Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

I’ve always wondered why some superheroes become well known while there are plenty of others that are known only to fans of comic books.  You might say that it has to do with exposure.  Wonder Woman had a TV show featuring Linda Carter in the titular role.  Superman has had all manner of movies in addition to the TV show.  But what is it about these superheroes that makes them more marketable?

Spider-Man is popular enough to have had several incarnations both in the comics and on the big screen.  This is the basic premise of Into the Spiderverse.  We start out with a regular kid named Miles Morales who looks up to his universe’s Spider Man, also known as Peter Parker.  When Miles is bitten by a radioactive spider, he gains powers similar to Peter’s.  Peter would train Miles except that Peter is killed by Wilson “Kingpin“ Fisk.

Not to worry, though.  That thing that Peter was trying to stop Kingpin from using happens to be a device that brings forth five other spider-like creatures:  Peter B. Parker, Peter Porker, Peni Parker, Spider-Man Noir and Gwen Stacy.  It’s up to the six of them to stop Kingpin from destroying reality.

So, you might be wondering what it’s like to watch a movie with seven different versions of Spider-Man.  Movies with that many main characters might seem a bit crowded.  We do get to see several different origin stores, even if each lasts only a minute.  Fortunately, it’s not done enough to get repetitive.

I will say that those who have seen other Spider-Man movies will catch at least one reference to another production, such as Spiderman hanging upside-down to get a kiss.  (I might have to keep checking back on the IMDb page to see if there are any new entries on the connections page.)  It also has a very comic-book feel to it, which I imagine was deliberate.  The animation is a little unusual, seeming almost realistic at times.

While I was watching the movie, I kept thinking that it might serve as a platform for spin-off movies.  What I’ve read about the movie confirms this.  The movie would seem to be sort of a back-door pilot.  There’s a good mix of characters to support the movie and would give the studio a chance to gauge the audience’s reaction to the movie.  I would hope that Miles Morales would get his own movie.  I’d also like to see Peter Porker, a.k.a. Spider-Ham have some sort of post-Spiderverse presence.

The plot wasn‘t as heavy as I would have expected.  There are a few chase scenes, but there wasn’t a strong threat.  It seemed more like it was setting Miles up to become Spiderman while getting a chance to show off a few of the different incarnations that Spider-Man has had.  It’s almost like some sort of meta-origin story.  This is one of those movies that seems more like a pilot to a TV show than a standalone movie.  (Of course, this makes sense given the talks of possible spin-offs.)

Spider-Man is accessible and well-known enough that most people will be able to follow the story.  The movie seems geared more towards a teenaged audience, but is good for parents, as well.  It’s exactly the kind of movie parents and kids could see together.  I’ll be checking back to see what happens with subsequent movies.  It definitely has franchise potential.

IMDb page

Wonder Woman (2017)

There’s been talk of a Wonder Woman feature-length movie for some time now.  I remember back when Guardians of the Galaxy was in theaters, someone joked about the constant delaying on DC’s part.  DC was constantly putting it off, saying that it wasn’t the right time for a female superhero.  Meanwhile, Marvel gave us a talking raccoon.  In fact, the talking raccoon’s movie’s sequel opened a month before Wonder Woman did this past Friday.  But I digress.

It should be noted that while I saw Man of Steel, I regrettably have not had the chance to see Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice yet, which I hope to rectify soon.  While I’m assuming that there were a few references that I missed, I don’t think that I suffered much for having missed it.  The movie opens at the Louvre, where Diana is receiving a package courtesy Wayne Industries.  In it is a photograph of Diana and several other people.  The rest of the movie is told in flashback, starting with Diana’s origins on Themyscira.

She’s a defiant girl.  Her mother, Queen Hippolyta, would rather her daughter study.  Diana would rather watch the other Amazon women fight, as that’s what Diana wants to do one day.  She knows who and what she is.  She’s been told the legends and the myths.  She does eventually get what she wants, but her mother worries about what Diana really is and what she may become.

Enter Steve Trevor.  He’s a spy operating for the British Government, which he admits to only because the women of Themyscira compel him to.  He has a very important book he has to get back to the British.  He’s denied this out of security concerns.  Diana takes him back anyway, only because she believes Ares, the god of war, is responsible for The Great War.  It’s what she was meant for.  It’s what she believes her people were meant for, although they choose to sit by.  Thus begins the story.

When Diana arrives in London in 1914, she finds opposition.  She and Steve know what has to be done.  However, just as the women of Themyscira seem to have no need for men, London of 1914 seems to have no use for women.  Thus, we get the culture class.  As you might have seen in the coming attraction, she can’t believe that women’s clothing won’t allow for fighting.  She’s not even allowed to follow Steve into a room of men discussing armistice.

She’s insistent on being taken to the front lines of the war so that she might slay Ares.  Steve is somewhat reluctant, but begins to see her worth when he sees her fight.  Steve is able to get two men, Steve and Sameer, to come with them to Germany.  There, they meet Chief, who can get them where they want to be.  They do get there and Diana does have her moment to do what she needs to do, even if it means finding out some truth that she doesn’t want to hear.

There is a lot of anticipation and hype surrounding the movie, and rightfully so.  I’ll admit to having watched the coming attractions a few times whenever I had the chance.  The movie doesn’t disappoint.  There are a number of fight scenes that don‘t feel forced.  It didn’t seem like they were there to show off the CGI or the main character.  They seemed natural parts of the story, but in an epic way.

For instance, the protagonists are able to liberate a town on their way to see the main antagonists.  And when I say protagonists, I mean Diana with some assistance from Steve, Sameer, Charlie and Chief.  This is where the aspect of Diana being a woman is handled more subtly than I would have expected.  There are doubts from the men, but she doesn’t bother with putting them in their place.  She lets her ability speak for her.

This is where I felt the movie was able to walk the line very well.  It does present the sexism of a female superhero without making it seem like we’re being preached to.  She’s made to dress the part of a woman in 1918 London, which she does, for a while.  There does come a time in the movie where Diana can’t do that any more.  She’s the hero.  Dressing the part only gets you so far in life.

My only complaint was the run time.  141 minutes is a little intimidating.  I don’t know that I would have cut anything.  The movie didn’t drag at all, but it’s still a long movie.  It’s just something to consider if you have somewhere to be afterwards.

IMDb page