JosephLoftgren’s review published on Letterboxd:
Ooooh baby where to begin.
Okay, so first of all the entire voice cast is phenomenal. Shameik Moore is a standout, I loved him in 'Dope' and here he creates a Miles Morales all his own. It's funny how we were all ready to call Tom Holland the new Spider-Man, but all I will ever really be able to hear anymore is Jake Johnson lol. Nic Cage continues his newly birthed renaissance and is maybe the most memorable character in the Spider-verse, while John Mulaney's Peter Porker is all laughs as well. And y'all already know how I feel about Hailee Steinfeld.
That Stan Lee cameo made me cry, I'm not ashamed to admit it. It was so well-written and was the perfect addition to this emotionally powerful comic book movie. The story hits all the right beats. Miles' family drama is handled sensitively while still implementing enough superhero cliches that it fits right along with the story. Most importantly though, his origin story feels organic. The ride from teenager to Spider-Man feels uniquely his for the most due to some incredibly emotional and hilarious writing and Moore's sensitive voice acting.
The animation is positively insanely good. When the movie picks up and we get the comic book word panels start showing up, that's when the animation style showcases it's uniqueness. The splashes of colors on that comic book paper background are beautiful. How they managed to choreograph the incredible action sequences to look and feel real is crazy. Each of the Spider-Men gets a style all their own and it is evident in their set pieces. However, it is Miles who really gets to move across the screen in the most stylish ways of them all.
And that soundtrack GOES. OFF. It's probably the best soundtrack this year, and easily the most influential on the movie it is in. This is the best Spider-Man movie, in part because it's self-awareness, but in equal part because of the incredible amount of heart it possesses.
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