Welcome back to the semester, kids! I guess it’s time to get back to the slogging and burning brain cells after a “fortnite” of Netflix and Cheetos, or whatever the U.P .does in bone-freezing winter. But let me revisit an amazing movie I watched during the break. I was initially skeptical before I’ve decided on watching “Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse” because of the jagged choppiness in the animation style and its irrelevance to the Marvel Cinematic Universe despite being produced by Columbia Pictures, the ones behind the live-action films. Also, Miles Morales, the new lead Spidey, was never seen on the silver screen before, so I thought it was impossible to build a whole living, breathing world of different brand-new fleshed out Spiderman characters within two hours. So how did it pan out? Pretty well, in fact.
Right off the bat, I should say the animation style is beyond brilliant and unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Almost every kind of animation I’ve seen since I was a kid: Comic-Book, Manga, Anime, Noir, Stop-motion,1980s-90s old-timey Spiderman shows on NBC, the wacky ones like from “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” the fast-paced 2D ones from shows like “Dexter’s Laboratory,” the 2.5D ones like “GetEd” or “Dragon Booster”; everything basically. And it all works seamlessly. Initially, the colors and art style takes some getting used to, because of its sheer uniqueness which some might find weird, but once you get into it, believe me, it’s wonderful. The characters were apparently hand-drawn and 3D modeled by about 140 graphic artists and animators so it’s no simple feat.
The characters are cool as well, each character has its own unique story arc, albeit not as detailed as Miles Morales, of course. One has problems with their ex-wife due to their poor life decisions, one is out for revenge, one is a detective, etc. The relationships between the characters, especially between Miles and his family are very well made and probably better than most of the Spider-man movies since, for the first time, Miles actually has a family dynamic and not just some old person telling Peter Parker that with great power comes great responsibility. Self-awareness and Stan Lee are still there, although not as much as another quippy marvel character in a red super suit. And no, it’s not Iron Man.
That said, I didn’t find the story all that compelling. By story, I meant the overarching theme of how the antagonist, Kingpin, gets defeated. It’s a typical 2 hour stretch of a Spiderman movie. The main character gets bitten by a radioactive spider, struggles with his powers, and battles a supervillain who ultimately dies in a fiery explosion due to a poor choice he makes in the end, often fuelled by his emotions. At times, it feels like a parody of the other Spiderman films. Wait, was that their whole plan all along? Nevermind. This one has wacky side characters and Miles is an actual believable 15-year old, instead of a grown man without a beard, so it’s all good.
Oh, and don’t forget easter eggs. Tons of easter eggs for all Spider-man fans and Marvel fans in general. And yes, the end credits scene is very well-done.
