Cast: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Nicholas Cage, Liev Schrieber, Maheshala Ali, Lily Tomlin
Directors: Peter Ramsey & Bob Persichetti
Rating: * * * * *
Stan Lee would have approved. Splendidly executed that it resembled a comic-book on celluloid, Ramsey and Persichetti’s spin on the webslinger ticks-off all the right boxes. Is it exciting? Yes. Is it Entertaining? Yes, yes. Is it educative? Yes, yes, yes! Interestingly, the loudest cheers were for the creator of the Spiderman series himself, when he made his mandatory (scene-stealing) appearance. Perhaps, Mr Lee’s sad demise had something to do with it, Perhaps not.
In any case, viewers have a ball keeping track of the multiple spideys who materialise after Miles Morales’ Peter Parker (voiced by Shameik Moore). Goes through the set pattern that we know so well: radio active spider, an accidental bite followed by super powers. The interesting thing is the new titular Spidey is a Hispanic from the Bronx; the other Spideys who pop up include white guy, a girl, and even a pig avatar! Spidey’s Happy Hunting Ground, NYC is rendered like an expressionistic artwork. And when a rift tears through the multi-verse through which timelines start to interweave, oh boy! Boyohboyohboy! Needless to say, the design, limning and CGI are awesome!
So much for the form. What about the content? Is the plot too far-fetched? Nope. Science today suggests parallel universes are possible. Hence, multiple Spideys who must unite against the evil Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) and disrupt his evil agenda.
Needless to add, the viewer will be thrilled as the comic book comes alive with Spidey squatting his trademark squat and whizzing through the air. That’s not all. Emphasising themes of courage, perseverance, teamwork, the movie explores human nature, warts and all, and exhorts us to see the good in the flawed characters that we all are. Only God is Perfect. And so should we try to be. In the end, that’s the core message of this intelligent superheroic adventure with a heart, a soul, a moral and a message: We are all spidermen.