Spider-Man (Spider-Verse series)
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (PG)
D: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsay & Rodney Rothman
Sony/Columbia/Marvel (Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, Phil Lord & Christopher Miller)
US 2018
117 mins
Animated
W: Phil Lord & Rodney Rothman [based on characters created by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Brian Michael Bendis & Sara Pichelli)
Mus: Daniel Pemberton
voices of: Shameik Moore (Miles Morales / Spider-Man), Jake Johnson (Peter B. Parker / Spider-Man), Chris Pine (Peter Parker / Spider-Man), Hailee Steinfeld (Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman), Mahershala Ali (Aaron Davis / Prowler), Brian Tyree Henry (Jefferson Davis)
Released at a time when superhero movies are getting a little oversaturated and with no less than 6 Spider-man movies between 2002 and 2017, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse makes for a refreshing alternative to the norm, as well as being a highly entertaining animated film in its own right.
With identity politics being a hot topic in 2018, there was a fear going into this movie that it would be an agenda-pushing agitprop to appease the Buzzfeed & Huffington Post crowd, mostly due to the marketing campaign which made it feel so, but I'm glad to say I was completely wrong about that.
The story follows Miles Morales, a new boy at school who has trouble fitting in, especially with his police officer father, finding a better connection with his shady uncle. When spraying graffiti art in an abandoned subway station, Miles is bitten by a radioactive spider (the same which gave Spider-Man his powers) and it soon emerges that immediately above the subway station, a group of super villains have been creating a particle accelerator with the intentions of bringing multiple alternative universes together and a whole host of spider-people along with them, including an older, dishevelled Peter Parker who becomes Miles' mentor.
What makes the film so entertaining is the witty screenplay, which does a great job introducing alternative superheroes, even for people unfamiliar with superhero comics. The characters are also very engaging and the dialogue feels incredibly natural. The film also has a unique animated style which feels like you're actually watching a comic book unfold before your eyes.
Not the best Spider-Man movie, by any means, but it's certainly better than the last few produced by Sony Pictures, although the message that "anyone can be Spider-Man" may work for this example, but it may not necessarily work for other characters (James Bond, for example), but I'm happy to judge this film on its own merits.
7/10
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (PG)
D: Joaquím Dos Santos, Kemp Powers & Justin K. Thompson
Sony / Columbia / Marvel (Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad & Christina Steinberg)
US 🇺🇸 2023
140 mins
Animated
W: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller & Dave Callaham [based on characters created by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Brian Michael Bendis & Sara Pichelli]
Mus: Daniel Pemberton
Shameik Moore (Miles Morales / Spider-Man), Hailee Steinfeld (Gwen Stacy / Spider-Gwen), Brian Three Henry (Jeff Morales), Lauren Velez (Rio Morales), Jake Johnson (Peter Parker / Spider-Man), Jason Schwartzman (Johnathan Ohnn / The Spot), Oscar Isaac (Miguel O’Hara / Spider-Man 2099)
Following the inventive originality and good fun of the first Spider-Verse movie (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse), released in 2018, a sequel was inevitable.
Unfortunately, this is practically a feature-length trailer for a third movie, with a bait-and-switch storyline that more-or-less puts all the focus on Gwen Stacy / Spider-Gwen and relegating the previous film’s main star to more of a supporting character.
Suffering domestic problems with his parents, who Miles hides his alter-ego from, he joins Gwen Stacy on an adventure across various alternate realities, where he meets a team of various Spider-people, but their existence, along with all the various reality comes into threat with the introduction of “The Spot” who can travel through the various dimension.
I went into the first film with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised with how good the film was, therefore my expectations were quite high going into this one and I could help but be disappointed.
Overall, it’s fine, and the inventive animation style is excellent, but I’d have to say that it’s the big fans of the 2018 film who will certainly enjoy it the most. For me, it just combines two sub-genres that I’m becoming increasingly tired of: Superhero movies & Multiverse Scenarios.
6/10
