Why you need to watch Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Modern graphics, charming characters, humor and great action, combined in one story.

This is a completely new story about familiar heroes

In 2002, Sam Raimi directed the film "Spider-Man" and for the first time since the eighties brought the hero to the big screens. Over the past 16 years, the story of Peter Parker, who was bitten by a radioactive spider, has been retold from the beginning many times. After the Raimi trilogy, there were unsuccessful films with Andrew Garfield, then - the return of the hero to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And that's not counting the regular relaunches of animated series.

It is not surprising that many are already a little tired of the tragic death of Uncle Ben, and “With great strength comes great responsibility,” and other unchanging attributes of history. It was not for nothing that Coming Home decided to mention all this only in passing.

And the authors of "Through the Universes" decided to go in a non-standard way and put in the center the plot of another hero - Miles Morales. He appeared in the Spider-Man comics only in 2011 and has not yet had time to become familiar to most of the audience.

In the cartoon, his fate is less tragic than that of Parker, but this makes him seem even more real. Miles is a simple teenager from the family of a police officer. He wants to paint graffiti and is embarrassed to move to an elite school. And then he becomes an unwitting witness to how the villain Kingpin launches a collider to open a passage between dimensions, thereby causing enormous destruction. It is Miles who will have to fight the villain, especially since he just received superpowers from a radioactive spider.

But the teenager does not know how to use them at all, and in general does not consider himself a hero. But then all sorts of analogs come to the rescue from other worlds: Peter B. Parker - the original Spider-Man, just already lazy and growing a belly, Gwen the Spider - Peter's friend Gwen Stacy, who lost her best friend in her world, Noir Spider-Man - black and white gloomy hero from the world of the past, Penny Parker - an anime girl with a spider-robot and, finally, Spider-Pig - an intelligent pig in a Spider-Man costume.

These are references to comics, movies and other pop culture

For those who have not read comics or are only familiar with the main lines, you need to understand: all these heroes are one hundred percent canon. It may be hard to believe, but even Penny Parker and Spider-Pig have appeared on the pages of such publications. Well, the dark series “Marvel. Noir”is long overdue for filming - it is so graceful.

But besides the retelling of the comics, there are many references to previous Spider-Man films and TV series. There are hints of Raimi's films, Homecoming, mention of Brian Michael Bendis - the creator of Miles Morales. Of course, it will not do without Stan Lee. And from the scene in the very finale, anyone who follows, if not the stories about Spider-Man, then at least the memes on the Internet, will laugh. There will also be repeated references to other films and comics, but to list them all is to deprive fans of the opportunity to find them in person.

It is equally important that all these refrains do not play a decisive role in the plot. Those who do not know the hero at all, even from the films, will not experience discomfort - they will be explained everything along the way, and easily and with humor.

These are jokes on all clichés and stereotypes

And again about the banal story of Spider-Man, which pretty much tired many. The authors clearly understood that they would have to face the necessary repetitions and hackneyed cliches. And therefore they played it all in a joking manner.

Each Spider-Man considers himself unique, and each tells his own story, starting with the same words. True, by the third time, such retellings are shortened, and then three stories are presented at once. All known and standard moves are predicted by the heroes themselves. Everyone knows that there will definitely be some special key that will stop sinister plans - so why not say it right away and head on, so that no one can accuse the cartoon of predictability.

And Peter Parker himself stops Miles when he starts banal: "With great power comes …"

It's touching and very fun at the same time

The story "Through the Universes" has six main characters at once, which allows you to fill the action with touching life situations and an incredible number of jokes.

Of course, there is not enough time for all. And first of all, the cartoon shows the communication between Morales and Parker. The first learns to cope with his own strength and be a hero, and the second tries to dissuade him from such activities. And in fact, this is a manifestation of care. After all, Peter is shown as a man who lost almost everything precisely because he constantly saved the world. As a result, he is lonely, tired, with a sore back and a habit of eating fast food. He tries to save Miles from a similar fate, but then sees in him an opportunity to remember his past exploits himself.

Gwen Stacy helps them. But here she is not just an obligatory female character who is introduced into all modern plots. Gwen charges with her energy and supports, but she is the same as the others: lonely, having lost her friend and saw close people in the new team.

And so that everything does not seem too serious, three of the strangest versions of the Spider were added to them. The noir hero is so dark it's very funny. He speaks only in clichéd phrases about his lack of emotions and deprivation. And he just can't understand what is the meaning of the Rubik's cube. Penny is constantly positive and chewing something when she controls the robot. And Pig doesn't have to do anything. A pig in a superhero costume is funny in itself, but it also makes jokes in almost every phrase.

It's incredibly beautiful

But surely everything said earlier would not have had the desired effect if it were not for the visual range. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was touted as a revolutionary approach to animation, and indeed it is. If you look at locations, especially in action scenes, you can quickly forget that this is not a real shoot. Houses, cars, and other backgrounds seem perfectly plausible. Sometimes there is a feeling that there are details in the frame that were simply accidentally captured by the camera.

The characters were deliberately not made too realistic. Therefore, they stand out against a living background, and the cartoonish grotesqueness makes them more memorable.

But most importantly, it's a comic that really comes to life. Some scenes literally begin with traditional panels and text for the genre, and the beats are accompanied by captions. What's even more interesting, the supporting characters are drawn exactly as they should be in the comics. Penny Parker has a paler color scheme typical of manga, Pig is two-dimensional and very bright, and Noir Spider-Man, on the contrary, is black and white, and his suit even shows the texture from printing on paper.

When they get together, a real extravaganza of mixing styles and genres begins. But it all looks absolutely organic, because the live animation erases the edges that would be imposed by real footage. And here a huge Kingpin (he really didn't have enough time in the plot, but with six heroes this is not necessary) can collide with a two-dimensional Pig, and it will look not only normal, but also funny. At the same time, each frame is built in such a way that after the release of the cartoon in digital and on media, it will probably be taken apart into screenshots.

And, by the way, about the final clash and the action in general. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is one of those rare films that is really worth watching in 3D. The last time it happened was in Ready Player One by Steven Spielberg. The cartoon is specially sharpened for 3D graphics, and therefore the manifestations of parallel worlds, flights over houses and a fight in the collider will literally drag the viewer into the thick of events.

This is truly the best comic strip of the year

Of course, in 2018, "War of Infinity" stands out - a landmark event, which has been brought up for ten years and eighteen films. But there were also many other interesting films: the sequel to Deadpool, the new Ant-Man, the ridiculous but beloved Venom, the funny and beautiful Aquaman.

And yet it is "Spider-Man: Into the Universes" that is the brightest and most versatile comic strip on the big screens. This is not a hackneyed story that will be interesting both to geeks who have studied all the sources and to casual viewers. It's amazing animation and action-packed storyline. These are endless jokes and funny situations that the heroes find themselves in. And, of course, this is the story of a real friendship that brought together completely different characters.