So full disclosure, I’m not the biggest Spider-man fan. In fact, I barely know anything about the character besides some of the basic stuff. My first introduction to the world of Spider-man was actually with the character Miles Morales when he started his Ultimate Marvel run way back when. I am a fan of his character, though, and I really enjoy a good alternate universe story, especially when multiple versions of a character interact with each other. So, if you don’t have time to read this review, then my short answer is yes, I enjoyed the movie immensely. Go out and see this film right now. Otherwise, stick around for just a bit. I’ll try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible. Okay? All right, let’s take start from the beginning.
We follow a high schooler named Miles Morales as he tries to adjust going to a new school away from all of his friends while also dealing with the embarrassment and pressure his parents put on him. The movie actually gives him a good deal of character development before he even gets super powers and I found myself relating to him quite a lot during his introduction. We get to know his struggles of being the new kid and his love of music and art. Soon though he gets bit by a neon colored spider, gains spider powers, and gets caught up in a plot by Kingpin who has built a device that bridges multiple dimensions. As a result, Miles is confronted by six different Spider-Men ranging from Spider-man Noir (voiced by Nicholas Cage!) to the more recent Spider-Gwen and must help them get back home while stopping Kingpin or else everything he loves will be destroyed.
It’s a fairly standard sounding plot on paper: a smart but misunderstood teen gets powers, discovers the bad guy’s plot that could destroy the city/world/universe/etc., and must stop them. But the director and writers did such a good job with keeping your attention elsewhere that you forget that fact. At times it can feel like a lot is being thrown at you but they keep it focused enough that you can follow it fairly well and they do a good job at balancing character development, action scenes, and plot exposition.
Since this is an animated film, I suppose we should talk about the animation. It’s fluid and pops out, drawing your attention with bright colors and detail. I don’t think I’ve seen a film use this type of animation style before or at least in a long time. The animators did a great job creating believable emotions on the characters’ faces, to the point that I actually choked up on a few of the more emotional scenes because of how I could tell the characters felt from just their facial expressions. This film also does a great job of using various colors, ranging from neon to psychedelic, in numerous ways. They use it to great effect when differentiating between the Spider-men and their universes. Spider-man noir, for example, is shown completely in black and white the entire time and anytime you see something from his world it also comes in black and white, something that sticks out in a world of neon. Spider-pig, though, has a 2D style similar to that of a cartoon, making him stand out in a 3D environment. There are a few scenes where the editing could have been done better and feel a bit jarring, but it didn’t pull me out of the movie.
The soundtrack for this movie was something that stood out to me. Usually, at least for superhero movies, there’s maybe one song that grabs my attention. In this one, I was excited to hear one right after the other. They meshed so well with each scene and I was pumped whenever it kicked in during the action. Most of the songs are some form of rap or hip-hop (at least I think so, I’m not a hundred percent sure), which I’m usually not a fan of but I found myself really appreciating it here. Black Panther did the same thing, so I hope this is a trend that will continue.
One thing I do want to touch on is that this film handles the balance between when to be humorous and when to be serious better than most recent Marvel films. I’ve gotten so used to Marvel interrupting serious, emotional scenes with random humor that I was surprised when it didn’t happen here. I found myself getting invested emotional into a scene and the interaction between the characters without some sudden joke breaking the tension. The bonds between family and the difficulty of having double life while also trying to deal with your own personal issues is prominent here and they handle it without making it too cheesy or overblown. I found myself cheering, crying out in excitement, choking up, and applauding at the end with everyone else in the audience.
Overall, I’d say go see this movie even if you’re not that familiar with Spider-man. It’s a great film with good themes and messages that shows a boy growing up and dealing with the problems that come with life, even if they are a bit unique to his world. I think I can honestly say this is probably the best Spider-man film out at the moment, even beating Homecoming. I’m excited to see what kind of sequels they’re going to come out with, I’m hoping for a Noir Spider-man one. Remember to stick around for the after-credit scene. Trust me, you don’t want to miss it.
This post comes to us from Ian
