Spider-Man is my favorite superhero. I believe that has been firmly established by now. However, I am mainly pertaining to Peter Parker and realize that there are so many more Spider-People out there, among them being Miles Morales. Overall, my knowledge of the character isn't as extensive as that of Peter, but I have always found him to be a cool character and a worthy successor to the former. When I learned that this movie was going to be based on him, I was excited. However, the movie has gradually changed since it was first announced, with it being revealed that it was not only about Miles but about the entire multiverse of Spider-People. This includes Spider-Gwen, Spider-Noir, and so many more. Now, given that this was thought to be a Miles movie, was the addition of all these other Spider-Folk necessary? Probably not. Is that a bad thing? In this case, absolutely not! This movie is fun, inventive, and unique, bringing a real breath of fresh air to those who felt the Spider-Man franchise needed to shake things up. Let's see what made Into The Spider-Verse work and what (if anything) didn't:
UPS
- Miles is great. Despite the plethora of Spider-People in this film, Miles still retains his place as the main character of the story, which is just splendid given that he is cool, likable, and has a great character arc all brought home by a great design, solid dynamics with the other characters (especially Peter, Gwen, and his father and uncle,) and Shameik Moore's excellent vocal performance. Overall, I really enjoyed the way he was depicted and found his story to be just as triumphant and fulfilling as Peter's. Speaking of which...
- The original Wall-Crawling Web Slinger is spectacular. At first glance, I didn't think that I was on board with the way he was depicted since I wasn't sure Jake Johnson's voice quite fit. By the time the movie came along, Johnson and this version of Spidey really won me over due to how different he is from what we are used to. His life is a mess, he's a deadbeat cynic, and he ultimately has really lost his way. This movie is all about building up Peter just as it does with Miles, and we watch his arc unfold without having Miles fall to the sidelines, which is genuinely appreciated by me.
- The other Spiders were fun additions to the cast, and thankfully didn't eat up too much screentime than what was necessary. What's even better is that there isn't one clear standout; all of them are so different and unique that there really isn't a way to choose between them.
- The villains. For me, these guys were the most surprising thing about the whole movie. While I was firmly on board with Kingpin being the main antagonist, I didn't think he could ever reach the heights set by Vincent D'Onofrio in Daredevil, which makes it even crazier to see that he not only matches that, but can prove to be even darker by killing the Peter Parker in Miles' universe and having a tragic backstory that shapes his goals in the movie. In addition to him, we have the Prowler, who provides a hefty amount of emotional drama for Miles while also having a kickass design and Mahershala Ali's voice. Alongside them are a female version of Doctor Octopus, Tombstone (who is Kingpin's hitman, which I think is a nice touch,) and a bunch of other classic baddies that serve their purpose well. They may not be the standouts, but they more than fulfill their roles.
- I think this article speaks for itself...
DOWNS
There really isn't anything to mention. I would have preferred a Miles solo movie but what we got more than made up for that.
OVERALL
I loved Into The Spider-Verse. It's definitely one of my favorite Spider-Man movies by far, maybe even up there with some of the best live-action ones.
And that's it for this post, guys. Tune in for my Best of 2018 list to close out the year and then it's onto 2019.
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