It\u2019s difficult to get excited about superhero movies these days. They\u2019re churned out at a quick pace with seemingly little regard to high quality or original plot structure (that old obligatory action-filled, yawn-inducing third act doesn\u2019t seem to be going away any time soon). Sure, they\u2019re usually part of a universe to create intrigue for viewers so they\u2019ll spend more of their hard-earned cash to return for future viewings. Ultimately, it\u2019s all a bit hollow and cynical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Not the Spiderverse, though. Into the Spiderverse<\/em> deservedly won Best Animated Feature for its slick, dynamic and endlessly creative visual palette, where titular hero Miles Moralis (Shameik Moore) discovers that he\u2019s not the only Spidey dude out there. While this gimmick had the potential to get tired quickly, a relatively simple plot, outstanding animation and some stellar voice acting assured this was anything but. Nicolas Cage essentially being Nicolas Cage as gravel-voiced Noir Spiderman was an inspired bit of casting, and heck, there\u2019s Peter Porker, with The Simpsons Movie<\/em>\u2019s spider pig brought to glorious life. Across the Spiderverse<\/em> brings along various additions to the cast without diluting the narrative as Miles reunites with Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), discovering multiple webs of new Spidey folk (see what I did there?) and eventually coming into contact with hardened head honcho Miguel O\u2019Hara (Oscar Isaac). As with the original, high energy is the name of the game; Across<\/em> in particular feels like what would happen if the Safdie Brothers had a go at making a child-friendly animation (note to the Safdie Brothers: don\u2019t do that, I like my Safdie Brothers movie to be full of mature fear-inducing tension and unease, thank you). Dialogue flies by in frenetic tune with the visuals, and if that\u2019s not your thing, maybe you won\u2019t enjoy it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But if you need a break from that superhero movie carb crash, you won\u2019t find anything better this year. Some new cast highlights include Issa Rae\u2019s Spider-Woman (Keke Palmer brought the Akira<\/em> motorbike slide back in stylish form in Nope<\/em>, and Rae continues the tradition in similarly cool fashion here) and Daniel Kaluuya\u2019s Spider-Punk. Kaluuya has been hitting out of the park in every single feature he\u2019s starred in, and he continues to strike gold with his guitar-wielding superhero. Every single side-Spidey (yeah, I’ll use that term for now) is imbued with charisma and warmth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It isn\u2019t difficult to guess who the film\u2019s ultimate big-bad turns out to be, but that\u2019s not the point. With all the visual ingenuity on display in every single frame, it\u2019s hard to imagine any other film taking home the Best Animated Feature next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s difficult to get excited about superhero movies these days. They\u2019re churned out at a quick pace with seemingly little regard to high quality or original plot structure (that old obligatory action-filled, yawn-inducing third act doesn\u2019t seem to be going away any time soon). Sure, they\u2019re usually part of a universe to create intrigue for … <\/p>\n