Here is my review of Into the Spider-Verse:
Growing up, Spider-Man was my favorite superhero. While as I got older I have gravitated more towards Captain America as my favorite, Spidey is still one of my most cherished characters. I read lots of Ultimate Spider-Man as a teenager, but I stopped right around issue 80. I never picked it up again after that, though I know a lot of what much followed after. So, I never actually read any comics with Miles Morales. I know who he is and all that, but I have no loyalty toward him as a character. I don't dislike Miles, he just came after my time. Given this was an animated effort and not a live action film, my hype for this was low. The Marvel cartoon movies in recent years have been garbage mostly, and I was iffy on the animation style when I first saw it. However, recent reviews and positive word of mouth got me interested, so I saw this on Friday night. I am quite glad I did as well.
I cannot speak for how accurate this is to the history of Miles as a character, but this film does a great job of introducing the character to you. He's very likeable and his issues with being passive and afraid to take action are something easily relatable. I grew to like Miles in this very quickly, and I loved his supporting cast as well. You can see where Miles' story mirrors that of Peter Parker in several ways, but it has its own unique spin on the mythos. The drama between him and his father felt natural and never forced, and his Uncle Aaron was also a very interesting character in his own right.
This film does a great job of integrating Spider-Man lore both new and old. Again, I know who characters like Spider-Gwen and Spider-Man Noir are, but this film is really the first time I got to know any of these newer characters. They have great chemistry with Miles and are characters I did walking away wanting to learn more about. The film also has some great references to past Spider-Man films, has a great arc for the main Peter Parker we follow in the story, and we even see Spider-Ham. I never thought I'd see Spider-Ham in a movie, but he was hilarious. The plot is very whacky and over-the-top, but it gives it this tone of being larger than life which compliments the story of Miles and coming to grips with his destiny very well.
If there is a minor nitpick I had, it was the selection of the main villain. I love Wilson Fisk more as a Daredevil villain. I never bought him as being any type of physical threat to Spider-Man in the comics. You can tell me his body is all muscle, but that doesn't make me buy it. Spider-Man is a character who can hold cars up in the air and such, so Kingpin being able to crush his ribs in a bear hug never rang true to me. As a mastermind type like Lex Luthor, sure he works. But physically, I never bought it. In here, he is a mastermind type villain, but they make him a physical one at points, also. It's just not my favorite interpretation of Fisk. That said, loved the other villains in this movie. Some are just basically glorified henchman, but the ones that are more important to the plot are great additions.
Overall, when it comes to Spider-Man films, I think Spider-Man 2 still stands as my personal favorite movie ever made about Spider-Man. It captured the spirit of the character, what drives him, and how much he has to sacrifice in his life to be Spider-Man better than any other film prior. I also loved seeing Spider-Man in the framework of a larger world in Spider-Man: Homecoming. That said, this film is in that tier. I again side with Spider-Man 2 myself, but if one prefers this movie I would get it. Particularly for those who grew up with Miles in the comics, they will probably love this like I do Spider-Man 2. All in all, this film honors the legacy of Spider-Man very well and I had a big smile on my face watching it. Probably my 3rd favorite CBM of the year, only behind Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther.
Overall rating - 5/5
