MOVIE ENTHUSIASTS DO NOT FEAR, SPIDER-MAN IS HERE

4.5 out of 5 stars

 

Before giants such as Marvel and DC rose to become the powerhouse purveyors of superhero content that they are today, Pixar’s “The Incredibles” was once touted as the greatest superhero movie to hit cinemas.

However, with the start of the Marvel cinematic golden age, beginning with the release of “Iron Man” back in 2008 and bolstered by the Christopher Nolan-directed “Batman” movies, opinions started to sway and eventually the title of best superhero movie would be given to many other films in the coming years.

In the hearts and minds of many, though, The Incredibles could, at the very least, be considered the greatest animated superhero movie of all time.

But a new challenger has entered the arena, and it might be time, once again, for Pixar to hand over that coveted title.

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” directed by the trio of Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, and Robert Persichetti Jr., is the latest from the genre to hit screens, and is arguably one of its best.

Taking place in an alternate-reality “spider-verse,” the movie features Miles Morales as the average awkward teen protagonist. As one might guess, he is unwittingly bitten by a radioactive spider, and eventually finds himself embroiled in a plot to save the universe.

While still getting the hang of his new spider abilities, Miles is forced  to work with a group of Spider-men from multiple different realities in order to prevent the infamous Kingpin from messing with the time-space continuum any further and opening a black hole under New York City.

Pretty simple, right?

With such a bizarre and seemingly complex plot, one might be inclined to assume that this undertaking could only result in a mediocre product, at best, especially with Sony Picture Studios still holding rights to the franchise.

Thankfully, if you held this assumption, you will be pleasantly surprised to discover how amazing this movie actually is.

Into the Spider-Verse truly impresses: From its comic book deep cuts to its inventive and beautifully unique art style, this movie has no trouble keeping the viewer entertained.

Somehow the writers even managed to find a wonderfully cohesive way to present the origin stories for its many new characters.

Speaking of characters, Shameik Moore does a fantastic job as the voice of Miles (Ultimate Spider-Man), along with Jake Johnson and Hailee Steinfeld as Spider-Man and Spider-Woman, respectively.

Nicolas Cage makes an appearance as Spider-Man Noir and is expectedly delightful to listen to.

All these positive attributes, and many more, culminate to create one of greatest, if not the greatest, animated superhero movie, and most certainly, the best Spider-Man movie ever released. 

Being animated, the film lends itself quite well to this particular plot and is undoubtedly the closest anyone has come to truly relaying the feeling of reading comics to the screen.

With its snappy dialogue and beautifully choreographed action sequences, not to mention everything else listed in this review, it’s no surprise that Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse gets a solid 4.5/5. 

Why not a 5?

Well, as with anything, the film could always somehow be done better, and to be fair, there are a couple plot inconsistencies that might take you out of the moment if you really look for them. Still, in spite of these slight shortcomings, its creators have produced a masterpiece fit for the whole family.