With six “Spider-Man” films onscreen since 2002 (appearances on “Avengers” don’t count), it would be easy to cite web fatigue and skip “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”
But that would be a big mistake. This animated gem is what we hope for when we go to the movies. It’s fun and smart and manages to balance the usual Marvel Universe superhero angst against a silly sensibility.
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” was written by Phil Lord (“The LEGO Movie”) and Rodney Rothman, and it’s kind of a PG-rated unicorn. It’s very funny, and at times a bit scary, and there are heartfelt ruminations on love and loss and parenthood.
It’s also dazzling and nonstop, playfully sampling scenarios from other Spider-Man movies, TV and the comics. That dopey “Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can” theme song is in there (the good music includes the offering “Sunflower,” from Post Malone and Swae Lee), and the upside-down kiss. There’s also a tribute to Spider-Man’s creators — Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, who both died this year.
- Starring: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld.
- Rating: PG for frenetic sequences of animated action violence, thematic elements and mild language.
Stick around for the end of the credits to see the producers’ wry take on a famous Spider-Man meme and perhaps a hint at a sequel.
Mr. Rothman directed with Bob Persichetti and Peter Ramsey. Christopher Miller, Mr. Lord’s creative partner, is a producer. You get the feeling it must have been fun in the writers’ room.
The movie embraces its paper-and-ink roots, and we are often reminded that at the heart of every hero’s journey is an origin story. This one is for Miles Morales, a biracial teenager who feels he must be two different people in two different worlds. Little does he realize, shortly there will be a third.
Miles (voiced by Shameik Moore) is just a kid from Brooklyn who chafes at the idea of attending the tony boarding school across town. He’d rather hang out with friends from the old neighborhood, or with his Uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali), whom his dad (Bryan Tyree Henry) considers a bad influence.
One night, Uncle Aaron takes Miles to a restricted area of the subway system, a place where Miles can explore his true passion: street art. The kid’s a tagger, handy with a can of spray paint and stickers. But it so happens this little hideaway is literally crawling with — surprise — radioactive spiders. He’s bitten, life gets weird.
The “real” Spider-Man is out there, still fighting crime. But where is he when Miles needs him?
After Wilson Fisk (aka Kingpin, voiced by Liev Schreiber) and Doc Ock (Kathryn Hahn) open a space-time continuum, more than spiders begin crawling around New York City.
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” imagines a world in which a bunch of Spideys come together through that rift and must, of course, band together to stop the archvillain from possibly blowing up Brooklyn.
One of them, a jaded, paunchy Peter Parker (Jake Johnson), is sick of this “with great power comes great responsibility” stuff. He’s been Spider-Man for a long time, and even though he sold out (the Christmas album! The toys and cereal and merch!), he bristles when it’s suggested he’s no longer up to the job.
Alternate universes have more versions of our hero, including a film noir-ish tough guy from the monochrome 1930s (Nicolas Cage), a balletic Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), a perky anime Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn) and her Spider robot, plus John Mulaney’s cartoony “Spider-Ham.”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” was the name of a sprawling, 2014-15 storyline in Marvel Comics. There were a lot more Spideys in that one, but who knows? Perhaps there are still Miles to go.
Maria Sciullo: msciullo@post-gazette.com or @MariaSciulloPG.
First Published: December 14, 2018, 2:00 p.m.
