider-Man from Peter Parker, finally doing justice to the idea that heroes can come from anywhere – something that differentiates Spider-Man from Batman, Superman, Iron Man, Thor, etc. – in the process. Playing with the audience’s expectations of the public and private identities of an established character is what makes it work, breathing a whole new life into what could have simply been an animated version of that same story. The best thing about this film is that after using Peter Parker’s (Jake Johnson) history as a brief set-up, it introduces us to Miles Morales (Shameik Moore): a brilliant, quiet, half-black & half-Puerto Rican kid from Brooklyn dealing with tension in his family and high school. He just happens to be the new Spider-Man. It’s a different origin story with enough echoes that some details can be explained very quickly without causing frustration. This is all in favor of giving equal billing to Miles’ existing and new lives, so all the crazy stuff going on with his new identity can be placed in a meaningful context and ultimately deliver a character-first story. The first few minutes introduce us to a New York where Peter Parker has been Spider-Man for a while, farther along in his vigilante career than any previous film version has shown. Within this same world, we’re introduced to Miles, his parents, his new school, and his favorite uncle Aaron. Miles gets bitten by another experimental spider, resulting in some quickly developing symptoms that he is able to recognize as the powers Spider-Man possesses, allowing him to provide the self-aware commentary necessary for an audience surrogate, while also playing the part of budding hero. Pretty quickly Miles is working alongside Peter Parker to stop Kingpin (leading a deep bench of villains) from restarting a machine that will create a black hole between multi-verses, but a couple elements of other universes slipped through on his first try, providing the crime-fighting posse that helps Miles learn all about his powers. That’s where the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th iterations of Spider-Man come in. The fellow Spider-heroes create a wonderful supporting cast, with Peter Parker V2 and Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) serving as friends and mentors while Spider-Man noir (a gritty black & white detective voiced by Nicolas Cage), Spider-Ham/Peter Porker (a ridiculous Looney Tunes style pig brought to life by John Mulaney), and Peni Parker (an anime style girl telekinetically connected to a spider housed in a robotic mech suit). As expected, much of this side of the story is pure action comedy around this weird group brought together by variations on the Spider-Man moniker. Having them around makes for the funniest parts of the movie, but they’re used sparingly enough to keep from wearing the joke too thin or becoming grating. We are also treated to the best version of Aunt May, unafraid to kick ass herself in order to protect her home. Helping this side of the story keep some heart and avoid falling victim to pure slapstick or meaningless action is the relationships between Miles and Peter Parker and Gwen – not to say that the other characters lack emotional moments or these two aren't fun. This version of Peter Parker has hit a lot of road blocks in his recent personal life, divorced due to his reluctance to have kids, currently in a full-blown mid-life crisis that is equal parts sad and hilarious. Starting in this position gives him another big character arc, driven by the relationship with Miles teaching Peter what it’s like to have a young version of yourself to mentor, while Miles isn’t afraid to remind him life takes effort after Peter had it seemingly easy for a while. Gwen is a powerful, self-assured hero by herself and is introduced as such, serving as a voice of reason keeping the two guys on track when necessary, and an essential co-leader of the group with Peter. There is the expected romance between her and Miles, but it quietly develops in the background, driven by mutual respect more than anything else. Miles’ personal life doesn’t shy away from jokes but imbues the entire film with real emotional resonance. Like any teenager, he is fighting with his parents and hates school, yet it’s understandable why he feels so separate from those around him. He has been taken from his home neighborhood and placed into a new school with a bunch of kids who don’t have the same life experience as him, and mostly don’t look like him. It’s a much more plausible and relatable angle, continuing the welcome trend of avoiding a stereotypical ‘nerds are bad’ attitude (found in all but the most recent Spider-Man films) in favor of a smart kid who faces realistic problems. Miles butts heads with his police officer father (Brian Tyree Henry) and idolizes his uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali) whom his father views as a pure criminal, so Miles’ vigilantism creates inevitable conflict with those two brothers. The moment when they all intersect provides that perfect echo of the Peter Parker origin story, which makes sense for this character’s world, and is appropriately emotionally affecting. There’s so much to love about this movie beyond even the humor, heart, and characters. Most notable is a beautiful, lively animation style, which continues the theme of combining what has been done before to build something new. The base of the film is presented in a unique combination of 2d and 3d animation, giving a more fluid look to every scene, especially the action. The appropriate animated styles are employed with each of the other Spider-heroes, allowing it to have some fun and do quick character work in the process, yet never clashing with the general aesthetic. Comic book panel captions pop up throughout to provide on-screen commentary with additional information or jokes and there are even some action-sounds splashed onto screen during fights like the original Batman TV series (and countless comics before that) implemented. All of this could be busy, but just like the supporting cast these flourishes are used just enough to keep you constantly seeing new things without distracting from the main character arcs. As evidenced by Black Panther, a highly empathetic main villain can help define the best superhero films. While Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) isn’t given as much screentime and doesn’t reach the heights of Kilmonger, his motivation is similarly understandable even if his methods are extreme. His pure shoulder character design is another perfect example of the animation perfectly capturing character, showcasing an overpowering physical nature that makes this man just as, if not more formidable than more augmented villains. The voice work all around is great, but it’s worth singling out Schreiber and especially Kathryn Hahn as Olivia Octavious aka Doc Ock. They give new takes on other familiar characters to match the heightened animated medium with boisterous voice. The final, unintended thing that provides Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse with additional pathos is the first Stan Lee cameo since he passed away last month. There is still at least one to come, but there’s no way it could be more resonant than what he gets to say as he hands young Miles a Spider-Man outfit purchased at a Halloween shop: “The costume always fits.” Lee’s characters have provided escapism in all shapes and forms for years, but those who wear the masks on-screen have remained mostly homogenous until just recently. Spider-verse provides a nice bookend to a year that started with Black panther, hopefully signaling the arrival of an age that empowers everyone in the audience instead of just a few.
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