Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey

Starring

Liev Schreiber

Mahershala Ali as Aaron Davis

Brian Tyree Henry as Jefferson Davis

Shameik Moore as Miles Morales / Spider-Man (voice)

From the moment the trailer for Into the Spider-verse was released I personally believed that, and feel free to quote me on this, 2018’s animated version will be the best installment in the Spiderman franchise. Through my disdain for The Amazing Spiderman, my love for Sam Raimi’s original Spiderman films, my indifference to Homecoming and my relative ignorance concerning the comic source material, this version has managed to seem the most exciting. It’s also worth noting that the Spiderman seen in the trailer is black offering much needed representation in the oversaturation of white superheroes.

The colors in the teaser, the way the character moves, the easy fluidity of his actions, the beautifully drawn lines and the epic song in the background has me sold. Truth be told, I’ve been waiting a long time for an animated comic book film. I know DC gives us offerings every now and again with releases like The Killing Joke and Assault on Arkham but this is material everyone is familiar with. Thanks to Raimi’s early releases, Spiderman became a beloved superhero among the masses.

While DC has a gritty, dark style in the animated movies (which equates to a muddy and gloomy palette in live action) Marvel, and particularly Spiderman, is a lot lighter. The Amazing Spiderman selected the dark realistic palette which was an odd and infuriating choice for a character as colorful and fluid as Spiderman. Raimi’s Spiderman was the opposite; bright, vibrant and flamboyant on occasion. Yet it hasn’t aged well thanks to the cheesy elements and dialogue that only gels well in comics. That’s the issue with comic book to film adaptations; either they’re too dark and realistic or they’re cheesy and risk tipping into parody.

That’s exactly why an animated Spiderman movie is the right choice. The source material translates well on screen in this case, animation being the perfect medium to nail both the graphics and cheesiness of the source. As far as the plot is concerned, it’s strictly under wraps. But this looks like a fun refreshing installment taking the old story and giving it a new look altogether. It’s a welcome breath of fresh air to be honest; I’m still trying to get the taste of The Amazing Spiderman out of my mouth.

Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse is scheduled to be released on 14th December, 2018.

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