Nicholas Cage. Chris Pine. Jake Johnson. Three of the most unlikely candidates one might ever consider for the role of Peter Parker’s Spider-Man — and let’s not get started on John Mulaney and Peter Porker. But what if every single one of them actually played the role in 2018?
Now, what if this was a real, Critics’ Choice Award winning film — one that incorporated each of these weird character combinations into something truly special? Of course, it is.
Max Rothenberg | Argonaut
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” elevates both animation and the superhero genre to the next level, delivering an inter-dimensional, coming-of-age story that may very well be the greatest Spider-Man film ever. It wouldn’t even be a stretch to call it the greatest superhero film ever.
The film centers on Miles Morales, a teenager in boarding school who looks up to Spider-Man. Why wouldn’t he? The only problem is his parents, as per usual in these films, think the masked spider is the devil incarnate.
But when Miles finally meets his idol and is bitten by a spider himself, he must quickly adjust to his new powers and take down Kingpin, a mob boss who can open portals to other universes. In the process, Kingpin brings numerous other Spider-Men into Miles’s world, and chaos ensues.
These characters include many comic book classics such as Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Woman, Spider-Ham and Peni Parker, a teenage girl straight out of an anime-esque universe.
Miles’s emotional journey is full of ups and downs, turmoil and growth, and his interaction with each of these characters is a treat to watch.
An animated film is nothing without, well … good animation. Thankfully, “Spider-Verse” is nothing short of incredible — this is not your typical CGI, and every shot really feels like a painting. The producers described the artistry as “looking like a comic panel,” “totally revolutionary” and a commitment equal to making upward of five movies on their own.
Just don’t go into this film expecting animation akin to award-winning fan favorites like “The Emoji Movie” or “Minions.” It’s incredibly unique, in a good way.
From a production standpoint, 142 animators worked on the film, larger than any other Sony animation crew. The resulting style is much different than what we typically encounter, although I believe in hindsight it may have led to the film’s biggest downfall.
The trailers simply did not appeal to me, and I suspect many others felt similarly. At the time, the style just felt a little off — to an outsider, it seemed almost jarring and out of place for the titular character.
Especially for many mainstream Marvel or DC fans who have never heard of Miles or these alternate Spider-Men, the trailer did not check off many boxes. I almost didn’t even watch “Spider-Verse” as a result, but I’m glad I took the chance.
$300 million worldwide gross on a $90 million production budget is good, but considering the recognition and praise the film has since received, this seems to fall well below expectations. If a sequel is made, hopefully better marketing that appeals to a wider audience will help.
Mainstream Spider-Man films have always been very hit or miss, but they share one thing in common — they typically play it too safe. “Spider-Verse” essentially laughs in the face of these films and ups the ante every chance it gets, either through beautiful, lengthy action scenes or whacky character development that immediately outshines many of the other films.
Even for those who are on the fence about animation, give the film a watch. Just because something is animated doesn’t mean it’s immature, and “Spider-Verse” manages to stand out amidst a mountain of recent mediocre releases.
How can Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Far from Home” possibly top this? It seems like a Mysterio to me.
Max Rothenberg can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @theRothenberg