Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Now this was how a superhero should be done. And not only that, how an origin story should be told. Easily the best Spidey since the first two Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire films. It was fresh, it was exciting; it had heart and pathos and the courage to go into some dark corners with faith in its audience. Miles Morales was a hero in the making and like all heroes the journey is never smooth, and we connect with his story - his excitement, his anxieties, his fear, his courage and his convictions. The energy throughout was infectious and the plotting was efficient and tight, with an excellent cast (and voice-cast) and music that actually propelled the narrative. And of course, the animation was brilliant, effectively emulating the visual sensation of reading a comic but paired with a stunning palette and kinetic design.

At just under 2 hours, the film achieved all it set out to do. It entertained whilst it told a predictable story, incorporating life lessons along its way whilst not forgetting to have fun. It give the audience what they wanted and even managed to add dash of suspense and doubt.  Some films (see: Aquaman) could not even hit half of all that in 2.5hrs.  Kudos to the directors and writers, and of course Lego-producers Phill Lord and Christopher Miller whose Lego-esque fingerprints were clearly visible.

Ultimately, this was a superhero origin story for Miles Morales and the film never lost sight of that even as we get inundated with Spider-People. And boy, was that a joy to see all the Spidey-gang teamed up in the epic battle at the end. But through it all, we never forget that we are witnessing the journey of a teenage boy coming into his powers, and all the life lessons that come with that.

The benefit of animation is that storytellers can realise the story in almost however they wished it to be, and it truly is limited by one's imagination. They practically invented a new style of animation just for this. However, not all animations succeed to tell an effective story. Some, unfortunately, are just there to earn a buck. For every Pixar and Miyazaki, there are at least two Dreamworks, some Disneys and a few other. Lucky for us, Spider-Man falls into the former, but let us see how corporate greed will devolve the franchise into another simple, Sunday morning-esque trope.

The mid-credits scene was a touching tribute, and the post-credits scene was one hell of a whopper which did make a sequel seem like an exciting premise.

This film could easily be the film to beat Pixar's Incredibles 2.