Animation's bright future

Rating: 9/10 (20 February 2019)

Entering the theatre, I didn't really know what to expect of this movie. Spiderman is arguably my favourite super hero, but since I didn't watch any trailer or teaser for the film, I went to see it without any prejudice, other than the fact that I somehow knew it would be really good.
The movie follows the story of Miles Morales, a brilliant black high-schooler, who, as he was out tagging a wall with his uncle, got bitten by a very, very special spider. In a world where Spiderman is famous and thriving, he has to learn to live with his confusing new abilities. One day, he meets Peter Parker, the actual « Friendly neighbourhood Spiderman » when the latter is fighting super villains. He senses that Miles has the same powers as him, and assures the young boy that he will teach him the ways of becoming a super hero. Later, still fighting the villain, Peter dies, and asks Miles to finish his mission for him. This mission includes stopping Wilson Fisk from opening numerous alternate dimensions and creating a black hole. Teaming up with other Spider-heroes, who got stuck in Miles' dimension due to Fisk's creation, the group will learn to come to a compromise and work together to stop the worse from happening.
The whole movie was beautiful. The animation is based on a mix of 2D and 3D animation, and made in the style of 70's comics. It results in beautiful, dynamic sequences. The bright colours make everything feel lively, and even thrilling to watch.
I have two scenes that I particularly cherish. The first one is the 'leap of faith' one, when Miles finally accepts and controls his powers, climbs on top of a building and then jumps (or as is said in the movie, he takes a leap of faith). Everything in this sequence is breathtaking, from the view of the city that seems to blur with the apprehension of the hero, to the music, which sounds kind of distant and slow, and recreates here too the sensation of stress and excitement. The tension builds up, and is then released, when Miles jumps and with him, everything accelerates in a way that yells ''He made it!''
The second one is during the final fight, when the villain's machine is creating a black hole, and Miles has to fight Fisk in order to stop it. The two opponents are wearing black, which highly contrasts with the very colourful and unstable background of the scene. There again, the camera work is very smart and makes the scene a true eye candy.
I truly enjoyed the movie. I went to see it twice, and would gladly go to see it again and again! The story it shares is the one of growing up and becoming adult, and the responsibilities that comes with it. But it's more than that : it's also the story of a young, mixed-race man, who becomes a hero. It is something that is still not much seen these days, and many young black people were truly empowered after seeing Miles. This point is not something one can overlook.
I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone liking action but also light-hearted movies, with witty jokes and great characters.
When I think of movies comparable to Spiderman : Into the Spiderverse, Coco comes to my mind. It is another great animation movie, made by Pixar Animation studios. The two are alike in the quality of the animation, even thought the styles are completely different. They are as well two movies I really had a great time watching.