Spider-Verse is a great ride, and the best since Raimi's Spider-Man 2.

Rating: 8/10 (23 December 2018)

The Amazing Spider-Man is one of the longest running superhero comic books. With just over 800 issues (still on-going!), there is an infinite amount of source material to provide the basis for an endless amount cinematic outings. One of the most prominent writers of the comic is Dan Slott, who's long run provided some of the most barmy, adventurous stories of the comics history. One of his most notable arcs was Spider-Verse, which was a fun, crazy storyline that introduced the concept of multiple Spider-Men and Spider-Women joining together. With this storyline, the Spider-Man multiverse was created, and serves as the influence for this latest Spider-Man film. Miles Morales was first introduced in the Ultimate universe as the new Spider-Man who takes on the mantle after Peter Parker is killed. In his first big screen outing, Miles (Moore) is thrown into a hyper kinetic adventure in which several Spider-people join together when an experiment overseen by the Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) goes awry.
Into the Spider-Verse is a pleasantly refreshing Spider-Man film. Deciding to craft an animated adventure over live action was a stroke of genius, as the filmmakers use that to their full advantage in order to create a film that captures a perfect comic book feel. The animation style is dazzling and unique, with action sequences that are relentlessly fun and energetic. Visually, it's an absolute marvel. Thankfully it's not all style over substance, as Lord and Rothman's script remains focused throughout despite juggling various wacky elements that, in the hands of lesser filmmakers, wouldn't have worked as well as they do here. Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), the pint sized talking pig version of Spider-Man is one of the gang, as is Spider-Gwen (Steinfeld), Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage) and Peri Parker (Kimiko Glenn). Despite so many different styles and personalities clashing, the script finds a way that enables them all to gel together perfectly, forming a likable gang of misfits to root for. In regards to the villains, they don't feel as spectacular as the Spider-gang. Kingpin is the central antagonist of the film and is rather underutilized, but still manages to have several key scenes that stand out. Doc Ock and Tombstone (one of the most underrated Spider-Man villains) feel very one note. What works best about the film though is the dynamic between the characters, with the strained relationship between Miles and his father being the heart of the film. The student-mentor relationship between Miles and Peter is also a major standout. Ultimately, it is a comic book brought to life, and it's a hell of a lot of fun.