Spider-Man 3D: Into the Spider-Verse

Sony Animation Studios team up with the writers-directors of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs for this animated, Academy Award-winning, multiverse Spider-Man film. Features the voices of Shameik Moore (Dope), Liev Schreiber (Spotlight) and Oscar winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight).

Miles Morales (Moore) is juggling life between being a high school student and being Spider-Man. When Wilson "Kingpin" Fisk (Schreiber) uses a super collider, another Spider-Man from another dimension, Peter Parker (Johnson), accidentally winds up in Miles' dimension. As Peter trains Miles to become a better Spider-Man, they are soon joined by four others from across the Spider-Verse. As all these clashing dimensions start to tear Brooklyn apart, Miles must help the others stop Fisk and return everyone home.

After Tom Holland's successful MCU run as Peter Parker, Tom Hardy's box office-crushing Venom, and one hell of a PS4 game, the question must be asked: do we really need more Spider-People? I never thought the answer could be "Yes, here's six more!" However, with Miles Morales as the lead, an incredibly dense script, and downright astonishing animation, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse turns the impossible into one of the greatest comic book superhero films ever made.

From the moment he starts singing Post Malone's Sunflower—and forgetting 60% of the lyrics—Miles proves himself a hugely likeable and relatable teen, with Dope star Shameik Moore walking a pleasant vocal tightrope between gawkish and charismatic. His sense of self takes a knock when he shifts schools; a problem that heightens exponentially when he gets his powers and meets more experienced Spider-Folk from alternate dimensions.

From a perfectly-cast Jake Johnson as middle-aged loser Peter B Parker to Nicolas Cage's hilariously over-intense Noir Spider-Man, these constant introductions poke fun at the messiness of origin tales, spinoff stories, superhero universes, and the parallel dimensions genre as a whole. More importantly, this humour sweeps the cliches off the stage, giving Miles' own origin some seriously significant distinction—especially with what it has to say about grief.

As a superhero film, Into the Spider-Verse is a superb shakeup. As an animated feature, it turns the whole production into something masterful, though calling it a "comic book come to life" doesn't fully emphasise this film's most eye-wateringly remarkable achievements.

Sony Animation Studios took graphic novel sensibilities, cinematically expanded on them, and gave every necessary detail thorough love and attention. I could geek out for literal hours about the dot-matrix shadowing, graffiti-pop colour scheme, playful onomatopeia, hypnotic camera lenses, subtle but significant shifts in framerate, the faultless merging of 2D/3D elements—every frame's a painting.

It's truly sensational to witness a blockbuster this visually daring on a massive screen. It's even more sensational that I found myself yelling: "Give me six more Spider-Verse films!"

Hollywood Reporter


A free-wheeling, fast-and-loose, strikingly animated addition to one of the biggest library [sic] of films in the Marvel collection.

Los Angeles Times


What distinguishes "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" in the end is that it takes its mission seriously, even when it's being transparently silly.

Empire (UK)


Fresh, funny and frequently bonkers, Into The Spider-Verse is an astonishing shot of cinematic superhero adrenaline. For such an over-familiar character, somehow, this feels original and entirely new.

FilmInk (Australia)


A two hour-long explosion of joy and colour, brimming with laughter and heart...

Variety (USA)


Just when you thought you couldn't take another Spider-Man reboot, along comes the movie to put them all in perspective.

The Guardian



Total Film (UK)


Forget the quantum physics and dimension-hopping: the most impossible thing to believe here is that Spider-Man feels exciting and new again.

NZ Herald (Toby Woollaston)


The result is an unconventional, vibrantly fresh and laugh-a-minute loving ode to the comics. It's really something special.

Stuff.co.nz (Graeme Tuckett)


Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a blast of craft and storytelling. In an overcrowded and mostly predictable genre, it is exactly the superhero movie I didn't even know I needed to see.