Rather than being a one-dimensional character of color who codes as white, his culture thrives around him through hip-hop, street art, as well as scenes of him being an East Coast prep school kid.
As Richard Newby details in his piece for The Hollywood Reporter, Miles has been expertly contextualized. For the rest of us, Miles represents the multiple identities that exist in us all. For biracial, Black, and Latino visibility, it’s affirming to have a superhero who is both Puerto Rican and Black. As with most triumphs in onscreen representation, Miles means so much more than what we see at face value. One of Into the Spider-Verse’s standout features is Miles himself, the first Afro-Latino to headline a Marvel picture. Assessment: 11% of key cast and crew members were POC. This works particularly well, thanks to how empowering it still feels to see women working in STEM, even when they’re bad guys. Meanwhile, among the villains we see Doc Ock (Kathryn Hahn) who pleasantly subverts the gender of her original comic book character, Doctor Octopus (who was a man). Gwen Stacy, or Spider-Woman in her own universe, could have easily fallen into the love interest trap but thankfully stands on her own as a friendly new ally. That said, the women who do exist pleasantly avoid stereotypes.Īunt May (Lily Tomlin) provides some welcome maturity to the group of young superheroes, alongside the older Peter Parker from an alternate universe. Into the Spider-Verse disappoints in that regard, and despite multiple female characters playing significant roles, not once do they exchange dialogue with each other. Literally, it’s so easy to pass the test that it was originally conceived as a joke.
#Into the spider verse doc ock movie
Assessment: 21% of key cast and crew members were women.įor each new movie that's supposed to be progressive and push boundaries, I’m consistently flummoxed by how many of them still fail the laughably easy Bechdel Test. But perhaps another film would have found more footholds for its casual viewers. This film wasn’t made for me, and I accept that. In having to keep track of multiple Spidey characters and contending with the ever-present feeling that I was missing out on decades worth of backstory and in-movie Easter eggs, I couldn't help but experience a lingering sense of detachment. However, as someone who only considers herself an incidental fan of Marvel, Into the Spider-Verse relishes its own canon just a bit too much for me to feel fully satiated. More importantly, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) and his relationships with his father, uncle, mentor Peter Parker, and new friend Gwen (Brian Tyree Henry, Mahershala Ali, Jake Johnson, and Hailee Steinfeld) succeed at borrowing beneath the skin, transforming a gorgeous film into one that resonates. On entertainment value, the action whips by with web-slinging exhilaration-a requisite for any Spider-Man movie, really. Whether it's the fresh, candy-colored animation grounded with oil-black edges, or the cracking open of the conventional onscreen narrative that Peter Parker is the only Spider-Man, I'm gratified to see so many experimental factors at play. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse gets major props for doing something pretty avant-garde. Writers: Story by Phil Lord ???? and screenplay by Phil Lord ???? and Rodney Rothman ???? Title: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)ĭirectors: Bob Persichetti ????, Peter Ramsey ????, and Rodney Rothman ????