Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Thank goodness this movie wasn't made by the people behind "The Emoji Movie". Oh, wait a minute...

What a way for Sony Pictures Animation to make a comeback. Just when I was just about to be tired of the web-slinging hero with all the Avengers ruckus, the Venom movie and the recent Spider-Man game for the PS4, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse" drifts into the final month of 2018 and suddenly re-ignites my appetite for the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. This is one of those superhero films that absolutely dives deep into the comic books and portrays a classic comic hero by going back to its 2D roots while also taking advantage of the modern 3D animation. But forget that it is Spider-Man for a minute. We, as a global community, have to recognize the incredible production value of "Into the Spider-Verse" that is comparable to any blockbuster title that Pixel can throw out to the public. It deserves to be remembered decades into the future because of three main things: the vibrant style of animation, the ultra-realistic delivery of the voice actors and the tremendous ability of the soundtrack.

The trailers made it known that "Into the Spider-Verse" has a stunning combination of colours and ingenious use of space, which probably caught many people's attention in the first place. However, there is a common saying that sound is 70% of what you see. The movie absolutely nailed the 70% with a great cast of voice actors and a creative variety of pop music. The times when the sound reaches its pinnacle is when the scenes get very emotional. Sad moments, which are quite abundant throughout the story, are elevated by how genuinely the characters express their heavy feelings mostly through their dialogue and the appropriate background music to amplify the drama.

It's worth noting that the script follows a conventional pattern, one that is similar to "Big Hero 6" and "The Incredibles". While even the jokes are conventionally written on paper, the greatest surprise for me is that I was 100% engaged with the adventure and the humour 100% of the time. 100%. For this, I give immense credit to the production, in which almost all the characters (heroes and villains alike) are given so much depth due to their voice acting and how the music fits so perfectly with their actions. I would go so far as to say that "Into the Spider-Verse" is a revolutionary addition to animation. There is virtually nothing bad to say about this film, one that took a grand risk with its own original style of art and passionately written adventure. Bold moves that end up successfully deserve to be rewarded with the people's attention, and we should be excited about Sony's follow-up to their recent accomplishment. We will soon learn that one Spider-Man is just not enough.

Let the music do the storytelling.

*All images on this post are legally owned by Sony Pictures Animation, Marvel Entertainment, Arad Productions, Lord Miller Productions & Pascal Picture.