The Film Reports

Rating: 5 stars.

Animation, Action, Adventure

I’m not gonna lie, I wasn’t interested in this when I saw the posters for it because I was under the impression it was aimed at preteens. It was only when Spiderverse won at the Golden Globes (yay, best animated movie!) that I decided to go and watch it. And i’m so glad I did.

So if you haven’t read the original comic this is based on, the basic set up is that Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is a young Afro-Latino boy, who looks up to Spiderman aka Peter Parker (Chris Pine). Miles then gets bitten by a spider  and he becomes a Spiderman too. There is also an evil guy called Wilson Fisk (Liev Schreiber) who is trying to join multiple universes in order to bring certain people over. During this process, multiple incarnations of Spider-people pop up and they help Miles.

The film is so heartwarming, in every possible way. Miles’ family is so openly loving and I thought his Dad was very well written. Ex: he hates Spiderman at the beginning of the film but he changes his mind over the film as he comes across new things. I loved their relationship, I think it’s been a long time that we’ve seen a teenager, who is a boy, love their father in such a pure and open way. Another notable relationship is between Miles and Peter B Parker (Jake Johnson) who acts as a mentor while Miles tries to get his head around being a Spiderman. Great writing.

But probably the main draw for many was the animation. The animation is beautiful. It’s beautiful and lovely to look at. And in addition, there are a few scenes/shots that are so beautiful, and awe-inspiring that I actually gasped out loud. It’s brilliant. I also noticed some things that the animation added, that a live-action wouldn’t have been able to. The way the characters move, the colours etc. I loved the way this film looked and I think it’s really going to change the way people look at animated movies.

All in all, “coming-of-age” would accurately describe this film. But, it is much more than that. It’s imaginative and heartwarming. I really think this may be the best movie of the year.

Watch it: asap while it’s in cinemas.