Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Review
Miles Morales becomes the Spider-Man of his reality and crosses paths with his counterparts from other dimensions to stop a threat to all reality.
Why did I come to this movie/read this book again?
I’ve been a Spider-Man fan since the days of Saturday morning cartoons and Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. I’ve liked some of the live-action films, but not all. This one looked quirky, funny and fresh. I’ve been excited to see it since I saw the first trailer like eight months ago.
5 of 5
Characters
They kind of cheated, using so many Spider-Man iterations. However, each had their own quirks, and each felt true to themselves. I loved Miles. Good kid—not perfect—just looking to find who he is. His dad was awesome.
Kingpin isn’t always a 3-dimensional character, and he started out a bit flat here. However, I have to tell you, at the very end of the film (on the train if you’ve seen it) I had to feel for the guy. Maybe it hit me so hard because I watched Marvel’s Daredevil, and therefore know who Vanessa is and how much he loves her. Kudos writers, well done.
And Aunt May??? Talk about awesome.
5 of 5
Did I care what happened?
Yes. From the opening sequence to the end, I cared what happened. I was worried that having so many Spider-Mans in the movie would dilute it, but I didn’t feel that way at all. The story revolved around Miles coming into his powers. The other Spider-Mans were quite funny about this, and also sympathetic. Knowing what kind of character Spider-Man is, I was rooting for Miles the whole time.
5 of 5
Plot Holes
Nothing stood out to me. I’m sure there were one or two, but frankly, when you can draw on parallel dimensions—as Doctor Who says—there is no such thing as a continuity error. The fact that I don’t remember anything throwing me out of the story is a good sign.
5 of 5
How many times did I yawn?
No yawning here.
5 of 5
Cool Factor
Oh my gosh, this movie looked so cool! I read that they computer animated it, then added (by hand) comic book accents and flares. I loved it. For the first thirty seconds I thought the flashing might give me a seizure, but it abated and I was able to settle in.
4 of 5
The End
The final battle takes place within the time distortion whatever it was machine, which gave the creators liberty to put whatever they wanted in the scene. If they needed a skyscraper, it appeared. Need a rocketing train? You got it.
I do have to say that the parallels between the Kingpin, the original Peter Parker of the universe and then Miles were awesome. My husband didn’t catch all of it (maybe I didn’t either) but once again, kudos to the writers. Nice job.
5 of 5
Overall Enjoyment
This is where I might get into trouble. About 3/4 of the way through the film, I had a random thought. Unfortunately I don’t remember what provoked it, but my thought was, “This is a much better film than Black Panther.”
If you’ve read my review of Black Panther, you’ll know I wasn’t terribly impressed. It had potential, but fell flat in a few places—mostly the characters. Spider-Man did not have that problem.
I’ve told everyone I know to go see Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. And now I’ve told you.
5 of 5
***
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That’s a Black Belt!
