Nice to know that Sony still gets to make Spider-Man movies, albeit quite different from before. The first all-animated Marvel theatrical release since Big Hero Six looked too weird to my dad in the trailer, so I chose it for a solo viewing.
Brooklyn teen Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) gets a spider bite similar to the one that Peter Parker (Chris Pine) got. Before he can master or even discover all his powers, which include a few that Peter doesn't have, he sees Peter die fighting to stop the Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) from messing with the space-time continuum before things get really bad. This temporarily foiled plot has the unforeseen consequence of drawing five other spider-themed heroes from alternate dimensions into the one where Miles lives. They all experience occasional spasms, hinting that they can't live long outside their home dimensions, so they hope to take advantage of the Kingpin's next attempt. Ideally, Miles would be the one to stay behind and break the world-threatening machine, but is he competent enough yet?
I had barely heard of Miles. From what I gathered, the Black Hispanic boy has been one of many ploys to increase diversity in comics at the expense of traditional heroes. If he hasn't gained much traction with readers, it might explain why his screen debut forces him to share the limelight, especially with Peter (more on that in a bit).
Fortunately, Miles is not ill-conceived in his own right. His race and ethnicity are part of his identity (hello, '90s rap and gratuitous Spanish sentences) but not integral to it in the same way as Luke Cage. He's academically smart but tries to flunk out of his new boarding school. He sasses teachers who give him a hard time for tardiness. His policeman dad, questionably named Jefferson Davis (Brian Tyree Henry), increases his already high tendency toward embarrassment, possibly prompting him to take after Uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali) by committing minor crimes like graffiti. Offhand, I'd say he's a little more interesting than Peter and probably less angsty.
The Peter we see for most of the movie (Jake Johnson) sometimes uses his middle initial, B. Hailing from a slightly different dimension, he's middle-aged, divorced, bitter, out of practice, and unhappy to have anything to do with teens. He still retains enough guilt to agree to guide Miles eventually. What follows is a mix of admiration and disappointment, in both directions.
As in BHS, two of the diverse six get more screen time than the rest, but the others are interesting enough to merit...well, one sentence apiece for my purposes. Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) is the only other hero played more than half-seriously, as befits Miles' crush on her. Black-and-white Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage) talks like he came from the era of Dashiell Hammett. Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn) is an anime/manga-style schoolgirl whose brainy pet spider pilots a mech suit that she sometimes shares. And the amazing Spider-Ham (John Mulaney) is as cartoony as Porky Pig. For good measure, I'll also mention May Parker (Lily Tomlin), who, despite grieving for her nephew, has never been cooler in my eyes.
Lest you think that this bunch could easily handle the Kingpin, no matter how freakishly proportioned and brawny he is in this incarnation, know that he has a lot of allies here. The later arrivals may or may not have arrived from another dimension; in any case, the ones I'd previously known have rather different versions now. Whatever their reasons for signing on, the Kingpin has a relatively noble cause as villains go: reuniting with his dead wife and son. His sorrow for them is the only softness he ever shows.
I'm undecided on whether SM:ItSV is funnier than Spider-Man: Homecoming. The former is certainly further over the top, faster, and more family-oriented. Putting aside the quips and, well, hamminess of the sillier spider-folk, Miles is quite the klutz. He had enough trouble just keeping his shoes tied before his spider bite; imagine when a kid like that sticks tenaciously to things when he doesn't relax.
The humor doesn't last too long at a stretch, tho. May and the Kingpin are hardly the only characters to lose loved ones. Miles also has to deal with an up-and-down relationship with his dad, not helped by Jefferson having resented his world's first Spider-Man and trusting the new bunch even less.
The most remarkable aspects are visual. Not since Tank Girl have I seen a film try so hard to evoke the comic book medium, sometimes with visible (un)sound effects, thoughts, and spider sense tingles. At the same time, it demands movie magic for effects such as dimensional glitches. Half the heroes appear in drawing styles unlike the rest. Even the more normal scenes differ from most modern CG pictures, what with choppier movements. The climax boasts an especially unworldly setting.
Incidentally, Stan Lee's cameo dispenses with all semblance of subtlety. Since he may never have another, I don't mind. A Spider-Man merchandise vendor who says that Peter was a friend of his does suit his final appearance.
I predict that SM:ItSV won't top Incredibles 2 at the Oscars and might not even be nominated (EDIT: shows what I know), but it is getting higher ratings across the board from reviewers other than me. I think my dad would have been blitzed out, but if you're into this sort of frantic audiovisual candy, it gives you everything you've been led to hope for.
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