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***WARNING: REVIEW DOES CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS. READER BEWARE...NOT SORRY***
RELEASE DATE: December 14, 2018
RUNNING TIME: 1 Hour 57 Minutes
RATED: PG
WRITERS: Phil Lord, Rodney Rothman
DIRECTORS: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
STARRING:
Shameik Moore as Miles Morales
Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker
Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy
Lily Tomlin as Aunt May
Zoe Kravitz as Mary Jane
John Mulaney as Spider-Ham
Kimiko Glenn as Peni Parker
Nicolas Cage as Spider-Man Noir
Katheryn Hahn as Doc Ock
Liev Schreiber as Wilson Fisk
Chris Pine as Peter Parker
Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse begins with a glance over of Peter Parker/Spider-Man's origin story without going completely into it. They even have the Peter Parker character point out that his story is one that we have become very familiar with. After the movie sets up who Peter Parker is and why he puts the suit on day in and day out, we are pulled away from Parker and we get to meet Miles Morales who is not yet a Spider-Man at this early point in the story.
Tobey Maguire was pur first modern day Spider-Man that became a definitive model of what Peter Parker and Spider-Man stood for and marked an exciting beginning to a cinematic version of the character. Andrew Garfield tried his best to take over the mantle and be a similar but very different Spider-Man. But even though he did not do a bad job playing the character, we still wanted more of the Toney Maguire/Sam Raimi Spidey back. Then after Andrew Garfield's version failed (not his fault, he showed how he loved the character) Tom Holland became the perfect Webb Slinger for this new generation. But when Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse was announced, I was one of the few that felt it was too soon to bring in another version of the character. True, the film was not part of the MCU. However, I felt that it would create some confusion with audiences because of the mainstream focus on the film even though it was an animated film. I honestly feared that Marvel would begin to dilute their characters much like DC and Warner Bros run the risk of doing with so many different versions of their characters on both the big and small screen (By the way, I love the DCEU, CWVerse, Fox/Gotham, Syfy/Krypton and DC Universe App shows - but thats still a lot of different unconnected content). My fear was that Spider-Man would become overexposed. I had that fear when I walked into the theater with my daughter on Saturday afternoon. With three remade franchises already for the character, confusion was bound to be a realistic expectation.
Boy was I happy that I was wrong. Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse was the best Spider-Man story to hit the big screen in a long time if not ever. Into The Spiderverse introduced Marvel's multiverse which came crashing together when Kingpin attempted to pull parallel versions of his wife Vanessa and his son from different universes. Luckily, the young twenty six year old Spider-Man of this reality was fighting some of his rouges gallery and he was able to stop the Kingpin. However, this time fighting crime would lead to tragedy and loss. It became up to a newly empowered Miles Morales to give his word and make sure that he would fullfill his promise to Peter Parker.
This adventure is loaded with fun and excitment as we get to meet the Spider-Men of other universes such as another "less lucky" version of Peter Parker, Spiderwoman (Spider-Gwen, Gwen Stacy), Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Ham and Peni Parker who has a psychic connection with a spider from her universe where they both control a robot designed by her father. It's a really cool cast of characters who were all cast perfectly.
Jake Johnson's Peter B. Parker and Chris Pine's Peter Parker were seamless as the alternate universe versions to the point where I barely heard any type of difference in their voices. The contrast seemed the Peter B. Parker was played more down and out sort of loser of the world and Peter Parker was just a more upbeat version of the same character. The voice work was excellent in terms of the Parkers.
Spider-Man Into the Spiderverse definitely had the best story for a Spider-Man movie and I am counting all of them when I say this. I would have loved to see this story played out in a live action format, but the animation is so incredible that I accept it right up there with the MCU movies. Hell I would love to see Marvel branch out an Animated Marvel Cinematic Universe (AMCU) based on how well this film was put together. The film was kid friendly as I was able to take my daughter to see it and she loved it just as much as I did. It was a perfect superhero movie in every respect. I give Spider-Man Into the Spiderverse a near perfect 4.7 out of 5 stars. If you have not seen this movie, then you seriously need to. Enjoy!
