Review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse brings Miles to life

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is hands down the best comic book movie of the year. Miles Morales is a great lead and I would love to see more of this universe.

There are spoilers ahead for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

When it comes to comic book movies, the levels of excitement will vary based on which characters will be on the screen. With Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) had his chance to shine and Sony Animation nailed the tone that we see in the comic books.

As the movie follows Miles Morales around, you’re immersed in Brooklyn. You see his family, his friends and his new school that doesn’t quite feel like home for him. His uncle, Aaron Davis (Mahershala Ali), is someone he can confide in, but he has to sneak out in order to spend time with him. While he’s at Visions Academy, Miles just wants to feel like he belongs, even though various embarrassments keep him from being able to feel that way.

Relationships are key in this movie and it’s what fuels it. When Miles meets the Peter Parker of his Earth (Chris Pine), he makes him a promise before watching him die at the hands of the Kingpin (Liev Schreiber). That promise gives Miles the determination he needs to figure out how to control and use his powers for good.

As the multiverse starts to fall apart, he’s introduced to Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson) and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld). In the comics, Gwen becomes a huge part of Miles’ life and this movie does pull from that history, even if we’re only seeing the beginnings of it. Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn), Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), and Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage) were all welcome additions, as well. They might not be characters we see often, but they rounded out our cast of heroes in an entertaining way.

Photo credit: Sony/Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Image Acquired via Sony Pictures Publicity.

I would be remiss to not mention Aunt May (Lily Tomlin), though. She’s the glue that holds everything together for the heroes. She’s aware that Miles isn’t ready when they all first go to Peter’s home base. However, she also knows just how to prepare him when he is ready to go out and be the hero we all know he can be.

Not only was the story a fitting one that used a large cast well, but it was one that resonated emotionally. I could feel everything Miles was going through as he was experiencing it. He was terrified at times and triumphant at others. Even his own father (Brian Tyree Henry) goes through the motions as he changes his feelings about vigilantes, but specifically Spider-Man. You really get an understanding of just how much superheroes mean to people.

When it comes to the action scenes, they were well-crafted and it never felt like there were too many of them. When Aunt May’s house is destroyed, it’s because of the sheer volume of character’s fighting. Each action scene serves a purpose and the animation never lets you down during them.

With any Spider-Man movie, you can expect some comedic moments. Into the Spider-Verse is no exception. Spider-Ham saying, “That’s all folks,” is just one of several moments that can get an audience to audibly laugh. You also have big emotional beats throughout, one being Stan Lee’s cameo. It’s the first one since his passing and you can tell that they put a lot of thought into it.

One last thing I want to touch on is the look of the movie. The different textures of animation and the bright colors just add that final touch to it. The glitches that the characters from other dimensions experience bring a quick burst of color to the screen. Everything about the look of this movie just felt right. It was everything a comic book movie should be. It took notes straight from the pages and brought them to life. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse knew from the start what kind of comic book movie it would be and executed it as well as one could possibly imagine.