Matt The Snapper’s review published on Letterboxd:
"It always fits. Eventually" - Stan Lee (1922-2018)
This week marks the end of my first semester of college. So I figured I'd reward myself with resisting what has now become one of my all-time favorite films.
Over the past week, I've been thinking about how much effect superhero movies have been on not just pop-culture, but just the movie and entertainment industry in general. I fully agree that there is an oversaturation. The fact that it negatively impacts how the box office functions (so if the Pandemic has taught us anything about the theater industry is that its overreliance on blockbusters has consequences). The fact that corporations such as Disney and WB put all of their time and money into numerous projects involving big franchises as opposed to letting creators tell their own unique stories. The fact that many filmmakers such as Scorsese and Coppola have shown their concern for where the industry is going. It's really alarming. The problem isn't the superhero movies themselves; it's the imbalance of their saturation and they can often feel like corporate products as opposed to a real creative vision.
However, with all that said it's through rewatching this movie that reminded me of something important. Despite all their problematic impact on entertainment in general, I still love superhero films. I'd be lying if I said that despite the dominance Disney has, I'm looking forward to a lot of Marvel's upcoming projects. They still inspire me and while it's crucial to broaden my film horizons, I will be that geek who looks forward to Spider-Man swinging around. More superheroes movies need to be like Spider-Verse. This film was clearly a labor of love from those who truly understand what Spider-Man is about and embrace the legacy left behind the web-slinger since his debut in 1962. So the film is of course filled to the brim with easter eggs that make any fan excited. I don't even need to mention how amazing the animation is.
At the same time, however, the film understands the importance of legacy characters such as Miles Morales and understanding what these characters mean to those who watch or read them. That's why many look up to superheroes; we all deep down want to do the right thing and save the day. All we have to do is take that "Leap of Faith".
So while I do fully stand by and say there is a great need for new original projects from filmmakers with different voices, I think this can apply to superhero movies as well. I hope that many have taken the right message from Spider-Verse. Let people who love the source material make the film with a creative vision. I hope that the MCU will embrace this going foward with new and diverse talents to give representation to thoose who have been underrepresented in the past. Becuase as the film has taught us, "Anyone can wear the mask".
