Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – Miles Morales is struggling to fit in to his new school. His father doesn’t understand him so he turns to his uncle for guidance. But when Miles is bitten by a radioactive spider and starts to develop superpowers his world is turned upside down. He gets mixed up in a failed test of a parallel universe machine which pulls in various other people also bitten by radioactive spiders from alternative dimensions. But Miles is still learning how to control his powers, and they will all have to find a way to work together to prevent the fabric of space-time from collapsing, and keep his family safe.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) – Director: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56059281

Rating: PG

Running Length: 117 mins

Starring: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld

Genre: Animated, Comic Book

REVIEW: SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

Spider-Man as a character has been one that has been a little tricky to replicate on the big screen, tonally. The character has to be young and wise-cracking but without being obnoxious, and has to also be able to cope with big moments without becoming too broody or serious. Various movies have attempted this in various ways, but using the angle of a full-blown animated feature film, ‘Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse’ has perfectly encapsulated the comic book fun!

The movie is not about Spider-Man as we have known him. Miles Morales is a black teenager trying to find his place in the world. He is incredibly book smart, but dislikes the falseness of his private school peers. He struggles with not being able to communicate with his father, and seeks guidance from super cool (but questionable) uncle, Aaron. This world already has a Spider-Man, so does Miles have the great responsibility that comes with great power? The movie may be packed to the gills with super-cool action but it is the core characterisation and relatability of Miles that forms an effective core for everything else to build around.

The movie uses a great variety of animation styles to bring to life our favourite web-slinger (and his increasing number of super-powered companions). 3D animation has been blended with 2D overlays to create a ‘living comic’ effect that works stupendously well. When you have superheroes who can run up buildings and swing upside down then the freedom that comes from animation allows you to revel in this with a 360 degree glee not otherwise possible. Miles’ thoughts pop up behind him in text bubbles in a way that is meta acknowledged as odd, but visually impressive; when he plummets after a railed roof top leap the written ‘arrrrrghh!!!!’ that follows him keeps the ‘living comic book’ feel going beautifully. A jaw-dropping sequence has alternative dimensions bleed into each other causing buildings to grow and mutate as levitating trains speed around them in an explosion of riotous colour. But similarly, in the calmer moments, the direction gives gravitas by giving Miles and his struggles centre stage, no matter what spectacle may be going on around him.

‘Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse’ acknowledges the comic’s rich history by bringing as many nods, winks, Easter eggs, and outright reference as possible. Various iterations and spin-offs of the character are given full roles as supporting parts with such gleeful fun that it’s impossible not to be swept up with the endearing sense of fun that is imbued throughout the movie (yes, even with ‘Spider-Ham’). So that’s stunning animation, fresh rejuvenating characters, glorious visual feasts, and a movie that perfectly balances carefree enjoyment with the weight of family connections without over doing either or feeling like it is simply switching back and forth. The fact that ‘Into The Spider-Verse’ makes it all look so easy – whereas we know from multiple other movies that it certainly is not – is a huge achievement that deserves massive praise. With great history comes great responsibility, and the movie’s makers (and screenwriter Phil Lord – ‘The Lego Movie’) have done Spider-Man proud.

CONTENT: IS ‘SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

Miles walks down a street and slaps stickers / tags on objects in order to graffiti them. He is swiftly caught and chastised but does not feel any remorse.

Miles talks to his uncle about a girl he is attracted to at school. He is advised that he should place his hand on her shoulder and say ‘hey’ in an alluring way in order to let her know he is interested. Whilst this is very innocent, we mention it because it may encourage unwanted invasions of personal space.

Miles is led by his uncle to a space underground with a blank wall so that he can graffiti it with spray cans. Although he was reprimanded from his father earlier in the movie, this scene shows a different adult encouraging damage to property. However, it is implied that the wall is just part of an underground complex that won’t be seen and can be treated as a blank canvas to encourage Miles’ art aspirations.

