Into The Spider-Verse crawls, swings and glitches its way in becoming the best Spider-Man adaptation.

Rating: 9/10 (16 December 2018)

It took Sony over a decade to finally create a decent superhero flick that involves not one web slinger, but six of them. Well, better late than never I suppose. However, it's not just a decent adaptation. Oh no no no! Much to my surprise (and everyone else's), it is one of the strongest superhero blockbusters to ever be released. In a time where saturation and fatigue is settling in, it is incredibly refreshing to see one beautiful animation reinvigorate an entire genre. Student Miles Morales is having a hard time dictating his own life, but after being bitten by a radioactive spider he soon comes to terms with his new powers. Stop right there! We've seen this far too many times now. Fortunately, something unique is injected into the repetitive origin story that we all know and love. Parallel dimensions are merged, forcing six alternate "Spider-Creatures" to team up and stop Kingpin from destroying worlds. So why after all these years does this work? Well, we actually have to thank the failures that came before it. The origin story has been told countless times, the writers know this and intelligently use that to their advantage. Satirising 'Spider-Man 3' and the infamous "emo" dance sequence. It almost lovingly pays homage to previous iterations, but translates the mediocrity into humour that consistently hits with every line of dialogue. Honestly, haven't laughed this much during a film in many years. The humour is never forced, with each punchline ingeniously executed heightening the personality of the various incarnations of Spider-Man. Mix that with the astute action that feels both chaotic and beautiful, creating frequent doses of entertainment.
Then the ambitious amount of character development that is spread between Miles, Peter and Gwen (the other three are utilised mainly for comedy) allows warmth and humanity to be at the core of the story. You see the natural progression of Miles as he experiences tragedy, you witness Peter wanting to repair broken bonds with MJ. The familiar yet unfamiliar environment and the newly obtained powers allows them to interact with each other, becoming better superheroes and people. It doesn't stop there though. The family life of Miles is then tested as he rapidly becomes distant from them, establishing a delicate relationship with his father and uncle. Kingpin's motives into creating a dimensional collider, although thinly developed, adds a layer of sympathy towards him. And so much more! What I'm trying to get at, is that the screenplay balances everything. It's a perfectly toned story that nails absolutely every aspect. A rare achievement for the majority of family-friendly blockbusters, whilst still catering to hardcore Marvel fans. The pop art animation is sensational. Various shots of Miles swinging between skyscrapers were breathtaking. The excessive use of vivid colours enables the comic book style to seep through the screen, almost crafting a visual comic strip. Subtitled onomatopoeia and dialogue further aids the comic aesthetic. The voice acting was decent. Whilst there were no standouts, all the actors were consistently good and gave life to the animation. Was a nice surprise hearing Cage as noir Spider-Man. My only critique, and it comes down to personal taste, is the overuse of pop music. A trend all too popular in modern animations, it may feel current now but in years to come will become exhaustingly outdated. An all original score would've been more beneficial. Suffice to say, Sony finally delivered the film that Spider-Man fans deserve. A gorgeous web of entertainment that will appeal to everyone.