Early reviews of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” say its one of the best animated films of the year, if not the best, and that it rivals “Black Panther” and “Wonder Woman” in the top tier of recent superhero tales.
As of this writing, there are 30 early reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. All of them are positive, giving the film a 100 percent score on the Tomatometer. TheWrap’s William Bibbiani hailed the film as among the “best superhero storytelling on the market,” and praised the new Spidey on the block, Miles Morales.
“Miles Morales is an incredibly captivating new hero, in a story that challenges him in every conceivable way. His powers force upon him an awkward physicality that robs him of his previous confidence,” Bibbiani writes.
“Into the Spider-Verse” stars Shameik Moore as the voice of Miles, whose struggle to fit in at a new charter school gets even harder when he is bit by a radioactive spider. At the same time, Spider-Mans from multiple universes — including a washed-up Peter Parker (Jake Johnson) — are showing up in Miles’ New York thanks to a machine built by the Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) that threatens to destroy the entire multiverse.
Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Nicolas Cage, John Mulaney, and Kimiko Glenn also star, and Stan Lee has a posthumous cameo. “The Lego Movie” directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller co-produced, and Lord wrote the script with Rodney Rothman. Rothman also directed the film with Bob Persichetti and Peter Ramsey.
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” will hit theaters December 14. Check out more reviews below.
David Ehrlich, IndieWire
“This is an origin story for viewers who didn’t think they could stomach another origin story; it’s an origin story about how empowering origin stories can be. However much fun it might be to watch Captain America save the world for the umpteenth time, the most basic thrill of these movies is the idea that anyone can become a superhero (an ethos that Spider-Man has always personified) and ‘Into the Spider-Verse’ stretches that idea to hilarious new dimensions.”
Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times
“While there is plenty to mock here — Lord and Rothman’s script gets in some choice digs at Peter Parker’s relationship issues — what distinguishes “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” in the end is that it takes its mission seriously, even when it’s being transparently silly.”
Angie Han, Mashable
“All those other Spider-Men, then, become not just a way to celebrate the weirdness and variety of the comics, but a reaffirmation of the notion that it could be anyone behind that mask. It’s a nice sentiment, and one that’s key to the character’s enduring appeal. It’s also one that’s felt less and less true with each recent movie, as Spider-Man keeps ripping off his mask to reveal yet another variation on Peter Parker — a handsome (if dorky) young white man with his dead uncle’s words about power and responsibility still ringing in his ears.”
Rodrigo Perez, The Playlist
“Something of a game changer both aesthetically and narratively, ‘Spider-Verse’ is an outstanding hybrid of cheeky, post-modernism that pushes the envelope of what you think a superhero movie should be and yet inspiringly soars in its ideas and emotional examination of courage in the face of fear and uncertainty. Its aspirational qualities– finding your voice and being the Spider-Man you need to be–are also quite moving.”
Jesse Hassenger, AV Club
“Characters endlessly derived from a single superhero power-set can be hackneyed, but when the movie bands a bunch of those characters together with a lead Spidey of black and Latino heritage, it’s making a convincing case for how familiar superheroes can refresh themselves when new faces take up the mantle. For that matter, it makes a cleverly self-serving case for an animated spin-off of a much-adapted character. This is the seventh Spider-Man feature film in 16 years, but this universe has rarely felt so fresh.”