Slinging In Style

Rating: 9/10 (14 December 2018)

In the modern era, the superhero movies reign supreme in the world of the cinematic, blockbuster films. While Marvel studios universe continues to reign in dollars, there are many who state they could be getting burnt out given the 4-6 movies that release a year. As lines blur, and franchises continue to blend together to the modern public, the series needs some extra oomph to help them stand out. Welcome to another Robbie movie reviews and we are down for another review as we get set to review a massive movie week to come. Let get cracking on:
Movie: Spiderman Into the Spiderverse (20180
Directors:
Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey
Writers:
Phil Lord (screenplay by), Brian Michael Bendis (Miles Morales created by)
Stars:
Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld

LIKES:
Animation/Design: The rest of the reviewers are correct in saying that the animation of this movie is superb to say the least. Design wise the movie nods to a number of art styles and comic book references to please many eyes of the comic book lover. It's a living comic book that has all the edge, frames, and references, but yet has vibrant color and clever use of contrast and color to stand out from the typical live action film. This dynamic only continues to evolve over the course of the film, adding more styles to the mix and integrating them into a true piece of work.
Story: The movie is certainly geared towards the comedy route, doing its best to make it a slap happy, geeky trendy, kid friendly comic movie for the holiday season. While zany and certainly silly, the movie surprisingly has a deeper lore to it then I was expecting. A predictable plot, this movie dives deeper into the darker dynamics of the hero, the important lessons of self-belief, and the character development that many superheroes lack. Into the Spider-Verse's compelling story makes for a solid foundation to build much off and the writing helps integrate comedy with story in a wonderful equilibrium.
Voice Acting: Not much to expand upon here, but the film's characters really thrive in this film with the acting contributing much toe the part. Sure the design and animation brings a piece of them to life, but the voice work adds that extra level to fully bring their inner workings to life. As the voices further integrate and play off of one another, the characters evolution begins to soar to new heights and somehow further develop the relationships between each other.
Clever Wit: Perhaps the biggest like of all, is how the movie just works to please a variety of fans both comic loving and general. It's got well integrated slap-stick that is simple and yet layered, mixed with a nod to a number of references and gimmicks comic fans are used to. The use of sarcasm is tactfully wielded to help add that aspect our spider heroes often wield, alongside the fantastic one-liners to be printed on T-shirts. Spider-Verse is a plethora of witty banter and it works when balanced with the rest of the likes mentioned.
DISLIKES:
Jokes a Little Too Far: The movie has a number of gimmicks into the mix, and while many of them are well-timed, they ran with one a little too far for my taste. A constant origin story beating you over the head was a nice ace up the sleeve, but that tactic got a little stale for me and my colleague as well.
Blurred Lines: I'm not sure if part of the art style, a reference to a style, or perhaps just editing to not smooth out the parts meant for 3-D. Whatever the case, the outline was a little messy for me, and perhaps a poor attention to detail if not purposefully crafted to have a point. If so, then kudos, but if you see this one in 3-D, I don't think this will be much of an issue.
More Integration of bad Guys: Understanding this was meant to be about Miles Morales origin story and the integration with the other spider-verses, I appreciate the work done for this team. Yet, the bad guys ready to face off against the team were a little bit of wasted characters for me, mostly just oddly shaped punching bags for our webslingers. One villain got the royal treatment, but the others needed some character overhaul to help them stand further out. I'll admit there is potential for a sequel to expand upon them, but for this film, a little more diving into them could have helped spruce things up and again give us characters we cared bout.
The Action: The action is there, don't chew my head off, and in truth it works well with the theme and atmosphere of the movie as it caters to the family atmosphere. However, being an action junkie I would have liked a little more choreography, integration of heroes, and traditional battles that this odd adventure helped. Yet, the biggest thing I wanted with the action, was a less dynamic camera angle so I could actually enjoy the animation at hand. I again admit that it felt like a comic, with action taking place off screen, but tidying up the spastic camera could have gone well. And just as the battles found its stride, the movie was over.

The VERDICT:
Overall, Into the Spiderverse, is the breath of fresh air that the superhero industry needed to help regain interest. With surprisingly deep lore, well themed comedy, and a design that is flashy, stylized and dynamic, it's certainly going to appeal to many viewers. Yet, it's not the traditional Marvel movie and some limitations in regards to jokes, lack of hot actors, and nonlinear presentation may not ring well with the normal super hero audience. Throw in a little unorthodox action and you'll see mixed reviews coming in depending on who attends the showing with you. My scores for this movie are;
Animation/Action/Adventure: 9.0
Movie Overall: 8.0