FRED Watch Quickie Film Review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
SIX SPIDIES ARE BETTER THAN ONE!
I’m a Wayne Stellini and welcome to FRED Watch, where we review everything from the mainstream to the obscure. Today’s film is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse…
Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Animation / Marvel Entertainment / Arad Productions / Lord Miller Productions / Pascal Pictures / Sony Pictures Releasing
When rebellious teen Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) gets bitten by a radioactive spider from another dimension, he begins to develop similar abilities to everyone’s favourite neighbourhood Spider-Man (Chris Pine).
This high-octane comic book caper literally pops on the screen! With a colour pallet that resembles the most vibrant pop art, it goes without saying that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is by far one of the most aesthetically perfect animated films in a long, long time. With characters from multiple dimensions thrown into the mix, thanks to the evil King Pin (Liev Schreiber) and Doc Ock (Kathryn Hahn), there’s plenty of opportunity to play with animation styles. And here, the film does not disappoint, going as far as resembling a moving comic book at times and backed up with an incredible soundtrack.
Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman’s screenplay sings divinely, making a typical comic book narrative feel fresh and easily accessible. Incorporating interdimensional travel into a plot isn’t always easy to do, and usually falls victim to excessive and convoluted exposition because it is too concerned with coming across as believable. However, the filmmakers have incredible confidence in the story, the world they have created, and the characters within that you are invested from the get-go. This is also helped by the design and Shameik Moore’s outstanding performance of our chief protagonist Miles Morales. He is extraordinarily likeable and relatable, and his interactions with Peter B. Parker (another Spider-Man, performed by the exceptional Jake Johnson) provide a number of the film’s most engaging moments.
Self-referential, cheeky, humorous, heart-felt, exciting, and always fun, this is not only Spider-Man’s greatest big screen adventure to date, but it easily ranks in the top films of 2018, as well as one of the best comic book adaptations and animated feature films of all time. 5 / 5
Starring: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Chris Pine, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Velez, Zoë Kravitz, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage, Kathryn Hahn, Liev Schreiber, Lake Bell, Jorma Taccone, Marvin “Krondon” Jones III, Joaquín Cosío, Post Malone, Cliff Robertson [archival], Stan Lee [cameo], Oscar Isaac, Greta Lee, Jorma Taccone.
Directors: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman | Producers: Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Christina Steinberg | Writers: Phil Lord, Rodney Rothman; Story: Phil Lord (based on Spider-Man created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko; Miles Morales created by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli) | Music: Daniel Pemberton | Editor: Robert Fisher Jr.
Available: Amazon Prime, Google Play, and YouTube.
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