Skip to main content

Movie Review: Spider-Man - Into the Spider-verse (2018) *No Spoilers*

I didn't go see Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse in theatres because a) Sony, and b) Animated movie... and if there's a c) Sony + Spider-man.

Then I started hearing all this word of mouth that this movie is really good so I thought, 'yeah, still not going, I'll wait for the home release'.

Then it won all these awards including an Oscar for Best Animated Feature... so I guess this movie must be good...right?

I rarely see animated features in the cinema because I have little faith in them to deliver enough entertainment at an adult level. Especially movies like Into the Spider-verse which you know is skewing for a younger demographic (as all Spider-man films in general do due to the popularity of the character with kids).

Having bought this movie on DVD (which is why I'm reviewing it now) I don't regret not having seen it in theatres, even though it would have looked amazing on a big screen.

The animation style is what really makes this film stand out. If I were to attempt to describe it I'd say it's meant to be a very retro version of a printed motion comic. i.e. it combines elements of poorly registered print comics with an effort to simulate 12 frame per second, hand drawn animation, and comic book style panels etc. It's very much a mix that gives the whole look of the movie an individual style overall.

Hence, it would look amazing on a big screen.

The story, whilst centered around Miles Morales, has to juggle a lot of characters, which for the most part it does fairly well but at the expense of putting all the characters on a kind of sliding scale of importance. For example, we get to know Miles, Peter Parker, Peter B. Parker, and Gwen fairly well, then there's three other versions of Spider-man who just arrive all at once. You get glimpses into their story but not enough to get you invested in them.

Which I understand why, but then you get even less from the rogues gallery and their stories. I'm not sure you'd even fully understand Kingpin's motivation on the first viewing if this was your first introduction to Spider-man.

Speaking of which, if this is your first introduction to Spider-man, it's a great introduction to just some of the incarnations of Spider-man there is in the comics. Though I'm not sure you'll find much on Peter B. Parker in the comics (I don't know maybe there is a run for washed up, mid life crisis Spider-man?).

I've always wondered how Spider-man's feet stick to things
even when he's wearing sneakers?

The general story revolves around Kingpin trying to access the multi-verse to bring back his family. In the process he somehow manages to drag a bunch of Spider-men/women into the current timeline. From then on it's all about how they get back, whilst thwarting Kingpin's universe wrecking scheme.

For me this was a fun movie but I did find it dragging somewhat in middle and feeling it was a little overlong. I put that down to the action sequences (yeah I know, but let me explain).

The thing I dislike the most about animated superhero movies is the action sequences. They're nearly always so over exaggerated that nothing about them feels real. You never feel a punch... and, when you do, chances are that character has survived much worse earlier in the fight/movie that you question why they suddenly don't seem to bounce back now.

As such lengthy fight/action sequences in animation tend to lose me, where as the character moments are the parts I enjoy the most. Into the Spider-verse's character moments are mostly really great. There is one exception that I felt wasn't necessary but it would spoil a bit of a plot twist moment that didn't really seem necessary in the big scheme of things.

Overall, if you're a fan of animation, this movie is one for the collection, as it's a style that very likely will be imitated and inspire future animation to be more experimental and different.

You'll certainly enjoy this if you're a superhero, and specifically a Spider-man fan. If you have pre-teen kids or older into this stuff it's one you can definitely enjoy with them.

My hope is that this movie will inspire Sony to do better with Spider-man (come... on? A Venom movie without Spider-man? What are you doing Sony?). Maybe they let Peter Parker continue to play in the Disney MCU and Sony can work on a live action Miles or Spider Gwen movie... those I would see in theatres! I'd even consider a seeing a live action Peter B. Parker movie with Tom Hardy's Venom as the villain.

I'm just saying I don't have a lot of interest in Spidey villains without Spider-man.

Anyway, Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse. If you're one of the few who didn't see it in theatres you probably should kick yourself, it would've been great. That aside it's still great on a smaller screen, and is probably in the top two of Spider-man movies made by Sony (I mean Spider-man 2 is pretty great if you forget it has virtually the same beats as Spider-man 1 and 3).

It's a fun watch and a great glimpse into the wider multi-verse of Spider-men (and women).

