I approached “Spider-Man: In the Spider-Verse” with much skepticism. It seemed too soon considering how busy Spidey has been in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And is there even room for an animated Spider-Man film in an oversaturated superhero market? I wrote this film off until it won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature and my curiosity was piqued. There was no way that it could be better than “Incredibles 2” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” right? But I am now a believer. “Into the Spider-Verse” is unquestionably the best animated film of 2018 and I would argue that it is the greatest Spider-Man movie ever made. The film is a 3-dimensional comic book, combining realistic computer animated characters with speech bubbles and split screens that resemble a comic book page. The film utilizes quick cuts along the lines of “The Big Short,” though we can’t refer to this as “film editing” because it is animated. It has a completely unique visual style that sets it apart from every other film. Aside from the unforgettable visual presentation, the story is well-conceived and profound in its use of parallel universes. The parallel universe concept allowed the writers to create an Avengers-like crew comprised of Spider-Mans (Spider-Men?) including Miles Morales, Peter Parker, a less refined Peter Parker, Spider-Woman, Spider-Man Noir, Peni Parker, and my favorite: Peter Porker/Spider-Ham. It is genius. This could often be viewed as a gimmick but it fits perfectly in the context of Kingpin's evil plan. I was especially amazed at the texture variation and physical depth between multiple characters in a single shot. They were each rendered differently depending on which universe they were from. The film has the perfect balance of comedy, drama, and action. The only problem is that Sony probably cannot ever match this film. It is doubtful that they could conceive a better story and mimicking the style of this one would be just as disappointing as trying do something inferior. “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is a cutting edge animated film that may change the way that studios approach superhero films. It is a great reminder that heroes come in all shapes and sizes.
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