Movie Review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

The Spider-Verse in an expansive one; the friendly neighbourhood hero has been seen across comic books and movie screens since 1962. There have been multiple faces behind the mask, most famously Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland. The animation of Spider-Man is not new, but burst back onto the scene in a fresh, modern way in 2018 with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. 

The movie shows a vast variety of Spider-Man variants, beyond Peter Parker, the most popularised variant in cinema. The main focus among them is Miles Morales, a charismatic teenager from New York, voiced by Shameik Moore. Others include Gwen Stacy, voiced by Hailee Steinfield, Peter B. Parker, voiced by the lovably hilarious Jake Johnson, and Nicholas Cage’s Spider-Noir. The dynamics between Miles and his family, and later Peter B. Parker, are charmingly back and forth, made up of witty deliveries and well-written humour. 

The animation is aesthetically pleasing and its comic-book style is simultaneously nostalgic and new for Marvel movies. It’s exciting to see an expanse of the classic Spider-Man villains and the way they have been reworked, like a female Doc-Ock. Music is used thrillingly around villains, specifically The Prowler’s entrances. The soundtrack as a whole is great – ‘Sunflower’ by Post Malone & Swae Lee has become synonymous with the movie. ‘What’s Up Danger’ in the scene pictured above is one of my favourite needle drops in recent cinema, in one of my favourite scenes.

For me, this movie encapsulates the feel of Spider-Man – what has made him such a central and consistently loved figure in popular culture. “It’s a leap of faith. That’s all it is, Miles. A leap of faith.” encapsulates the epic feel of the classic “with great power, comes great responsibility.” This movie is something special – charming, creative and profound – with a true understanding of the character of Spider-Man. 

I would rate this: 4.5/5 

Written by, Rosie James