Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Dir: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey & Rodney Rothman, 2018).
Produced in a distinct style utilising 2D and 3D animation techniques, Sony Animation’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is the most visually spectacular feature film in recent memory.
Unconnected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe or, indeed, any of Sony’s many incarnations of the Spider-Man universe; it has its roots in Marvel’s Ultimate Marvel Comics, a series set in an alternate universe to the regular comic lines.
The set-up - high school student is bitten by radioactive spider, struggles with newfound powers before using them to fight evil - is a familiar one, but here the bitten is not the expected Peter Parker but new kid at school misfit Miles Morales. Parker does appear, as a mentor to Miles. But this is an older Parker; a sweatpants wearing, out of shape, midlife crisis Parker from an alternate universe. They and a bunch of other alternate universe Spideys team up to fight his (their?) old adversary Kingpin. This sounds complicated but Rodney Rothman and Phil Lord’s screenplay is brought to life with surprising clarity. The movie is never difficult to understand and doesn’t get bogged down by its complex multiverse concept. In fact its story is unexpectedly moving, dealing with Miles’ difficult family relationships and his seeming inability to find acceptance in new social surroundings.
The voice work is also exemplary. Shameik Moore is a suitably hip, streetwise yet vulnerable Miles and Jake Johnson brings a worldweary charm to the middle-age Parker.
In a cinematic landscape littered with superhero movies, here is one that really stands out from the crowd. With its humorous, thoughtful storytelling, action set pieces that are genuinely exciting and beautiful graphics Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is one the most satisfying comic book adaptations to grace the big screen.
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