It always fits, eventually. (Copied from myself with permission)

Rating: 7/10 (4 January 2019)

Like the Lego Batman Movie, this is a film that gets better and smarter the more knowledge you have about the titular hero and their pop culture history. Another thing they have in common is an eye for visuals, although Into the Spider-Verse supplies an art style that's unlike anything I have seen.
Looking more like "a comic come to life" than anything Sam Raimi could have hoped for (it even has those dots that appear when you print graphic novels, and is presented in a low frame-rate so as to emulate 2D animation), this hilarious film is a trip down memory lane for Spider-Man and the many variations we've seen of him through the ages - be they different youngsters behind the mask, different adaptations, or in-canon duplicates from an Alternate Universe. In this one, the primary Spider-Man is Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), basically the second most popular Spidey of the comics after Peter Parker (played here by Jake Johnson).
The Parker of Miles' universe, voiced by Chris Pine, dies early on in the story, inciting Miles to take on the web-slinging and crime-fighting himself, but not before he predictably gets bitten by an experimented-on arachnid and develops powers accordingly. Alternate Parker, who arrives from another dimension in the experiment that kills Regular Parker, serves as young Miles' mentor. According to an appropriate sight gag, Parker is from a universe where Clone High WASN'T renewed. Is this "our" Peter?
If you've seen the previews, you know that other versions of the hero emerge. Hailee Steinfeld plays Spider-Woman, Nicolas Cage voices one Noir Spider-Man (yes, I just said all of that), Kimiko Glenn plays the Spidey equivalent from an "anime" universe, and then there's John Mulaney as the cartoony Peter Porker/Spider-Ham. Take a guess.
Other known faces from the cartoons and comics appear. Wilson "Kingpin" Fisk (Liev Schreiber) pulls the strings of the New York underworld, Mary-Jane Watson (Zoë Kravitz) shows up in two iterations, Aunt May (Lily Tomlin) has more in common with Madame Web than the May we know, and Miles' policeman father (Brian Tyree Henry) is initially not a big fan of the Spider, unlike his low-life uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali). We can also spot Green Goblin, Tombstone, and Dr. Octopus, or at least versions of them.
Finally, it has the mandatory Stan Lee cameo - the most beautiful and profound one he could have been given, rest his soul. In addition to the Steve Ditko memorial and the "Kirby dots", this is indeed quite the love letter.
Seeing the film in 3D was, for once, an enhancement. While the film is more creative than mainstream comic-book movies normally allow themselves to be (it's only partially true that superhero fans don't require or deserve this level of effort), I admit the style is often of more weight than the substance - the plot tries to be "out there" but I feel like I've seen all this on Dexter's Lab. And Sony being Sony, they can't help but pander from time to time. Aren't the dramatic moments so much more hard-hitting and edgy when there's a XXXTENTACION track? (It is fascinating that the soundtrack was reportedly made into a vinyl disc that was "Live DJ'd" when they scored the film proper, but still.)
The action can also get too aggressive and fast-paced for its own good (Spider-Verse did not do wonders for my brother's headache). However, nothing feels out-of-place, even when the film incorporates elements from anime and noir as mentioned above. Not once is this amalgam of styles jarring, but there is a risk that the story loses you when you get used to the look.
You can nevertheless tell that Phil Lord and Chris Miller were in on this, as it is up there in terms of cleverness with, perhaps not The Lego Movie, but the aforementioned Batman spin-off. It may be Spider-Man's best movie, though you don't need to take my word for it, as I can't think of a prior Spidey film that I outright love. Still, I can praise Spider-Verse without feeling like too much of an outcast, since mainstream fans seemingly enjoy its humor, long-time geeks love its references to Spidey history (the more obscure the better) and critics admire its artistry.