She Said: Run! Don’t Walk To See Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse!

As a super spy I don’t always get to enjoy the little things in life. A walk on the beach usually involves searching for landmines.  A trip to the opera means thwarting an assassination attempt. And well, hiking? We don’t need to go there. So when I have to occasion to slip into a movie, it needs to be worth my while.  My time is valuable.

I hadn’t really given Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse much thought because up until now Marvel and great animation were two ideas I would never put together in a sentence.  DC has the market locked down from Saturday morning cartoons to direct to video movies. Marvel may have a few decent shows, but nothing truly Tivo worth. However once the film was released the few friends who had seen the movie couldn’t say a bad thing about it and so I made a special note to see it before the week was over.

There is nothing bad I can say about this movie.

If you are a fan of comic books and graphic novels, the feel of this film will delight you.  The animation style makes it feel as if you are actually reading a comic book. And once our hero is bit by a spider?  We get thought bubbles and captions. While the movie is primarily CGI, it has the feel of a hand drawn movie and the painstaking efforts of over 60 animators paid off.

If you you are a fan of action films, you will on the edge of your seat.  Is this latest Spider-Man going to be captured? Will he ever figure out web-slinging? Is he going to be grounded for being out past curfew?  I felt myself worried about Spider-Man and had to keep telling myself, it’s just a cartoon.

Family drama?  Check. It seems as if 2019 is as much the year for father-son stories as it is for feuding brothers.  Male relationships are just as complicated as those between females and it is refreshing to see them explored on screen.

Strong female lead?  Damn straight. If you don’t know Spider-Gwen, check her out.  We get to see a glimpse of her on screen and I hope the positive reaction to her character leads to more stories with her on the big screen. And yes, Aunt May is a bad ass.

I did not see that coming moment?  Yes. Several them.

But there are SEVEN Spider-Men.  Do I really need to see this? Yes.  Yes, you do. And you need to stay til the end because it is a Marvel movie.  If you are not well versed on the many versions of Spider-Man, think of this as a movie that address what all movies talk about.  What happens if someone messes with the space-time continuum. We all know there are parallel universes, so what happens when an event happens that makes the same identity show up in the same place.

If you watched Spider-Man: Homecoming, then you know that there was all allusion to Miles Morales, a future Spider-Man and the Spider-Man that this film focuses on. It was an Easter Egg for die hard fans that we get to see on screen in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

I take it back, the only bad thing I can say about this movie is that more people have not see it. Most people are excited to see Captain Marvel or Avengers:Endgame, or even Spider-Man: Far From Home.  Do yourself a favor. Make plans to see this Spider-Man:Into the Spider-Verse before it leaves the theater. You will be extremely disappointed that you didn’t see it on the big screen.