Movie 3/100: “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
Overall Thoughts:
There has been a lot of concern expressed that we are going
to hit comic book movie fatigue at some point, that movies about these heroes
are going to become so commonplace that movie-goers are going to rebel against
the idea of putting more caped crusaders on screen.
It’s probably a good thing then that Spider-Man doesn’t wear
a cape.
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” was, without a question
in my mind, the best movie about the web-slinging hero. That is not meant as a
knock on Tom Holland, who has done a wonderful job in the separate MCU films
about the hero, but Miles Morales, ably played by Shameik Moore, is a fantastic
new addition to the comic book world, and his story is a downright fascinating
one.
Given how many times Spider-Man’s origins have been put up
on the big, and small, screens, the movie’s insistence on telling every
Spider-incarnation’s story as if it is the last time it will be done is
downright hilarious. It is a great nod to the amount of times we’ve been
subjected to “With great power comes great responsibility,” and it is a great
jumping off point for a movie that likes to push the boundaries of what a comic
book movie can be.
The thing that makes Spider-Man so easy for movie-goers to
identify with is that he didn’t get his powers as a result of lucky genetics, some
lab experiment gone wrong, or a suit of armor that he designed in his
laboratory. Instead, Miles Morales got his powers because he happened to be in
the right subway tunnel at the right time, and he gets forced into taking on an
identity that he did not choose.
That conflict is one of the movie’s central backbones, and
this movie does a great job of portraying the superhero who didn’t get to
choose his path forward. Right from the word go, Miles knows that he needs to
use his powers for good to help humanity, but the reality is that there is a
lot more to being a hero than shooting webs from your wrists and having
incredible reaction time. There is an impact on everyone around you, and the “great
responsibility” part of the quote is where this movie mines most of its
emotional ore.
The filmmakers did a wonderful job of capturing that
conflict, and they also did that while managing to pull together a narrative
that was based on alternate dimensions and characters with similar, but also
vastly different, motivations. Phil Lord, who has been doing a great job with
the “Lego” movie franchise, and Rodney Rothman did a great job of balancing the
chaotic nature of the story with the very human elements of the narrative, and
it made for a wonderfully fast-paced, but nuanced, production.
Finally, the animation style, which I worried about, ended
up being one of the film’s biggest strengths. The filmmakers used the animation
to full advantage, taking the technique to places that it has never been
before. It made for a very pleasant, and very visually appealing, presentation,
and it was a delight to watch on the big screen.
Favorite Performance:
Peter B. Parker, played by Jake Johnson, was everything that
Ben Affleck’s Batman was supposed to be. A hero who still very much believes in
his duty to humanity, while still grappling with the impact that commitment has
on those that he loves.
Johnson’s ability to balance the “do-gooder” motivations
that drive Spider-Man with the exhaustion that comes with watching his personal
life crumble as a result of his incessant hero-ing is a delight in the film,
and the way he was able to convincingly portray his transformation from
reluctant guru to full-on cheerleader of Morales’ exploits was one of the movie’s
most fun and satisfying elements.
Brian Tyree Henry, who plays Morales’ father Jefferson
Davis, nearly stole the show with his performance. The way he is able to go
from the lame, pun-making dad to a fully fleshed out character that is able to
connect with his son on an emotional level and inspire him to do things that he
has no idea he’s inspiring him to do, is truly remarkable, and if he were to
blare a siren at me and force me to say that I loved him, I would have to
acquiesce.
Favorite Scenes:
The final showdown between the Spider-People and Kingpin was
a cinematic marvel, with the reality-bending animation very accurately
portraying the sheer insanity of what was going on.
Aside from that, the scene that most resonated with me was
the scene where Davis, who takes off his hat as a very subtle way of expressing
vulnerability and sadness, really opens up to Miles for the first time. The
pair, separated by a doorway, share a remarkably tender moment, and the fact
that Morales doesn’t even say a word while his father opens up to him makes the
scene all the more touching.
Stars: 4 out of 5
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