Sony sharing the rights to Spider-Man with Disney/Marvel has been interesting. We finally got Spider-Man where he belongs, which is the MCU. However, Sony's attempt at a Spider-Verse has been intriguing with Venom being critically hated but making a boat-load of money. This animated film is Sony's attempt to keep their own version (or versions) of everyone's favorite web-slinger. Oddly enough, it not only works out but is one of the best superhero movies this year.
Everyone knows the origins of Peter Parker. He is bitten by a radioactive spider, which grants him powers. C'mon! We've had five movies covering this story! But does everyone know the origins of Miles Morales? Miles is an Afro-Latino teenager who is also granted Spider-Powers. As the film unfolds, he finds out that there are endless universes, with endless versions of Spider-People. The story introduces enough individual Spider-People to keep the audience interested, but not too many to make the casual viewer overwhelmed. It riffs off of the Sam Raimi trilogy as the basis of Peter Parker, even animating some classic scenes from the film. Yet the other stories are so much more fascinating. Some of the classic villains appear, but in unique versions of themselves, that catch the audience by surprise. I enjoyed the innovative takes on old villains to modernize them.
Enough cannot be said for how truly this movie understands and encompasses the nature of Spider-Man, even though there is not just one. The animation styles matches that of the comic book, using a fast-paced, breathtaking animation style unseen by audiences previously. It even caught me by surprise as a unique style of animation.
The voice casting for this film is absolutely perfect, using some of the best rising talents in Hollywood such as Shameik Moore, Bryan Tyree Henry, Mahershala Ali among others. My favorite voice had to be John Mulaney playing Peter Porker aka Spider-Ham.
Overall, this film's flashy style combined with its heart and acknowledgment of meme culture makes it's Sony's best Spider-Man film. The smarts and wits of writer/producer Phil Lord prove that Disney screwed the pooch firing him and partner Chris Miller from Solo: A Star Wars Story. Here's hoping that comic book heroes continue to take this approach, and understand the individual heart of each character in stand-alone films.
Rating (10/10)
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