A few weeks ago, I wrote my review for the recently-released Aquaman film. I absolutely loved it, and went as far as to claim that it was the best superhero movie I had seen in a long time. I said that it nailed exactly what a comic book movie should look and feel like, and I praised the third act...claiming it to be the best I had ever seen in a comic book movie.

...well that didn't last long.

After seeing Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse this past weekend, it seems that a redefining of the phrase "Comic Book Film" is in order. Yes, it was THAT good. I have a strong feeling that these movie studios are going to look at this film and scratch their heads saying "What the hell have we been doing all this time? Why didn't we think of that?". I think this film is going to change the way the general audience sees comic book films as a whole, and because of this, the genre will never be the same. It's not very often that a film like this comes along...in fact, the last comic book movie that I can remember that changed the industry as much as Spider-Verse will is The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan. While Nolan showed the film industry (as well as casual fans) that comic book movies can indeed be grounded in reality, as well as taken seriously, Into the Spider-Verse has shown the industry & its fans that a super-hero film doesn't have to be live-action for it to be incredible, as well as taken seriously by adults.

I have said for years that there are certain comic book characters that are just extremely hard to adapt into live-action while keeping faithful to the source material. Spider-Man is one of those characters. The way he moves through the air, his spidey sense, and his slender, yet strong physique make him an extremely hard and expensive character to bring to life in live action. I have ALWAYS maintained the opinion that, instead of constantly rebooting the character after their failed live-action film attempts, they should just focus on making a really good animated Spider-Man film and build a universe around that. And by George, they finally came to their senses and did it! Not only did they do it, but they did it the right way...which is not often said about Sony films. Actually "the right way" seems like a massive understatement. They executed this film absolutely FLAWLESSLY, and in doing so, they have changed the literal definition of "comic book film".

Let's talk about it.

That Art Style and Animation Tho...

Let's start this puppy off by talking about the animation and art style that they decided to go with for this film, since it's the biggest reason why the movie is so game-changing in the first place. For Into the Spider-Verse, Sony decided to go the hand-drawn route, with the animation being very reminiscent of stop-motion, although it isn't. Ever since Disney stopped using hand-drawn animation for their main films (opting for computer-generated instead), it seems that the rest of the industry has followed suit...leaving the door wide open for any company to take advantage of the wallets of the now-grown children who grew up watching hand-drawn Disney films and cartoons. I knew it would happen eventually, and for it to have taken the form of a super hero film is just that much more delightful for junkies like myself. However, this movie isn't JUST hand drawn. No sir. Not only did the artists draw each frame individually, but they drew them to look EXACTLY LIKE A COMIC BOOK! Ink blots, text bubbles, and all! From the opening credits, I already knew that it was going to be something special.

Perhaps the best way to describe this movie would be to call it a literal comic book brought to life. It's as if someone photocopied a comic and spliced together all the images to create a moving picture...but done with a level of precision never before seen in the industry. The attention to detail is absolutely mind-boggling, and I'm sure I could watch it 10 times and still pick up little comic book-y animations I had missed on previous viewings. There is just so much jammed into each frame, that it ends up creating visuals that seem to send the nervous system into shock. Take these for example:

All of those (as well as pretty much every frame of the movie) could be placed into a comic book, and no one would ever be able to tell a difference. Even the DC animated films (which are mostly fantastic) haven't even touched this level of artistic complexity in their art & animation. In addition to the visuals looking and feeling like a comic book, Sony goes one further and treats the audience as if they were already a tried and true comic book fan, and had just happened to pick up a comic book at the store and decided to flip through it. They accomplished this by assuming that we already knew these characters and either skimmed through their introductions, or left them out completely. This is also something that comic book fans have been begging movie studios to do for a very long time. The audience isn't dumb! These characters have been around for decades, and if the average movie-goer didn't do their homework before seeing the move...chances are, they will probably let Google fill in the gaps after viewing the film...assuming the film was good enough to peak their interest in the characters. It's really not that hard! These characters and their motivations, backstories, and appearances have already been written and put into print...all the movie studios really have to do is find a way to transfer it from the pages to the big screen. Into the Spider-Verse does this perfectly.

Speaking of the characters.....

The Characters

For the characters, I will go through each important one individually, and any remaining insignificant characters will be lumped together at the end. To start off, let's talk about the star of the show himself...Miles.

