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| Spider-People |
“The
Best Comic Book Movie”
A Review of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse by
Nick Olszyk
MPAA Rating, PG
USCCB Rating, A-II
Reel Rating, Five Reels
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has
one single amazing quality that easily justifies its five-reel rating. While it
may not be the most sophisticated adaption of a comic-based property, it is the
best film adaptation of the graphic novel format yet depicted. Fortunately, the
picture has a decent story and underlining moral framework as well. Many films take
the audience out of their own world to temporarily enjoy another, but this one
takes us to many worlds, all of them wonderful.
Miles
Morales (Shameik Moore) is a typical Brooklyn teen. He comes from a bi-racial background,
listens to hip hop, dabbles in street art, and is constantly embarrassed by his
parents. His life takes a radical 180˚ when he is bitten by a radioactive
spider, achieves strange and uncontrollable superpowers, and discovers a secret
particle collider that the crime boss Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) is using to open
alternate dimensions – all in the span of forty-eight hours. Fortunately, Miles
has help in this transition. The collider unwittily brought no less than five
other Spider-Heroes from other dimensions (ie, other comic universes). The most
significant is Peter Parker (Jake Johnson) and Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld).
Parker was the original Spider-Man the audience knows from the 1960s. Spider-Gwen
comes from a third reality where Gwen Stacey got bit rather than Parker.
Together, they will teach Miles “the ropes” (sorry for the Spider-pun). Will he
be ready to assume the mantle of Spider-Man, save the world from Kingpin, and
return his friends to their dimensions by the end of the movie? There’s really
no doubt that he will, but it’s a great ride getting there.
In
film school, “mise-en-scène” is one of the first concepts a student is taught, a
term that roughly translates “to dress the scene.” It refers to all the atmospheric
elements (cinematography, editing, art direction, sound design, score, visual effects)
that contribute and support the narrative. Into
the Spider-Verse is a textbook example of how great mise-en-scène can
elevate a conventional storyline into high art. The animation is slightly
pixelated while the colors are bright and brilliant. The camera angles are
constantly shifting depending on the action while tiny word bubbles occasionally
appear. All of this imitates the style of a silver age comic book, where
Spider-Man originally got his start. It’s an immersive sandbox that inspires
laughter, joy, and wonder. Due to the nature of the Incarnation, Catholicism
has always relished this aspect of the imagination from icons to stained glass
to statuary. Through art, man procreates God’s invisible reality and
participates in His creative mission to evangelize through the senses.
Miles’
archetypical journey is instantly familiar. Frodo Baggins, Luke Skywalker, and Daniel
LaRusso have all been there before. The Old Testament prophets too began with
reluctance and had to gradually learn their vocation. This does not diminish the
film; in fact, I was relieved the filmmakers choose not to deviate far from the
traditional model in an age where many are tempted to be different for difference
sake. Miles is also not the only one who learns to embrace his destiny.
Mentoring this naïve hero gives Parker the confidence to improve his own broken
relationship with his wife. Especially touching is Miles relationship with Gwen,
which starts as a budding romance but ends with a beautiful friendship. Genuine
love often means being content with a platonic relationship.
These
thematic and aesthetic elements, however, will fly over the heads of the film’s
elementary aged, predominately male audience. That’s perfectly fine. My five-year-old
was enthralled from beginning to end. The lessons were simple enough to make an
impression on him, while the execution kept me on the edge of my seat. This is
one of the few films this year that I’m excited to see again…and again…and again.
This article first appeared in Catholic World Report on Dec. 20th, 2018.
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