Buy Gifts and Apparel featuring art by TET.

Popular posts from this blog

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

Review: FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes

FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes I first saw FP's FINO skate shoes in a video by YouTube channel, Braille Skateboarding, titled, THE FIRST EVER NON NEWTONIAN FLUID SKATE SHOES!? As someone whose feet hurt and bruise relatively easily just from the basic tricks of skateboarding (Ollies, Pop Shuv-its etc.) the 90% absorption of impact energy selling point seemed like an ideal solution for minimizing my injuries. A day later I placed an order through FP's website . ​​ Ordinarily I wouldn't mention Customer Service but I can't let the lack of communication on my order slide. FP's website says to expect delivery within 7-14 days of your order. After close to two weeks, my order was still marked as being processed. I sent an email asking for any kind of update, to no response. A day or two later my order was marked as completed but still no signs of shoes in my mail? About two weeks later (just over a full month of placing my order) the shoes arrived. I'm sur

Why Your Backside 180 Ollies Suck (Probably, if they're like mine)

Backside 180 Ollie by TET I've been doing backside 180 ollies on my skateboard for almost as long as I've been skateboarding. It's not really that hard a trick to learn, except it is, if you want to do them well. Usually, when I'm practicing my backside 180 ollies on flat, my first attempt will be my best, and then my technique will kind of deteriorate from there. Except for that one jaggy attempt where I successfully land the backside 180 ollie then continue to pivot on my back truck another 180 degrees. Which is only a cool trick if you actually meant to do it. Recently I spent an entire driveway skate session working on my backside 180 ollies. My goal was to get them higher, rotate my body more effectively, and to bend my back leg more (a common problem for most people is not really bending the back leg as you ollie). You can watch my session and decide if I made any progress in the video below. The thing is, I know everything I'm doing wrong with my backside 180

Can You Learn Skateboarding Basics on a Cheap Skateboard?

$20, Mambo 31" x 8", Department Store Skateboard. Over the years I've watched many high profile YouTube skateboarders repeatedly create videos where they purchase a cheap, department store skateboard, ride it like they would their regular professional skateboard, until it breaks (usually within an hour or so), and claim that as a reason for steering clear of these products. ​Inadvertently what they're doing is creating less demand for cheap skateboards, meaning it's less likely department stores will stock them, resulting in no easy way for first time skaters to 'test the waters' to see if skating is really for them. Even worse, parents looking to get their children into a new sport, may not even see skateboarding as an option as they browse through the department store sports section. At the time of writing, Australian department stores have shelves filled with many different brands of scooters, alongside a small shelf or two of skateboards (and

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 (2023) *No Spoilers*

If you've enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1 and Volume 2 then  Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3  will not disappoint. I would almost go so far as to call it the best in the series... except seeing the first movie for the first time is still one of my best memories of the MCU. While it's not essential to the story if you didn't see the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+ it does kind of lead into and set up where the Guardians are at in Volume 3 quite nicely. In this installment Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is still not coping with the loss of his timeline's Gamora (Zoe Saldada) when suddenly the team is attacked leaving Rocket (Bradley Cooper) in a very bad way. From then on it's a race to save Rocket as we learn quite a bit about his origin in the process. This movie is slightly darker than the first two and, if you're concerned about the animal cruelty that is causing some people to not want to see the film again, keep in mind, it's j

Movie Review: Bullet Train (2022) *No Spoilers*

I honestly don't understand why Bullet Train didn't do well in theaters? It's basically a live action, bonkers, cartoon but it's fun, has witty dialogue, quirky characters, and plenty of action. It's definitely underrated as something that very much reminds me of a cross between a Guy Ritchie and Edgar Wright film in terms of how it's written, filmed, and edited. The plot centers around unlucky assassin, Ladybug (Brad Pitt) who is hired to retrieve a briefcase containing a ransom from on board a Japanese Bullet Train. Unfortunately he's not the only one after the case. Confusion and mayhem ensues. The only thing that really bothered me is that the movie seems almost devoid of regular people on the train and at any of the stations. Those that are present, including the staff of the train, seem to be blissfully unaware of what is happening around them despite the interior of the train becoming increasingly more damaged and the body count climbing. The further