Miles Morales

From a story standpoint, Sony's decision to make Miles Morales the main character in the story was simply brilliant. Not only did we get a much needed break from the worn-out Peter Parker origin story (They even troll themselves about this in the movie), but the mainstream audience was introduced to an extremely interesting character in Miles. In a lot of ways, Miles is more complex, layered, and interesting than Peter Parker (although Peter will always be my favorite), and he has always had the potential to be the main hero in his own film series. Black superheros are not new to the comic book industry, and thanks to movies like Black Panther, they're not so new in the film industry at this point either. However, this film pushes things into new territory for the black acting community. Black Panther showed the film industry that a movie almost completely comprised of African American actors could be a world-wide mega hit. Into the Spider-Verse, however, has shown the industry that not only can a black character lead his own movie (not located in Africa), but that a black character could be the centerpiece of a truly REMARKABLE and REVOLUTIONARY film in a world where black superhero films are hard to come by. If there is one movie that should show the film industry that people really don't care what the color of the main character's skin is (as long as it's done right), it's this one.

I was very pleased with the representation of Miles, and the development of his character throughout the film. He is a charming, sweet, awkward, confident, and genuinely good person with a pure heart and even purer intentions. He just wants to help, and make sure that he doesn't let himself or the people around him down. We see a somewhat unsure adolescent boy (barely entering puberty) grow into a true hero by the end of this film, and exudes a level of confidence rarely seen in superhero origin stories. It seems that Sony has finally figured out how to write Spider-Man, and Miles is the perfect candidate to carry the torch forward for them. I can't wait to see how he progresses in the inevitable sequel.

Peter Parker(s)

I have to admit that when I first saw the trailer for Into the Spider-Verse, I wasn't too sure about the representation of Peter Parker. The trailer showed a chubby, out of shape, and unmotivated hero with a 5 o'clock shadow...and that just didn't feel like Peter Parker to me. Peter never gives up no matter how bad things may seem...that's what makes him such a good character. My concerns were squashed within the first few minutes of the film, however, as the audience learns that the Peter Parker that exists in Miles's universe is the Peter we all know and love...uber successful and confident with a wife and a great life. I won't let any major spoilers slip (this is a spoiler free review), but let's just say that the Peter we saw in the trailers isn't quite the Peter we are accustomed to. In fact, since the trailers have all confirmed the existence of other dimensions, I feel okay with saying that the peter we get to know throughout the film isn't from Miles's dimension at all! I absolutely loved this fresh take on Peter. Like I said before, the character has been pretty worn out in recent years, so inserting a broken and tired Peter into this film to help Miles along his journey of self discovery was brilliant, because not only did he help Miles....but he discovered things about himself along the way as well. Miles wasn't the only one who grew up in this film, and as a result, the film became a few levels deeper.

Gwen Stacy

Another aspect of the movie that I was concerned about, was the inclusion of Gwen Stacy aka Spider-Gwen. I thought she might make the movie a bit crowded...which Sony has been guilty of in the past. However, I was pleasantly surprised
by her characterization, and she did not bog down the film one bit. Her and Miles had amazing chemistry throughout the film, and I am super excited to see how she continues to grow alongside Miles. Her version of Spider-Gwen was superbly executed, and she was often the most bad-ass character on screen. Her edgy personality, coupled with her supreme confidence, commanded the attention of the audience whenever she made an appearance. Sony finally took advantage of the character of Gwen Stacy and made her into something more than a love interest for Spider-Man. This was a bold and progressive move by the creative team, and it seems to have paid off in a big way. Spider-Gwen is finally here y'all!

Jefferson Davis

I was going to include my thoughts on Jefferson Davis in the "minor characters" section, but after some thought, I had to separate him. Jefferson was a surprisingly good character in this film. Most superheros either don't have a father, or they never knew their family, so it was refreshing to finally get a hero that has a stable family life. Miles has two amazing parents, and we do see his mom from time to time, but his father Jefferson is the foundation upon which the character of Miles was built in this film. He gets much more screen time than the rest of the supporting cast and really helps push the narrative forward. He adds so much warmth and heart to this film, that even in its darkest moments, he is there to be the voice of reason. I'm so happy that Miles, a child going through some serious changes in his life, has a father like Jefferson to keep him in line and on the right path. That is something you just don't see very often in comic books, and the creative team deserves all the praise in the world for making it that way. Bravo.

