Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) Review
INTO SPIDER-VERSE WE GO!!!
The cinematic road for Spider-Man has been a bit of a rocky one, beginning first with the original Spider-Man trilogy, featuring actor Toby Maguire playing the title character as well as Kristen Dunst as Mary Jane and actor James Franco as Harry Osborne. The first cinematic iteration (released on 2002) of the so-called “Dawn of the superhero genre” we all know of today), received positive reviews and was highly successful at the box office (making $820 million globally), which green-lit the studio to churn out two more follow-up sequels with 2004’s Spider-Man 2 and 2007’s Spider-Man 3. After that, Sony / Columbia Pictures (the man studio behind this trilogy) went silent with the character of Spider-Man, observing (and watching) as the now popular juggernaut MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) began to grow and dominate the box office; amassing comic books rights for their films and gaining a steady incline of movie fandom. After sometime, Sony Pictures returned to the superhero genre by “rebooting” their Spider-Man franchise from scratch and released The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012, with actor Andrew Garfield playing the role of Peter Parker / Spider-Man and actress Emma Stone playing his love interest of Gwen Stacey. The film did make splash with critics and fans alike and did gain a profitable return (over $750 million at the global box office), which prompted the studio make a sequel with 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2. After that, however, Sony Pictures had several ideas planned for Spider-Man (i.e. another sequel, spin-offs, and even a possible reboot franchise), but nothing ever materialized as Marvel’s MCU, which was under the control of parent company Disney, continued to flourish and expand. Eventually, many rumors and speculation, Sony / Columbia Pictures and Disney finally came to an agreement with the rights of Spider-Man, allowing the character to appear in the MCU franchise and did so in superhero ensembles films 2016’s Captain America: Civil War and 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War as well 2017’s feature film Spider-Man: Homecoming, with actor Tom Holland playing the role of Spider-Man / Peter Parker in all three movies. The inclusion of Spider-Man in the MCU has brought a joyous celebration, with many praising Holland’s performance as the new younger Spider-Man as well as the character finally appearing alongside the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, and other popular MCU superheroes. Now, Sony / Columbia Pictures (as well as Sony Pictures Animation) and directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman present the latest cinematic iteration of Spider-Man with the animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Does this cartoon feature film bring its own heart and web-slinging fun to the proceedings or is it just a disappointing spin-off / off-shoot from Sony Pictures who’s desperately trying to find a seat at the superhero film genre? Read more
