Visionary Spider-Verse Swings for the Fences

You hear that sound? It’s me – kicking myself, at having missed seeing Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in theaters.

Released amidst the mayhem of the December holiday season, this phenomenally transcendent comic saga eluded me, though its reputation sure didn’t.

Comicbook fans have been raving about this film – deservedly so –  which went on to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, with a worldwide gross of nearly $375 million.

 

It’s a testament to those behind Spider-Verse that after no less than three different Peter Parkers since Sam Raimi’s 2002 film, that the Spider-Man character can seem as fresh – and as dazzlingly depicted as he does here. Inspired by the 2011 Brian Michael Bendis Ultimate Comics run, young Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is a half-Latino, half-African American teenager growing up in Brooklyn – and in this universe, there already is a Spider-Man (voiced by Chris Pine). Miles feels like an outcast at his tony new boarding school, when he’d rather be naplaming graffiti art across derelict subway tunnels. He’s got his share of secrets, but so does the city. Nefarious criminal Kingpin has been fiddling around with a massive underground supercollider, and the fabric between alternate dimensional realities is starting to wear thin, and suddenly there are numerous different Spider-types to contend with, from anime-inspired futures to hard-boiled black and white noirs. A stellar voice cast including Hailee Steinfeld, Liev Schreiber, Jake Johnson, Mahershala Ali, Nicolas Cage and Lily Tomlin make the characters pop and come alive.

 

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is perhaps the greatest, most transporting and visionary comicbook movie since 2005’s Sin City. Written by Phil Lord (with Rodney Rothman) and directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman, Spider-Verse is a psychedelic visual triumph – no hyperbole. It feels like reading a comic book feels. The animation style is completely unique – a revelation. With what feels like a mad hybrid of 3D, 2D and dot printing – both digital and traditional hand-drawn line panels – dialogue often punctuating in thought balloons – “Why is the voice in my head – SO LOUD?!” They’ve also tinkered with the frame rate, which gives the images a surreal tangibility that’s downright immersive. I was particularly impressed by how New York was rendered. It’s realistic in so many small details, yet vast and operatic in others – just like Brooklyn itself. Miles Morales is such a great character, you immediately root for him as he stumbles his way into his new identity. Like all the peck of Peter Parkers who’ve swung before, Miles has heart, and the ability to keep swingin’.

 

Into the Spider-Verse recently hit home video, but if it’s still in theaters anywhere near you, don’t be a schmuck like me. This is a visual feast of pure animation cinema that’s going to cast a really long shadow - no matter what your universe. Very highly recommended.