‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ Review Round-up

Just hours after the social media embargo for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was lifted, Sony opened the floodgates for the first official reviews of the film. Many of the industry’s critics began posting their write-ups early Wednesday morning, as soon as they were able.

If you read through some of these reviews, you’ll quickly notice that there is an ongoing theme throughout them all. Just about everyone loves this movie. Even those reviews that aren’t completely, overwhelmingly positive still note that the movie is of a great quality, and that the animation style is second-to-none.

Many of the critics mention the fact that making a new Spider-Man movie feel fresh and exciting can be difficult, especially after we’ve seen so many iterations over the past handful of years. But Spider-Verse pulls of the impossible with ease, giving fans an extremely lovable new hero in Miles Morales.

Take a look ahead at some of the initial reviews for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which swings into theaters on December 14th.

Variety

Variety’s Peter Debruge references the multiple iterations of Spider-Man on the big screen over the last few years, and acknowledges that the last thing some of us need is yet another web-slinger at the box office. However, Spider-Verse shines through the crowded field and presents itself as an absolutely necessary piece of the mythos.

“Just when you thought you couldn’t take another Spider-Man reboot, along comes the movie to put them all in perspective. Or maybe you can’t get enough of Marvel’s friendly neighborhood web-slinger and are already beside yourself in anticipation of a project loaded with half a dozen parallel-universe Spideys. Either way, the brilliance of Sony’s snappy new animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse shows itself in the project’s uncanny ability to simultaneously reset and expand all that has come before, creating an inclusive world where pretty much anybody can be the superhero … even you!”

Read the full review here.

IndieWire

While you may not think a site like IndieWire is exactly keen on super hero movies, critic David Ehrlich couldn’t feel more positively about Spider-Verse.

Tragic news for anyone who’s sick of superhero movies: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse completely reinvigorates the genre, reaffirms why it’s resonating with a diverse modern audience that’s desperate to fight the power, and reiterates to us how these hyper-popular spandex myths are able to reinvent themselves on the fly whenever things get stale. Just when it seemed like Infinity War might be the culmination of a cultural phenomenon, that Stan Lee’s death could symbolize the end of an era, and that Turn Off the Dark was always going to be the silliest possible subtitle for a Spider-Man adaptation, along comes a delirious postmodern spectacle to remind us that these movies will exist for as long as people need to see themselves reflected in them. Sometimes, that can feel like a threat. Watching Into the Spider-Verse, it’s more like a promise.”

Read the full review here.

Vox

Vox critic Alex Abad-Santos also touches on the tiresome tropes of Spider-Man that have been made new by the addition of Miles Morales and the Spider-Verse.

“The new animated movie is a sleek and soaring, a wonderful paean to the spirit of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s legendary webslinger, embodying the relentless hope and optimism of its hero in such a classic way. But it also unearths exhilarating new ground — by way of spectacular deviations from the norm that the Marvel Cinematic universe and live-action filmmaking don’t always allow for — that makes it feel like something tremendously innovative, while still traditionally Spidey.”

Read the full review here.

IGN

IGN’s David Griffin is yet another critic that says Spider-Verse is a totally original Spider-Man story, one that can completely reinvent the character for years to come. He also notes that the visual effects in the film are absolutely spellbinding. 

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse hits all the marks to be an all-around moviegoing blast. Miles Morales has a memorable big-screen debut thanks to a compelling story and strong performances from its heroes and villain. Alongside Peter Parker, Miles’ journey from everyday teenager to a genuine city-saving superhero is one of the best Spider-Man movie stories ever. The addition of other multiverse characters doesn’t overshadow Miles’ story, though Kingpin does get a bit shortchanged. Taking a bold departure from the Pixar animation style we’ve come to expect from mainstream animated films, Into the Spider-Verse delivers a dynamic visual experience unlike any other.”

Read the full review here.

The Hollywood Reporter

Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter sings the praises of Spider-Verse in his review, saying that the visuals of the film are its true hero. He does note, however, that the movie isn’t without flaw, and may run a bit too long.

“Faced with the challenge of how to further expand the franchise without sating both the character and fans, Marvel and Sony have borrowed from the comics to introduce a fresh origin story that both references the past and swings into a new, thoroughly multi-cultural and multi-Spidified future. Although it unfortunately exhausts itself and its creators’ cleverness by running at least 20 minutes too long, this sharp-minded variation on familiar elements looks to go over very well with its large target audience.”

Read the full review here.