Aesthetically Pleasing, Entertaining Sensory Overload

Rating: 8/10 (17 February 2019)

The 7th Spider-Man film in 16 years was never going to be winning prizes for originality. This unique animated adventure certainly tries its hardest, however. The film boasts a motley crew of multiverse-spanning Spider-folk, and covers a range of subplots. It benefits from gorgeous animation, combining a variety of styles and some devoted voice acting. It also has a consistently witty script which gleefully sends up various aspects of the a genre rife for pastiche: the creaking, lumbering beast of Hollywood superhero flicks.
This is first and foremost a very funny film. It most reminded me of 2017's 'The Lego Batman Movie', a similarly frenetic laugh-a-minute animated parody fest birthed from the fertile minds of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. 'Spiderverse' prides itself on mocking such infamous Spider-Man staples such as Tobey Maguire's cringe-inducing 2007 'Venom Dance' and Uncle Ben's immortal 'responsibility' maxim delivered by Cliff Robertson in 2002. The post-credits scene may just be the greatest ever shown in a Marvel property. It also gets the chance to flex its own comedic muscles. Particularly amusing is John Mulaney's bizarre, seemingly inadvertently cannibalistic Spider-Ham, as is the scene-stealing Spider-Man Noir. The latter is voiced by Nicolas Cage, an inspired bit of casting which affords him the chance to be intentionally funny for once. His character spends the film waxing lyrical about his life in a 1930s New York pulp noir novel, which garners him some of the best lines.
The rest of the cast is similarly excellent: Shameik Moore makes protagonist Miles Morales grounded and relatable, perfecting the fine line between awkward child and self-assured teenager. This helps give stock to the film's Bildungsroman themes. Finally, Chris Pine and Jake Johnson portray two very different iterations of older Peter Parkers, with Johnson often hilarious as a schlubby, overweight 40-something long divorced from Mary Jane and struggling to fit into his super-suit.
The animation and entire aesthetic of the film is also a highlight. The introduction of the various alternative Spider-folk triggers a host of competing animation styles, which is never jarring and adds to the film's note perfect comic book tone, which is constructed excellently. There are some beautifully realised action sequences, especially with a comically large Kingpin at play. Computer animation really is improving with each new film these days, and it's a wonder how human these characters can be made.
It's not a consistent film, however. It has a large production team, with directors, producers, and writers almost numbering in the double digits, which shows. The tone is mostly well-balanced between frantic parody, superhero adventure, and coming-of-age family drama. Nonetheless I couldn't help feeling that it lacked some focus, and could perhaps have benefitted from leaving some subplots to future films, in order to develop some of the remaining characters more fully and prevent what is in the end a rather overstuffed film (I know, it's a kid's film!).
But in the end 'Spiderverse' has a unique charm which makes it definitely worth a watch, and I for one am invested enough to be intrigued by the prospect of future films. It may not have the staying power to withstand repeat viewings, but it's a real fun piece of cinema. 74/100.