Aesthetically Impressive, but Nothing More Than Another Origin Story

Rating: 6/10 (28 August 2019)

To preface this review, one ought to know that review will not be from the perspective of an avid superhero aficionado but rather from a viewpoint of one with little to no exposure when it comes to the Spider-Man comic books, graphic novels or anything besides the Sam Raimi film trilogy and the 1994 animated series for that matter. As such, there won't really be any discussion as to the quality of adaptation when it comes to characters and how they relate to existing plot lines as compared to those of the film; however, to compensate, that would contribute to a more objective viewing of the picture on its own merits. Also of note, the film was viewed in 2D through the digital home release and not the 3D version in theatres.
Of course, there is no denying that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is one of the most aesthetically impressive animated features of quite some time. Everything from the models, to the lighting, to the shading is made with immense artistry and lends itself nicely to the diegesis of what an animated comic book would look like if one were to exist inside it. While the animation itself has its flaws in terms in terms of consistency, there was a noticeable and considerable effort put into the use of shaders in effects such as chromatic aberration, the simulation of halftone patterns in the flares of lighting and hatching instead of flat colour shading; while the animation makes use of some classical techniques, such as squashing and stretching movement, shifting between 3D and 2D through rotoscoping, and motion smearing. One could point to the visual fidelity of the film as its strongest asset - and it most definitely is; however, one could easily gloss over some of the inconsistencies, owing themselves to the bewildering amount of framerates at play in some of the scenes. The production company behind the animation process cites a variation from 24 to 14 frames per second, which some have attributed as a stylistic choice to represent a form of character development throughout the plot as movement becomes less bold and more fluid along the hero's journey. However, on first viewing, the initial minutes of the film's runtime were quite the eyesore, requiring some adjustment before being able to completely immerse oneself in the experience. Human vision still processes images individually at around the 10 to 12 mark and even if these 14 frames of animation are done "on twos", it feels like a slideshow most of the time. What especially makes this jarring is that two characters can be animated using two different framerates in the same scene, which would usually be a massive red flag.
One other contentious aspect of the film is its music. The influence of the east coast hip-hop culture is written into the DNA of the protagonist and the film's setting, and the soundtrack reflects that by making liberal use of licensed music, featuring heavy breakbeats with an electronic flair. Daniel Pemberton's score is a more classical offering, mixing orchestral and synthesized sounds to elevate moments of humor or tragedy, but taking influence from 70's funk, as well as more eastern or ragtime infused bits from different styles of animation. The main failing of the soundtrack is the use of the aforementioned licensed tracks, as they usually play over dialogue. These tracks, coming from a style of music which values quick and high tempo vocals doesn't match with the slower more narrative pace of the underlying dialogue and ends up overpowering it, making the dialogue hard to hear. The instrumental score makes great use of leitmotifs and gives every character their own theme with about 2-3 variations, which usually get played with good timing in moments of distress, surprise or in the many comedic points throughout the film, and it usually made more of an impression than the licensed tracks that just seemingly bound the main character to a stereotype more than anything.
The main weak point of the film is perhaps its plot development. To be brief, the film has too many characters to sufficiently develop any of them into anything more than a single archetype with slight variations. Even in the script (now available publicly), once can notice the emphasis on allusions to pop culture tropes and internet memes as a nod to veteran fans of the series, rather than an attempt to establish something more meaningful. In its defense, it does make strides on being free of the now clichéd origin story of Spider-Man, however it also makes a point to repeat it three more times than usual, rendering the whole effort of being brief and self-aware pointless, as it would have taken up about the same runtime as just going through with it in its entirety in the first place.
The events of the film take place in two days in their entirety, including massive character-defining shifts in confidence, ability and skill as well as long term relationships forming over a mere few hours. In the end this makes any growth from any character appear as if they embody a Marry Sue/Larry Stu archetype, who develops whatever the plot requires to progress almost instantly. Tragedies take place, which feel like obvious tear-jerker moments for characters we've merely known for a whole 10 minutes, seemingly requiring at least some familiarity of the source material or a long term devotion to the series as a fan to grasp the severity of their plight. Alongside that, characters appear in and out of places at the plot's convenience, ruining any idea of continuity, especially near the end. Even so, the relationships between the characters only have an effect in the aftermath of the main conflict, uninfluenced by everything that has happened, as if these paradigm shifts in their personal lives were going to happen regardless of their presence in the events of the film. No one ever really grows in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse; the closest thing being an equivalent to a B-plot of a parent drifting away from their child, which ultimately gets played for laughs.
The screenplay follows The Hero's journey to the last letter, only differing in the many references it makes to other properties of the Spider-Man franchise, which show up sporadically throughout the events of the film. Even the idea of the "Mentor" is present, but effectively thrown out of the window, since the trials and failures, the growth of new skills and the death and rebirth of the main protagonist happen in one single scene, skipping an entire essential quarter of the journey.
Everything in the plot moves with such haste that it has no time to go anywhere. By the halfway point of the film's runtime it is still tying up the loose ends of its inciting incident. As said before, it has too many characters that get introduced too quickly and in bulk. Drama is experienced and is immediately forgotten, since there is no time to dwell upon it. Motives are not questioned and are washed away.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a shining display of the skills of the talented artists and animators who worked on it, but they are used on a film with little to no direction, except for repeating the same clichés it aims to subvert in a franchise that is already becoming oversaturated by its own offerings in an attempt to reinvent itself for a modern audience, relying purely on fan-service and relatable pop culture references. It boasts a colourful cast of characters which it spends little to no time developing due to the haste with which the plot moves in an incredibly small timeframe of events. Ultimately, an experience that is pleasing to the eye with its skillful execution, but vapid in substance due to poor screenwriting choices. Nothing more than another origin story.