MOVIE: Spiderman universe takes the next leap

Paul O’Rourke 

DOES the world really need another Spiderman movie? With six films released since 2002, the seventh and latest really needs to be original and groundbreaking. Luckily for everyone involved, it is.  

‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ tells the story of New York teen, mild mannered Miles Morales, who after being bitten by a radioactive arachnid, suddenly develops mysterious powers that transform him into a superhero. 

Miles must learn to use his newfound skills to battle the Kingpin, a hulking madman who can open portals to other dimensions. 

Nothing out of the ordinary you may say. Well, the first thing you need to know is that this is animation and not live action, a style of animation that very much draws from the original comic book illustrations. 

In fact at times it’s literally a comic book on screen, still drawings, multiple panels in one frame, “Bams!” and “Kapows!” in sound bubbles. 

The other innovative development from a narrative point of view is that in this universe, anyone can wear the mask, an idea that opens up a whole new world of story possibilities.  

While many individuals were involved in the film’s creation, producers Chris Miller and Phil Lord are front and centre on the media tour and seem to be accepting the heaps of credit being awarded to the project. 

Both men previously worked together on ‘The Lego Movie’ and ‘21 Jump Street’ and Lord is a writer here too, along with Rodney Rothman, who is also one of three directors. Too many cooks do sometimes spoil the broth, but in this case, it’s the opposite. 

The new style of animation from Sony is as yet unnamed, but it certainly looks fresh and different. The story, which introduces many new characters, also lends itself to a new universe of potential and multiple spin offs and sequels, which will no doubt make the money men purr with delight. 

Spiderman fans will love this latest departure, comic book fans will love how it looks, and movie fans in general will be entertained by the witty dialogue and entertaining story. We award it a review score of 4 impressive stars.