“Distinct, heartfelt, stunning, emotional, hilarious & AWESOME take on the comic book genre, 💯”

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse has always been one of my favourite films, and continues to be. Such a redefining take on the comic-book genre that’s honestly groundbreaking. Featuring a new style of animation, a compelling character study, a significant amount of heart, humour, emotions and entertainment. It’s the whole package that offers everything you want from a film, and deserves to be called a masterpiece.

I still vividly remember sitting in the theatre, and the trailer for this film played. My immediate reaction was “that looks really bad and the animation looks really bad”… oh how wrong I was. Then I remember I clicked on the review for this film, expecting it to be bad on a website which rated films out of 5. To my shock, it got a 4.5/5. I still remember being in shock when I saw this. A 4.5? A 4.5 for this movie? Those were my thoughts, that too on a website that I’ve never seen more than a 4.2/5 rating for. Given the praise and the popularity of the songs (Sunflower in particular), I finally gave it a watch. And… I loved it. Within that same month I probably would’ve watched it a couple more times. Then a year had passed, haven’t seen the film since that one month. I remember scrolling through Prime Video (the day we subscribed to it) and seeing this film there. Seeing the poster of this film, I immediately wanted to rewatch it. Then, the very next day. I did exactly that. That was THE rewatch. THE rewatch that made me realise how amazing this film ACTUALLY is. The rewatch that made it one of my favourite films ever made, the defining rewatch. Since then, I’ve always loved it and I continue to. 

Having seen this film multiple times, knowing every sequence and almost every line of dialogue, this is no eye-opening rewatch. My thoughts on this film remain untampered. Still love this movie so much, and it’s one of the finest comic book films out there. Have you ever seen an animation film like this? Ever? I certainly haven’t. A jaw-dropping display of gorgeous groundbreaking animation tied in with a story featuring everything you want a film to have. This film… it’s something else. 

From the very first frame, you can feel the passion. You can feel the heart, the soul, the love, the life and passion poured into the film. The animation in this film is simply stellar. Featuring a never before seen style, it’s a wow-inducing style of animation. The animation is clearly going to make a large impact and is already a huge influence with films such as Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Entergalactic. Every frame lives and breathes like a comic book and the animation gives this film an energy like no other. This film is oozing in style and everything about it feels so distinct and unlike any other film out there, not only in the comic book movie genre. The storytelling is insanely creative and the way the story is told is so captivating, stunning and imaginative. I love the way the story is told like a comic-book and it’s just so fresh and new and works so well for what this film is going for. 

The story has this personal element to it which makes it really investing and this film explores so many different ideas (such as what if there was more than one Spider-Man) and it’s so fascinatingly examined. The action is next-level awesome, the humour is used at exactly the right moments to liven up the already lively mood and the emotions shine right through. This is the film that explores the Multiverse and kickstarted all this multiverse madness and remains the only film to have done it the best so far (No Way Home and Everything Everywhere used it really well as well). I love all the different Spider-Men and they’re all so unique and endearing and memorable. Peter Porker is a lot of fun, Peni is really cool and interesting, Spider Noir is awesome and Spider Gwen is also great. They’re team dynamic is strong and I love the way they all interact with each other. It’s a chaotic film, high on stakes, high on entertainment. But, that’s not all it is. It’s not just an entertaining film, there’s so many layers and depth to it that elevates it to a whole another level. 

