ReelBob: ‘Spider-Man” Into the Spider-Verse’ ★★★½
By Bob Bloom
If you are a fan of Spider-Man, then you will go crazy watching “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”
This animated feature is wild and wonderful, utilizing various styles to tell its story about what it takes to be a hero.
The answer, smartly, is simple. Anyone can wear the mask and be a hero. That is the film’s credo.
The movie centers on Miles Morales, a half-African-American, half-Puerto-Rican teen from Brooklyn, who is bitten by a radioactive spider.
This propels him into a far-out adventure in which he teams up with a middle-aged and paunchy Peter B. Parker Spider-Man; a Spider-Gwen; a black-and-white Spider-Man Noir; Peni Parker, who, with her robot, is a Spiderhero from the future; and Peter Porker, alias Spider-Ham, a Saturday-morning cartoon hero.
They are united by the activation of a nuclear collider that allows access to alternate universes.
These various Spider dudes must stop the villainous Kingpin from using the collider a second time because it can destroy Brooklyn and probably much of New York.
But before it is deactivated, Miles must use it to transport the others back to their respective realities.
The problem is, Miles is unsure if he wants the great power and great responsibility to take up the mantle of Spider-Man, but he believes he owes a debt to the Spider-Man of his universe, a young Peter Parker killed by Kingpin when he tried to shut down the collider.
The story is secondary to Miles’ journey of finding the resolve, strength and belief in himself needed to become a Spider-Man.
The movie is very engaging; the banter among the various Spider personas is witty.
You don’t have to be a comic-book geek or Spider-Man aficionado to follow the movie. Enough exposition is given so viewers unfamiliar with the Spider-Verse can follow along.
The use of CGI, anime, Saturday-morning cartoon and standard styles of animation provide an interesting and entertaining backdrop that keep you focused on the screen.
A distracting drawback is the sharpness of the foreground in some scenes, while the background appears very soft — as if you were watching a 3D movie without the glasses.
The 100-minute movie races along with very few pauses. It will hold the attention of youngsters, as well as older viewers.
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” juggles action, laughs and heart. It is one of the best — if not the finest — animated movie of the year.
With a strong visual and narrative experience, it captures your imagination and emphasizes the everyman (and woman) aspect of heroism.
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.comor on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE
3½ stars out of 4
(PG), animated action violence, thematic elements, language