After Miles has been bitten by a radioactive spider his body begins to develop Spider-Man powers. In his confusion he keeps referring to the odd things his body is doing as ‘puberty’.

Miles returns to where he had been bitten by the spider and he is shown walking down subway tracks. The spider’s body is shown in large close up and it suddenly ‘glitches’ by shifting shape and colours accompanied by a loud musical blast to create a brief jump scare.

Shortly after the jump scare with the spider, Miles gets caught up in a fight between two other characters. The Green Goblin is there and is depicted as a massive ogre like creature with horned wings and dragon like face. It smashes through obstacles and roars aggressively in a very exciting chase sequence. The scene culminates in a character being caught up in collapsed debris and trying to hide the pain they are in. Miles escapes but witnesses the character being punched hard by a very strong opponent and then slumping, prone. It is revealed shortly after that the character was killed.

However, before this death is confirmed Miles is chased by a very imposing figure in a black costume and sharp glowing eyes. Miles keeps barely escaping the character’s clutches and is very afraid throughout The whole sequence contains loud dramatic music, lasts around 5 minutes and may be very tense for young children.

News reports confirm the death of the character mentioned earlier. This is accompanied by sad music and Miles is crestfallen. A voice over of a character who knew the deceased overlays a montage which makes the sequence emotional.

A flashback shows that Kingpin’s wife and son flee him in fear after watching him be aggressive to someone else. They drive away and are involved in a fatal car accident. The crash is only briefly shown before the scene cuts

When Miles visits the house of Aunt May there are several other ‘Spider-People’ present. One attempts to ‘train’ Miles by punching him without warning. Each time the character yells ‘Surprise Attack!’ Each punch connects with Miles and knocks him back. This happens several times over a minute but is a comedic moment. Nevertheless, we mention it in case it is imitable.

The black costumed figure from the subway train sequence hunts for Miles. It slowly looks around an apartment room and we see Miles hiding behind the sofa. In a jump scare moment, the character’s head suddenly emerges from the side of the sofa.

A desperate fight at Aunt May’s house culminates in Miles being held high by the throat and about to be thrown off the roof of her house. However, the characters involved in this scene make it suddenly emotional and someone is shot, causing them to collapse on roof tiles. Shortly after Miles and the character are slumped in a dark alley and the other character dies after some charged dialogue. When Miles returns to his dorm room he is devastated and angry, trashing his room and throws things around.

An emotional scene takes place when Miles’ father, who thinks Miles is ignoring him, talks to him through his closed door. Miles hears a heartfelt plea from his father but is unable to respond.

During the climactic fight at the interdimensional device, one character – who has previous described as being best friends with their robot (powered by a radioactive spider) – looks crestfallen when the robot is broken beyond repair. The robots eyes turn into two hearts before it powers down.

The same very powerful punch that killed a character during the subway section is used again on another at the climax of the final battle. The struck character is still for several long moments before circumstances change.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE’ FOR KIDS?

There is no bad language and minimal romantic content but the PG rating will be due to the emotional weight of character deaths and the pressure of family. However, ‘Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse’ balances all these elements so well along with the gloriously cool visual spectacle that it is the perfect movie for children. However. due to a couple of scary and sad parts we would recommend caution for viewers aged 6 and under.

• Violence: 2/5 (plenty of fights but no injury details or prolonged suffering)
• Emotional Distress: 3/5 (when characters die their deaths have emotional weight and other characters mourn them)
• Fear Factor: 2/5 (some jump scares and the characters of Green Goblin and Prowler are very imposing)
• Sexual Content: 0/5
• Bad Language: 0/5
• Dialogue: 1/5 (Kingpin holds Miles up by the throat and growls that he has already killed before and is ready to kill Spider-Man. Several references to death and killing)
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of family ties, living up to your potential, feeling like you don’t belong, moving schools against your will, puberty, how different decisions can result in different people, trying to bring back loved ones, and expressing yourself artistically.

Words by Mike Record