Spidey Senses: Review of Spiderman Into the Spiderverse

Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse

Directors: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

By Alex Watson

Spiderman has gone through multiple facelifts since Sam Raimi first thrust the web-slinger onto our screens in 2002. Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse might just be the boldest and best outing yet for this franchise. Giving not one but five different origin stories, this movie is able to successfully juggle these numerous characters often to hilarious effect. The animation here on another level and the effect is jaw-dropping, the Marvel universe has a fascinating new ace up its sleeve or Spidey suit in this case!

In another dimension of the Spiderman universe, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is a high school kid who is bitten by radioactive spider. Attempting to embrace his destiny as the Spiderman, Miles' life is further complicated after the villain Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) opens multiple dimension. Soon our hero comes into contact with a down on his luck Peter Parker (Jake Johnson) and several other versions of the famed hero.

So often superhero films struggle to manage multiple heroes and villains, this is definitely not the case in Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse. The movie plays it smart by focusing primarily on Miles because a character he's impressively layered. A graffiti and hip-hop loving young boy from the block thrust into a fancy prep school who has a dysfunctional relationship with his overbearing cop father (Brian Tyree Henry) and is in awe of cool uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali), Miles is a hero who is relatable on many levels. His early missteps and freakouts regarding his newly attained powers are played for laughs expertly, such as when he gives fellow student Gwen Stacey (Hailee Steinfeld) an unfortunate new haircut.

Directors Persichetti, Ramsey and Rothman wisely opt to flip this origin story on its head by showing us a far different and less appealing side to Peter Parker. In his own dimension, the original Spidey became a down and out loser. Watching this new incarnation gives a new stream of belly laughs. However, these are quadrupled when the other versions of this character are introduced including Nic Cage's wonderful Spiderman Noir and John Mulaney's bizarre cartoon pig Spiderham! Together these characters blend together seamlessly yet Miles instantly feels like the outsider. The notion of taking a leap of faith is heavily emphasized and frequently we see our hero struggle to fit. While the three co-directors are able to keep the laughs in good stock, they are also able to inject a real heart and soul into proceedings. Often this picture finds moments of levity and heartbreak when we least expect them.

The real star of Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse is the animation itself. The colors and the crisp 2D feel make this the perfect way to bring this origin story to life. It's particularly effective during a thrilling ending as the multiple universes open at once and the space-time continuum is set to go nuts! Miles emerges as the true hero of the piece and this universe shows that Spiderman's identity goes beyond Peter Parker and how its what's behind the mask that counts. Of course, there is a loving tribute to the great Stan Lee who manages to sneak in one final cameo.

Shameik Moore is the perfect choice for Miles Morales and former star of the ill-fated Netflix show 'The Get Down' is pitch perfect. Able to channel the restlessness and sheer excitement of a young teen, Moore wonderfully captures a hero in waiting. While Jake Johnson is often a love-hate figure onscreen, there are few actors who could have played Peter Parker as such an endearing failure. His lazy yet surprisingly deep delivery shows a man whose clinging his one chance to make things right. Liev Schreiber makes perhaps the most perfect Kingpin Marvel has seen yet. Vincent D'onofrio made a thumping presence in TV's Daredevil, but Schreiber's growling voice gives this man a whole new level of chills.

Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse is one of the biggest surprises Marvel could have sprung on its fans. Funny, refreshing and memorable- Miles Morales is one character we would love to have a second outing!

Walk Like An Egyptian: Review of The Mummy

The Mummy

Director: Alex Kurtzman

By Alex Watson

Already this summer's worst reviewed movie, The Mummy reboot is a mess that even Tom Cruise can't save. With a poor script and a wonky narrative, Alex Kurtzman doesn't earn any points in the director's chair. The Dark Universe is unlikely to get kick started with this lazy first effort. It also begs the question of needing to reboot this franchise in the first place?

Nick Morton (Tom Cruise) is a US Army soldier who seems more into looting than serving with distinction. Along with his partner Chris Vail (Jake Johnson) and archaeologist Jennifer Halsey (Annabelle Wallis), the trio discovers an old mummy tomb in modern day Iraq. Unfortunately, Nick awakens the power thirsty Princess Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella) who now sees Nick as her chosen one to bring the god of death to earth.

Possibly the greatest offence of The Mummy reboot is how Kurtzman takes what could have been a solid action/adventure story and turns into a bad rehash of Fatal Attraction. From the very beginning, the story wanders all over the place- Nick's position in the US Army is never explained and we're never quite sure why he hasn't been tossed out? There's also a confusion about how much Kurtzman is playing this for laughs? There's a clear intent to entertain throughout and there is a silliness to everything. This element comes across in some utterly bizarre ways, see the zombie Vail side story which is never as funny as it wants to be.

The introduction of Ahmanet could have been a game changer as she makes full use of her alluring presence. Sadly the movie relegates to her to the role of jealous stalker. Determined to make Nick her sacrifice for the greater good and bring the god Set to reign down destruction, this story has potential. The movie, however, seems more concerned with being another 'Cruise on the run' picture and Kurtzman has his star sprinting all over London. Mixing and match different Dark Universe characters is of vital importance to this picture- so it's no surprise to see Russell Crowe pop up as Dr Henry Jekyll. This does provide some real intrigue as he waxes lyrical about great evils while barely containing his own personal difficulty. When his 'friend' Eddie Hyde is revealed, Kurtzman does give us a great round of fisticuffs for our trouble.

The Mummy really suffers from its lack of focus and most of the story elements feel tacked on. Expecting to rely on heavy thrills, ironically it's this part that is missing the most. Constantly relying on flashbacks and hallucinations to tell its story, we wish the movie would just stick to one course. Though partly a homage to the B-movies of old, no amount of gloss can hide the cracks. Ahmanet should be wreaking havoc left, right and centre, not pining for a man she barely knows. The lack of action in what is supposed to be an action flick is very ironic. Despite some fine individual moments, such as Cruise undertaking a semi-thrilling underwater sequence, there just isn't enough to keep us occupied. Kurtzman is a fine blockbuster writer, but behind the lens exposes his shortcomings. This movie is perfect if you are looking just to disengage and enjoy for a couple hours- just try not to think too hard afterwards.

Tom Cruise does the best with what he is given, but sadly even he is not able to make this enjoyable. Nick Morton is a walk in the park character wise for this guy- especially since he gets to play the attractive ladies man. Cruise brings his regular charm and as usual is a solid presence, just a shame he wasn't required to bring much else. Sofia Boutella makes for a great and menacing villain and brings a nice grace to Ahmanet. Her seductive but dangerous style makes her rise above the riff-raff in this piece and presents an actress who is quietly making a name for herself. While Boutella is memorable, Annabelle Wallis comes off worse with a poorly written do-gooder role which has little persona outside her telling off Tom Cruise.

The Mummy will most likely generate enough revenue for a sequel- the big question is do we really want one? Maybe someone should give Brendan Fraser a call just in case!