Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Director: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Writer: Phil Lord, Rodney Rothman
Based on: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko‘s comic
Cast: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Velez, Zoë Kravitz, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage, Kathryn Hahn, Liev Schreiber, Chris Pine, Natalie Morales, Edwin H. Bravo, Oscar Isaac, Greta Lee, Stan Lee
Seen on: 7.6.2023
[Here’s my first review.]

Plot:
When Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is bitten by a radioactive spider, he finds himself facing a whole new set of problems – as if starting a new school wasn’t enough. But then he has to watch as Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) kills Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Chris Pine) who tries to keep Kingpin from using a dimension-crossing machine, and things get even worse. That’s when Miles stumbles upon yet another Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Jake Johnson) and he realizes that he might be able to find other Spider-Men in other dimensions. If they team up, they may stand a chance against Kingpin, although not all of them are of equal help.

I wanted to re-watch Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse before watching the sequel that just came out, and I am very happy with this decision. For one, it is still a really good film. And secondly, the new one continues pretty seamlessly from this one, so it’s nice if you have the first one present when you watch the second one.

When Into the Spider-Verse first came out it really blew me away with its style. Watching it now, knowing what to expect could have broken the film a little. Would it still feel as great when it’s not completely new anymore? Fortunately, yes, it is still a gorgeous film, made only better by still being unusual, still being very much its own thing.

It also has such a great sense of energy, thanks in some part to the dynamic animation, but also simply because of the characters, above all Miles. Shameik Moore does such a great job voicing him, it’s just a joy to watch/listen. Not that the rest of the cast isn’t awesome as well – they are. But Moore just gets the most space to shine, and he does.

Plus, the film is funny and emotional. It can make you laugh in one moment and jerk at your tears the next, and it always fits together. It just works beautifully, no matter whether you’ve seen it before or not – and that’s really a sign of excellent quality. It also points to the wonderful balance the film pulls off: well aware of the superhero genre, it can both take it seriously and make fun of it – because it just loves it.

In shot, the film is absolutely satisfying. If you have any love for Spider-Man, superheroes and/or animation, you owe yourself to watch it. Or to re-watch it, it is worth it.

Summarizing: fantastic.