Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse is a Marvel computer-animated film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Marvel Entertainment, released in December of 2018. The film stars Shameik Moore as Miles Morales, the film’s main protagonist; Liev Schreiber as the villainous Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin; Jake Johnson as Mile’s mentor (Peter Parker from the original Earth-616 timeline) and other well-known supporting actors such as Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Velez, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage and Chris Pine.
Although not a part of our favourite MCU continuity, the film takes place in our hero’s, Miles Morales, alternate-New York where he was bitten by a techno-genetically engineered (You guessed it!) spider and gave him abilities similar to his world’s late Spider-man. The story addresses Miles’ dilemma in accepting his fate to become the new Spiderman while meeting other universe’s Spider-men, all of whom were forcibly brought to his reality, caused by his world’s Kingpin, thus the term “Spiderverse”. The heroes’ mission is to stop Fisk’s desperate and destructive plan that may end the entire New York and to finally go back to their respective universes before suffering lethal effects. Overall, the plot is not too complicated and appeals to both kids and adults alike.
Brought to you by the same people responsible for “The Emoji Movie” released in 2017, you’d probably know what the word “redemption” means by now (Trust me, you’re better off scrolling through all the emojis on your phone rather than watching the entire film).
Nevertheless, despite the producers’ reputation of delivering a super boring animated movie, Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse did not… in any way… disappoint. Aside from the stunning visuals, Sony Pictures Animation delivered an original comic-animation hybrid that would glue everybody to their seats. You don’t just get a glimpse of the film’s setting, but you get to feel it. The film’s score was true to its essence. The use of the hip-hop genre was just natural and filled out any empty spaces throughout the film. The sound effects were very striking where it comes to the point that when the villain “Prowler” was coming to attack Miles, you can really hear him coming to attack Miles.
Shameik Moore’s performance as Miles Morales was outstanding. He plays a confused but talented teenager who’s everything but ready for the world, in contrast to Jake Johnson who voices Spider-man; the older and soon-to-retire hero from another dimension who did not have any interest to get involved and only wants to go home, back to his depressing and boring life; eventually felt guilty and decided to take the former as his student and teach him the ropes of becoming a superhero. It was indeed a team effort for both actors and although a typical master to student story concept, it was wacky and super fun. Adding other comic reliefs such as the Spider-ham, Spider-man Noir and a Japanese-American girl who pilots a suit called SP//dr, each with different animated styles gives more excitement to the film. The story also brought in Spider-Gwen (played by Hailee Steinfeld), as a potential love interest and another supporting character to Miles much to the fans’ delight. Let’s not forget about Liev Schreiber’s role as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin who terrifies the audience more than the heroes. Lastly, a shout out to Mahershala Ali as the Prowler, one of Fisk’s ruthless assassin and enforcer, surprisingly revealed as the loving and supportive uncle to Miles, similar to Uncle Ben to Peter Parker’s.
Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse did an awesome job in captivating its audience, both to the new and pre-existing fans of the comic and its characters. It never came short of its basic elements such as its compelling story, enjoyable cast and important lessons that we get to relate to in our everyday lives.
Verdict:
9.6 out of 10 / If you’ve never seen a comic book come to life before, this one’s recommended.
