Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Reviewed by Galen Strickland

This is the movie everyone should see this holiday season. No, it's not a Christmas movie, even with the hilarious rendition of "Spidey Bells" toward the end of the credits. It is still a joyous celebration. Of life and love, friendship and loyalty, hopes and dreams. Even of challenges and fears...but the good kind, ones that motivate you to overcome, persevere, to reach your full potential.

Once again I need to point out I'm not a comic book geek. Any Spider-Man book I read was decades ago. This is the first Spider-Man film I've seen since Tobey Maguire's second effort. I'm aware of many of the variant characters simply from following a lot of media and blog sites over the years, although one of the multiverse versions was new to me. I'm confident you don't need to know any of that to enjoy this movie. The animation is amazing, both the realistic street scenes in Brooklyn, and the explosive comic-booky action sequences. The voice cast is great, the music and sound effects are perfect, the writing dynamic, comical when necessary, but also intimately emotional. Be sure to sit through the credits, even past the main animated portion. There's a great, comical end scene, and the music throughout is fantastic.

It's possible there are more Stan Lee cameos ahead of us, maybe in next year's Captain Marvel, possibly Avengers: Endgame. Even if not, this would be a fitting end to his legacy. Through all of the characters he helped create, the main theme is that everyone has the potential to be a hero. All it takes is courage, and the conviction to do the right thing. Yes, there will be pitfalls and tragedies along the way, but those can be used as fuel for the fire. Even Peter B. Parker may be tired of hearing the phrase, "With great power comes great responsibility," but it is something never to be forgotten. More important is knowing where your power comes from. For Miles Morales, it is from friends and family that love and support him, even some who have disappointed him, since a hero is one who can work through the pain to focus on the task at hand.

It is the number one film this weekend, but I can't believe it's only at $35.4 million. It's possible the second weekend will be even bigger, because word of mouth and repeat business should be very positive. I might even see it again in 3D, which I usually avoid.

Long live Miles Morales! Long live Spider-Man!

UPDATE! Now on DVD & Blu-Ray.

UPDATE² - Winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Film!

UPDATE³ - Winner of the Ray Bradbury Award for Best Script.

 

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