Amidst all the energetic action, humour, spectacle, at its core it’s the story of Miles. This is his story. The way he becomes Spider-Man. His ups, his downs, his falls, his highs. It’s shocking to me how they managed to create such an intimate character study in this midst of everything in this film. The way Miles becomes Spider-Man is so fascinatingly explored. He doesn’t want to be Spider-Man. There’s already a Spider-Man out there and he doesn’t want to be him. It’s explored in such an interesting manner in which you actually understand our lead character. What struck me most upon this rewatch was how relatable he is. I can’t believe how much I relate with Miles, the way he has so many loud thoughts in his head (which is really creatively used) the way he doesn’t know how to live up to expectations. It’s all so relatable. I love his relationship with his father, it’s a small element to the film, but undeniably has a large impact. Their relationship is not flawless, they find it difficult to understand each-other and it’s so well done. The other angle I love is his relationship with Uncle Aaron in which you really care for their relationship and understand what they mean to one another. This creates for a lead character that you inevitably care for. He’s just the wrong person at the wrong time. However, the death of Spider-Man causes him to push his fears away. Just before Peter’s death he’s given a task, a task he needs to accomplish himself. This is what gives that personal element in the story. It’s Miles mission, a mission he needs to accomplish, a mission he has to live up to. This creates a story that you become invested in. The way he struggles, the way he falls, it makes you want to see him succeed. The way he pushes through everything, trying to gain confidence, it’s all beautifully shown. The moment with Uncle Aaron’s is so heartbreaking, and so well done it just makes such a large impact. We don’t know how Miles is going to do this mission. Until the one moment, he gets told he can’t do this mission. The mission he was supposed to do, he gets told he isn’t ready to do it. Within this moment, he wants to prove himself. You want to see it happen, but you don’t know how he’s going to do it. He gets told, you won’t know you’re ready, it’s a leap of faith. This is the moment when his dad arrives. When his dad gives him THE speech. That speech was so beautifully written and voiced, it’s one of the most powerful and intimate moments in the film and it’s pays off their relationship so beautifully. This is what gives him the motivation and the determination to succeed. To prove everyone wrong and to accomplish his mission. This leads to the leap of faith sequence, and wow. That might be one of the greatest sequences ever put to film. It’s so powerful, so well put together. It’s one of my favourite sequences in a film ever. It’s not only epic, it’s not only glorious, it not only gets you hyped with the song What’s Up Danger, it’s not only stunning to look at, this is the moment Miles finds his strength. This is the moment he becomes Spider-Man. His character ark is so well written, so well told, and so well payed off. It’s simply beautiful. 

The character of Peter B. Parker is also so interesting and well-written. He’s a really enjoyable character, yes. But what’s done with his character is honestly brilliant. What if Spider-Man wasn’t what he knew him to be. What if he was just a sad, depressed and broken man. Suffering from his failed love, gaining weight. What if that was Spider-Man? What’s being explored with his character is much more interesting than I remember. But his character is written really beautifully and I love the way Miles is incorporated in his ark, the way Miles gives him life. It’s beautiful and pays off so well with the final few moments of his character. The villains here, though given a fairly small amount of screen time. They’re exceptional. Kingpin is such an interesting. He’s not only intimidating, you also understand him. He doesn’t know how to cope with the death of his wife and son, the way they saw him as a monster and he feels like he is the reason for their death. He wants to bring them back, and the only way is to collide universes. It’s so heartbreakingly brilliant. But the standout in villains for me is not Kingpin, it’s Prowler. He’s such an intimidating character to begin with then we have the twist involving Prowler, how it’s actually his uncle. It’s shocking and it’s so well done and unpredictable. But.. the situation becomes worse for Miles. The Uncle, he loves and is so close to also happens to be the one man that’s chasing him down to kill him. Man it’s so brilliant and layered and complex. Then we get the moment with Miles showing his face to Prowler just about when he was going to kill him. That’s what everything becomes worse for Uncle Aaron. The moment he realises, the kid he’s been chasing all this time is the nephew he knows and loves. It’s so layered, and heartbreaking leading into that one moment with his death. You actually feel so much during that moment. The most emotional moment in the film that brings out all the powerful emotions. Both are Top Tier Villains, but Prowler takes the crown for me. 

The voice cast is top tier. Shamiek Moore becomes Miles Morales and gives the voice of Miles with all of his heart. Jake Johnson does a fantastic job as Peter B. Parker, Hailee Steinfeldt does a great job as Gwen and the rest of the voice cast is well supported by the legendary Nicolas Cage, Kimiko Glenn, John Mulaney and Kathryn Hahn. Liev Schreiber captures so much emotion with his amazing voicing for Kingpin. However, the two major highlights were both Brian Tyree Henry and Mahershala Ali. Mahershala Ali does such an incredible job voicing Uncle Aaron. Every emotion is captured so perfectly by his voice and it’s remarkable. Brian Tyree Henry though? 💯. What the hell. He gets limited screen time (like Mahershala Ali’s character) but captures so many emotions perfectly. He’s voicing feels so real and shines especially during the moment he’s talking to Miles at his room. You could tell he gave it his all and put all his heart into delivering that speech. Incredible. 

Everything culminates towards the one third act that’s simply awesome. The payoffs, the emotions, the action, the visuals, the music, it just reigns high. It’s so awesome and beautifully closes out the film with its payoffs. Everything leads towards that one sequence, which is Miles’s closing monologue. It’s incredible. It’s so inspiring and makes you feel like you can do anything in the whole world, even being Spider-Man. It’s such a great message and feeling to close out your film on. Leaving you fulfilled and immensely satisfied, making you feel like you can take on anything in the world. 

Overall, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is a spectacular, sweeping film that tells a heartfelt story with stunning new animation, awesome action, emotions, humour and payoffs featuring an intimate character study along with amazing supporting characters that closes off with one fulfilling message. Absolutely amazing!