By Robert Yaniz Jr.

DAY 14 OF THE 2018 HOLIDAY BINGE

The late Stan Lee’s most famous creation comes out swinging in grand fashion.

THE HYPE

Way back in 2002, audiences were hyped to finally see Marvel Comics’ most famous superhero finally receive the big-screen treatment, but in 2018, things are a lot different. We’ve seen Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and, most recently, Tom Holland all assume the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man. But even with all that Sony — which still retains primary movie rights to the character, despite dealings with Marvel Studios — has done with the webslinger, we’ve never seen him done quite like this before.

THE STORY

As both a franchise starter and a bold new direction for the character, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse reinvigorates a property audiences may have been tiring of and earns Sony the right to spin endless new cinematic webs. The film introduces moviegoers to Mile Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), a teen who is bitten by a—you know the story —and inherits the role of Spider-Man. Thankfully, he has an entire team of Spider-people from different dimensions to teach him the ropes and foil Kingpin’s (Liev Schreiber) latest plot.

THE CAST

As Miles, Moore — who broke through with the underrated 2015 release Dope — honors the familiar template of Peter Parker’s story while bringing something new and exciting to the table, with regards to character work as well as representation. Considering that this is Miles Morales’ first big-screen appearance, he stands out as a sympathetic, charming presence even amidst a supporting cast that also includes the debuts of Spider-Gwen, Peni Parker, Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Ham. Oh, and no less than two Peter Parkers.

THE PRODUCTION

If the visual style of Into the Spider-Verse feels a bit jarring, that’s probably because of how it emulates the source material like never before. Rather than aiming for photorealism, the film feels like a comic book come to life, complete with onscreen textual transitions, panels and, yes, even TWHIPs. Writers Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman have created a sustained, fully immersive experience into the world of everyone’s friendly neighborhood wallcrawler, riffing on his history and setting an ambitious course for the future.

THE VERDICT

Although its nonstop pace and anything-goes storytelling threatens to slip into manic and/or sprawling narrative territory, the assured hands of directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rothman keep Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse on target. Easily the series’ best since Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, the film’s crowning achievement — in addition to its visual innovation and clever twists — is how precisely it embodies Stan Lee’s original vision of the character. After all, with great power comes… you know the rest.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse stars the voices of Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali and Liev Schreiber and is directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman.