Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Review

Ever since the first trailer for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse dropped, I knew this movie was going to be something special. The animation was jaw dropping and something I had never seen before, and it was starring Miles Morales, a character that’s popular amongst comic fans, but not that well known to the general public. It was also going to introduce a number of different Spider-people through the multiverse, giving many iconic versions of Spider-Man their big screen debut, and greater exposure as well. The movie doesn’t disappoint at all, giving us the best Spider-Man movie ever, and definitely one of my favorite animated movies ever.

First thing’s first, let’s talk about the story real quick. The premise for the movie is that Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) is trying to access other universes, but in doing so, accidentally brings over five other Spider-people from their universes. The five of them, along with Miles (Shameik Moore), have to work together to get back to their respective homes and stop him before his experiments destroy Brooklyn. It’s a straightforward plot that doesn’t get bogged down at all by irrelevant side plots or convoluted developments.

The biggest worry that many had about the movie was that Miles and his story would be overshadowed by the other web-slingers and that the movie would end up being more about them, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Even though there are all these other characters that share the spotlight, it’s focus is squarely on Miles from start to finish. We get to understand who he is as a person, from the music he likes and the clothes he wears, to the way he interacts with people in his neighborhood and his hobbies. At the same time, we also get a deeper look into his person as he struggles with what he wants to do with his life and disappointing the people in his life that matter to him. It’s something that we can all relate to, so we empathize with him more and understand him more. His relationship with his family also helps inform his character and offers some of the movie’s most emotional moments.

Once Miles gets his powers and the other Spider-people show up, Miles continues to be the focus of the entire adventure. Peter Parker (Jake Johnson) takes up a reluctant mentor role for Miles in him adjusting to his newfound abilities, guiding him on how to become the kind of hero that he’s always looked up to, and just what it means to be a hero. Even with such a big role, Peter doesn’t push Miles to the side. Part of that is because of how well the movie stays centered on Miles, but part of it is also because of the fact that the Peter we have throughout the movie is very different from the one that everyone has known for decades. This is a Peter that’s a slacker who’s let himself go. He’s not the go-getter that fans fell in love with. It being a different Peter than what we’re used to causes him to not step on Miles’ toes and it leads us to naturally care more about Miles and his development.

The other Spider-people are all excellent though, even if not all of them get the same amount of attention. We have Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage), Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn), and Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), and they’re all standouts in their own right. Of the bunch, Spider-Gwen gets the most development, as she starts up a nice friendship with Miles that has some charming underlying romantic tension. After seeing this movie, I’m real excited for her to get her own spin-off movie. Spider-Man Noir, Peni, and Spider-Ham are all cool as hell too, and offer up a lot of the movie’s funniest moments. Whether it be Spider-Man Noir being puzzled over a Rubik’s Cube, or Spider-Ham’s very existence, they’re all really cool additions to the movie, and it’s amazing that they don’t cause the movie to feel overstuffed with characters.

I can’t get through this review though without talking about the absolutely stunning and jaw-dropping visuals. Into the Spider-Verse has such a unique and original style that I’ve never seen in any other movie. Watching this movie is honestly like seeing a comic book in motion. The colors pop all throughout and the animation is very stylized, aspects that help make the movie stand out from other animated movies. It all gets emphasized even more during the action scenes, making them incredibly exciting and dynamic. It’s also cool how well everything meshes together when you have the different heroes and their individual looks from their respective universes. Spider-Ham’s Loony Tunes aesthetic doesn’t clash at all next to Peni’s anime style or Spider-Noir’s black-and-white appearance. They all look great on screen together and I loved every second of seeing them in motion.

I knew that the movie was going to at least be great, but what I got was something far from that. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is an amazing movie. Actually, scratch that. It’s truly spectacular. With it’s one of a kind animation style, great characters, and even better story, the movie manages to exceed all expectations, and give us the best Spider-Man movie that we ever could’ve asked for. I can’t recommend this movie enough to everyone. Just go see it! Take that leap of faith! You won’t be disappointed at all.