The Team

If you have seen the trailer for Into the Spider-Verse, then it's no secret that Miles and Peter team up with a few other versions from a few different Universes. I have already discussed a few of them, but I just wanted to comment on the few remaining ones and how well they work as a team in this movie. As stated earlier, Sony has had trouble with balancing multiple characters in their previous Spider-Man films, so when I saw that they decided to include even more characters...you can imagine my concern. However, I am happy to report that not only did they successfully pull it off, but I actually can't see the movie working without them. It's true that Miles has a great support system at home, but obviously he can't talk to them about his Spider duties, and that's the hardest part! Miles really needed some extra help and support, and these characters really came through for him. By the end of the film, a family is born...and something tells me we haven't seen the last of them.

As for the supporting Spider-Friends themselves, I loved each and every one of them. Of all the visual achievements made by the creative team...the artistic design of the alternate spiders is perhaps the greatest. Each character came from a different universe...and therefore a different comic book with different art styles. The way they looked and acted in Miles's universe was consistent with their respective comic books, and it was fascinating to watch. For example, Spider-Ham is literally an intelligent pig in a Spider-Man outfit that originates from a "Looney-Toons" type of world, and his animation style looks as if he jumped straight out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Spider-Man Noir was from a black and white comic book taking place in the past, and he looked, spoke, and acted just like a character from that era would act...not to mention he stayed black and white for the whole film! Peni Parker, the final member of the team, is a girl originating from an anime style universe, and just like the others, she looks, sounds, and acts just like an anime character would. This constant mix of art styles and personalities blended together almost perfectly to create a superhero team the likes of which we have never seen on film before. Even if film companies start adapting the art style of Into the Spider-Verse...there is no way they could ever replicate what has been done with the Spider-People originating from alternate universes and how they all came together to become one family. Simply Astounding.

The Villains

The main villain of this movie was Kingpin, but what really made him work was his command over all the other supporting villains in the movie. There were way more villains than I had expected in this movie, and the way the creative team was able to balance them all out, while maintaining control over the plot, was nothing short of a miracle. Each villain had his/her moments throughout the movie, and I am really excited to see how they will fit into the future of the Spider-Verse...as well discover all of their alternate looks and characterizations in the many different realities. Kingpin's plan wasn't as complex as it usually is in the comics, and this is DEFINITELY not the same Kingpin that is portrayed in Netflix's now-cancelled Daredevil TV show, so don't expect anything close to that at all. That being said, Kingpin and his motivations throughout the film are by no means "cookie-cutter" level, but it is indeed simple enough for the children to grasp if that tells you anything. Although I don't expect Kingpin to be the big-bad of the sequels, I was satisfied with the fact that we finally got to see him face off against Spider-Man. He is, after all, one of Spider-Man's biggest foes!

As much as I would love to talk about the story of this groundbreaking film, I can't really say much about it without spoiling too much. It's a very complex and inter-woven film filled with surprises, easter eggs, and twists, and I want nothing more than for all of you to go into this movie knowing absolutely nothing about anything that might potentially spoil it for you. I will say that I thought the story was very well-written judging by average animated film standards, but like I keep saying...this movie goes above and beyond the average cartoon. In fact, I don't even see this as an "animated film" as it's usually defined. This FELT like a live-action film that was run through a few cartoon filters (in terms of plot complexity), and the budget & attention to detail reflects that.

Go. See. This. Movie. Support it! Let the film industry know that we love and appreciate when film studios take our heroes seriously, and give them the love and attention they deserve. This movie was made with passion and creativity...something that seems to be gradually slipping away from mainstream blockbuster films. Sony and the creative team behind Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse have really done something special here, and I genuinely think it would be in all of your best interests to see this masterpiece before it runs its course in theaters. For those of you who have already seen the film...did you like it as much as I did? What are your thoughts? Leave them down in the comment section! I would love to have a conversation with you about it.

After seeing the overwhelmingly positive reception this film has generated, I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that a sequel is already on the way, and I cannot WAIT for that day to come.

Until then....

Much peace and love to you all,

• SAF