<Review by: Sailesh Ghelani>

Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman. Starring the voice talent of Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage, Kathryn Hahn, Live Schreiber, Zoe Kravitz, Luna Lauren Velez, Chris Pine

Running time: 1 hour 58 minutes

I was sick and tired of all the rebooted Spider-Man films telling us the same old back-story of how he became Spider-Man. Everyone and their uncle knows this. So with Spider-Verse I was happy that we were going to see not one new Spidey, but five more web-swingers taking responsibility for stupid humans behaving badly!

Kudos to Sony for making a good film, finally. And one that matches up to the Marvel films and perhaps even exceeds them as for as technical prowess goes. If you watch this movie in a decent theatre with good 3D then you’re going to be mesmerised by the visual delight the makers have created for us. It’s like a comic book come to life. It’s magical and vivid, flirting with your eyes and ears and providing you an experience that you have not seen anywhere else before. It’s animation that is unique with special effects that look cutting edge.

But Spider-Verse isn’t just visually striking. It’s also a very smart and witty film. It merges various alter-egos of your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man from different dimensions that have all been brought to the world of Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), an African-Latino lad who is bitten by a radioactive spider but needs some helping taking that leap of faith necessary for him to replace the fallen Spider-man (Chris Pine) from his own dimension. With a little help from his Spidey-friends – Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage), Spider-Ham or Peter Porker (John Mulaney), Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn) and Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson) – Miles must help defeat the evil Kingpin (Live Schreiber) and restore the other Spideys to their universes.

This is so much fun; just like the ensemble cast of the Avengers with the witty banter and side-jokes. But it’s also touching and very smart in its message and the way it delivers the goods. No elaborate and done-to-death backstory needed here. This is good old camaraderie and movie-with-a-message storytelling that appeals to both kids and adults.

Jake Johnson’s Peter B. Parker is reminiscent of Tobey Maguire’s Peter when he loses his faith and lets go of his responsibilities. Only Jake is a lot more likeable and funnier than Tobey was. There’s a Spidey for everyone here and everyone can be Spider-Man, if only you choose to do what’s right and fight for a good cause.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a brilliant film both technically and as a story that transcends time and dimensions.