3.5 stars. Rated PG for frantic animated action violence
By Derrick Bang
In today’s pop-culture entertainment world, you can’t have too much of a good thing.
When Marvel’s initial Amazing Spider-Man comic book becomes a smash success, the next move is obvious: Start publishing another dozen (or two) Spider-Man titles. If this cuts into the sales of the character’s flagship title, no matter; the combined overall sales are bound to increase.
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| Having barely gotten a sense of the whole web-slinging concept, young Miles discovers that swinging between city buildings is a lot harder than it looks. |
And if Spider-Man himself is a major part of the allure, then the next move is equally obvious: Concoct a storyline that creates more Spider-heroes. Thanks to one of sci-fi’s most overworked clichés — the notion of multiple parallel universes, where things are familiar but (tellingly) not quite the same — that’s a snap.
On top of which, the beauty of alternate realities is that writers can do something drastic — such as kill off a beloved character — without damaging continuity in our “core” reality.
The ultimate means of eating one’s cake, and having it too.
But care must be taken. If the original franchise — and character(s) — are diluted too much, everybody loses interest in the whole enterprise.
In fairness, directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman have done a mostly commendable job with the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Rothman and co-scripter Phil Lord deftly navigate the physics-challenged complexities of the alternate universe premise, while granting a solid origin story to a younger, equally captivating, but woefully inexperienced Spider-Man.
That would be Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), an Afro-Latino teenager who debuted in a complicated 2011 Marvel Comics storyline, and has remained popular enough to earn his own ongoing series.
But he’s not the character with whom this fast-paced, audaciously twisty saga begins. We’re instead (re)introduced to good ol’ Peter Parker, our one and only Spider-Man, who extols his uniqueness during a narrated prologue that cleverly references previous comic book adventures, along with iconic scenes from the live-action films that began in 2002 (most notably that sexy upside-down smooch with Mary Jane).
Poor Peter has his hands full, because the nefarious Wilson Fisk — better known as the Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) — has teamed up with a theoretical physicist, in order to access the “multiverse” for a deeply personal reason. But Peter is enough of a scientist himself, to know that Fisk’s reality-bending device will have drastic consequences, and therefore must be destroyed.
Meanwhile…
Brooklyn teen Miles is deeply unhappy about having been shunted to a highbrow school for gifted students, far away from the friends in his neighborhood and former school. Miles’ father, Jefferson (Brian Tyree Henry), is a by-the-books cop who insists that his only child follow this path, which will better develop his intellectual prowess; Miles’ mother, Rio (Luna Lauren Velez), is more sensitive to the emotional cost of such a sudden shift.
Miles would much rather spend time with his way-cool Uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali), who encourages the boy’s artistic talents. Even Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), the hot new girl at this posh school, isn’t enough to compensate for Miles’ sense of isolation.
At its core, then, this is once again the classic Spider-Man mythos: an angst-ridden teen who just wants to fit in, and figure out his role in the world (while hoping the latter is something he can live with). Moore voices Miles superbly, getting just the right blend of teen uncertainty, youthful enthusiasm and — once things get dire — bewilderment, and even panic.
Because Miles soon gets bitten by the same sort of radioactive spider that gave Peter Parker his wall-crawling powers. Alas, Miles isn’t thrilled; he’s terrified. His hands are sticking to all manner of surfaces, and — this is weird — he’s suddenly taller. A bit more bulked-out.
Ah, but then Kingpin hits the switch, and things get confusing as realities collide. A bit.
Turns out that Miles actually exists in one of those alternate universes (Earth-1610, to be precise). He’s tossed into the deep end of the superhero pool, when he unexpectedly becomes a youthful sidekick to the familiar Peter Parker (Jake Johnson), yanked into Miles’ universe by Kingpin’s gadget. On top of which, that cute new girl turns out to be Spider-Gwen (Earth-65), who’s every bit as tough and resourceful as the veteran Peter.
Their shared goal remains the same: to destroy the multiverse-spanning gadget, before it wreaks more havoc.
Had the scripters stopped there, this could have remained a taut, entertaining and exciting battle royale between three Spider-heroes and Kingpin, the latter allied with other familiar (but dimensionally enhanced) super-villains: Doctor Octopus, the Scorpion, the Green Goblin and Tombstone. (Nobody said that superhero-ing was easy.)
Unfortunately, Miles, Peter and Gwen soon are joined by three more alternate universe champions, and that’s where this film goes off the rails.
Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage) is a much older, Depression-era Peter Parker who hails from Earth-90214, a black-and-white realm of corrupt politicians and cops. He’s clearly a riff on Will Eisner’s iconic character, The Spirit, and Cage is well-suited to the character’s world-weary bleakness, with an animation design to match.
Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn) has been snatched from the year 2099 (Earth-14512). She’s linked to SP//dr, a gizmo-laden mecha (robot); these two are rendered in the Japanese animé style that suits her origin.
Finally — heavy sigh — we have Spider-Ham, aka Peter Porker (John Mulaney), native to Earth-8311, a realm of anthropomorphic animals with the sensibilities of Looney Tunes characters. Spider-Ham’s look and behavior are different yet again, with the spittle-spewing dialog one would expect from Daffy Duck.
None of these three Spiders-come-lately is given more than a fleeting nod of back-story, nor do they contribute significantly to this story’s increasingly chaotic third act. Frankly, they’re superfluous; they merely get in the way. On top of which, the climactic battle gets dog-nuts in the manner of too many live-action superhero epics, with mindless punching and zapping going on and onand on. Boooooring.
The filmmakers are on far surer ground when they concentrate on Miles: his family relationships, and his uneasy dynamic with Peter Parker (who, in a droll running gag, has rather let himself go to pot).
Lily Tomlin is a hoot as Peter’s Aunt May, who’s far more resourceful in this universe. And of course the late Stan Lee pops up for one of his droll cameos, voicing an animated version of himself.
Schreiber is appropriately malevolent as Fisk, and this massive character’s appearance is quite scary in its own right.
The film’s overall look is never less than dazzling, particularly once the disparate animation styles morph into each other. Storywise, though, Rothman et al overplay their hand, when they come perilously close to losing the essential human element. Too much really istoo much.
This branch of the Spider-Man mythos is best left to comic books. I’m in no hurry to endure another visit to the Spider-Verse.
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