Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Film Review)

2018 Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation/Marvel Entertainment
Directed by: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman; Written by: Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman
Starring: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Velez, Kimiko Glenn, John Mulaney, Nicolas Cage, and Liev Schreiber
MPAA Rating: PG; Running Time: 117 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 8/10

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse posits that not only are there seemingly infinite parallel universes, but that all those universes have some different incarnation of Spider-Man. In ours, he's a stringy, nerdy white kid, but in others, he could be a she, or a robot, or an anthropomorphic pig.  In some universes, there can even be two Spider-Men.
In the universe Into the Spider-Verse is set in, Miles Morales is a smart, awkward kid at a new school, and a big Spider-Man fan. He's life is further changed when he's not only bitten by a radioactive spider, but witnesses Spider-Man die at the hands of the evil Kingpin. Someone's got to pick up the mantle, and it might as well be Miles. After all, someone's got to stop Kingpin's dimensional experimentation from destroying the world.
Miles is in luck, though. Kingpin's experimentation has opened a hole that's inadvertently let in a bunch of different universe's Spider-...persons(?), all intent on stopping Kingpin. Now, Miles will get training from a schlubby, down on his luck, Jake Johnson-voiced Spider-Man, as well as assistance from Hailee Steinfeld's Gwen Stacy Spider-Woman, John Mulaney's Spider-Ham, Nicholas Cage's Spider-Man Noir, and Kimiko Glenn's robot-bonded Peni Parker.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is an audio/visual blur. The animation is stunning, there's color everywhere, and every frame and storytelling element relative to the animation feels original and refreshing. The writing is sharp, with plenty of callbacks, most humorously, to previous Spider-Man movies. These feel like nuggets to those who've seen the other six modern day Spider-Man films, but the references aren't obtuse or frequent enough to make anyone feel left out. The voice cast does an admirable job, especially Nicholas Cage, who's a hoot, reminding anyone who's forgotten just how fun he can be.
I'm not a huge fan of Spider-Man--I've always preferred the bruisers--but I have to admit, between 2017's Spiderman: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, and this, the web-slinger is winning me over. I admire Spider-Verse's attempts at representation--it's clear that regardless of race, sex, or species, Spider-Man's heroic, selfless character traits are constant. I especially enjoyed a scene where Morales finally and triumphantly attaches his own cultural identity and personality to become his own Spider-Man. I do wish, though, and this has stuck with me through numerous Lord Miller Productions, that more of the film would have stuck in my mind. Much like The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street, Spider-Verse is so quick, witty, and light, it's almost in one ear...and eye, and out the other. With that said, the aforementioned "Morales becoming Spider-Man" scene and an extended Stan Lee cameo that not only acts as a fitting goodbye for the Marvel creator, but as his most powerful appearance in a Marvel film by far, are both so strong, and the rest of the film so pleasant, I wouldn't mind watching it a few more times to see if more sticks. Yeah, that was one sentence.