“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” Swings From Screen to Page

There’s a lot I wish to address within this review, but first things first: you read that right. Yes, screen to page. We’ll get to that.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse wowed audiences with its blends of comedy and high-stakes drama, of reality and un-believability, and of action and lack-thereof. The film follows Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) as he adjusts to a new school and mounting pressure from his police officer father, Jeff (Brian Tyree Henry). After escaping school to hang out with his seemingly deadbeat uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali), he is bitten by a radioactive spider in an abandoned subway tunnel. In his quest to understand what is happening to him, Miles uncovers a greater conspiracy underneath the streets of New York City – one with inter-dimensional players and consequences.

Of all the wonderful parts of this film, what struck me the most is that this is the first superhero movie I have seen in perhaps a decade that seemed to convey what makes a hero a hero. As much as I love and support the constant outpouring of Marvel movies that we’ve seen in the decade since Iron Man, somewhere along the way, they seemed to have lost their soul. Don’t misunderstand me. I am moved by the characters, and their struggles are admirable. Maybe I’m just due for a re-watching marathon. Still, comparing any of those to Into the Spider-Verse puts them to shame. Between Stan Lee’s dialogue in his cameo and Miles’ literal leap of faith, the film took the time to redefine and remind audiences of what it takes to be a hero.

Another factor I loved was the surprising darkness – or maybe, just realism – that abounded in this film. When Venom was revealed to not have an R-rating, all I could see on my Instagram feed were complaints about how there was no way it could manage to be as dark and foreboding as promised. Whether or not it was intended, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse managed to have dark moments with a PG rating. The necessary (spoiler alert!) death of Peter Parker in Miles’ universe struck me in particular; however, the moment in which (also spoiler alert!) the Spider-People discuss the tragedies in their life was jarring as well. To be a Spider-Person is to suffer, regardless of the universe. To lose. But, what makes a Spider-Person is the fact that they are able to keep moving and try to make the world a better place for everyone else. Thus, to call any of this “darkness” isn’t really correct. Realism doesn’t seem exactly right either, and that’s where these moments help play into the heroics of the film.

Even though there was a mix of both light and dark in the film, what really allowed the heroics to shine was the characters. Gwen Stacey’s (Hailee Steinfeld) memorable introduction to Miles as “Gwanda” was particularly great. The comic-book-esque introductions for all the Spider-People had a formula to it that told audience members as much as they needed to know through the things that each Spider-Man found necessary to share. As a result, it was comedic and extremely telling about the characters. For a film that introduced a menagerie of new, inter-dimensional Spider-Man figures, the writers were able to strike a nice balance between not sharing enough and sharing too much information.

Furthermore, and perhaps most noteworthy, were the characters themselves. Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn) had a wonderful sci-fi twist to her story, and was, in my opinion, an absolute darling. Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage) managed to have an edge without being “edgy” – something that was well done and deserves applause. Peter Porker (John Mulaney) was so comedic that I wish I could have seen more of him, and even the personality differences between Peter Parker (Chris Pine) and Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson) were enough that they certainly felt like different entities without being completely dissimilar. Besides the Spider-People, Miles’ mother Rio (Luna Lauren Velez) and, later, Aunt May (Lily Tomlin) were incredibly strong in their own rights, with Rio’s soft side and Aunt May’s level head under pressure. The villains ranged from slightly sympathetic to wildly eclectic in a blend that gave them life beyond clichéd eeeeeeeeevil. I personally loved Doc Ock (Kathryn Hahn) while simultaneously rooting for her downfall.

The plot itself operates as an origin story with higher stakes. However, the film executes said plot so seamlessly that it does not fall among its overdone relatives like Ghost in the Shell (2017) – although, people criticized that for a host of other reasons. Even Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) avoided the pitfall of an origin story by simply starting when Peter Parker already had the hang of his powers, as well as something of a YouTube career. Decidedly, part of the reason why this film necessitates an origin story is Miles Morales’ introduction to the screen, in addition to the sheer multitude of Spider-People. Still, the high stakes made it easy to forget that it was an origin story, and the sheer spectacle also contributed to what kept this origin story from being a bore-igin.

Finally, the imagery. Just, wow. I’ve always had a soft spot for animation in my heart from my own amateur Miku Miku Dance attempts, but this film would have swayed even the most vehemently anti animation viewer to not hate it. Rather, the animation was astoundingly vivid, smooth, and creative. One of the most unique characteristics was possible only because of the fact that the film was animated: the use of different animation styles for some of the Spider-People. Namely, Peni Parker and Peter Porker. It was wildly funny, but consequently the idea of the Spider-People originating from multiple dimensions was reinforced with little effort.

Because of the coloration and the stylization of the film, experiencing it (especially in theater) really felt as if the film was transferred from the screen to the page. Every thwip felt as if the audience was swinging along with Miles and Peter through the pages of a feature-length comic. Hence, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse seemed like an exercise in creating a moving comic in all the best ways. The shots were picturesque – Miles leap of faith, anyone? The film was implausibly plausible and imperfectly perfect. The universe glitching, the visual effects of the collider, and even the execution of the Spidey- Sense reeked of the grandness of comic effects. Instead of trying to rip out pages and paste them to the screen, Into the Spider-Verse boldly transferred its story from the pages to the screen and, in the process, almost preserved the panels of a comic book.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a fun romp into the extended universe of Spider-Man. It introduced lovable characters like Miles and Gwen, inverted certain tropes while inter-dimensionally preserving others, and all-in-all made me excited for the possibility of a sequel. Although, it is hard to forget the humor of the post-credits scene. While the plot wasn’t particularly inventive, the characters and the animation more than made up for it. I will definitely be watching this when it is released on Blu- Ray.

Indira Ramgolam is a freshman in Columbia College. This article was originally published on FlickFixation.com and can be found here.

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