Spider-Man tale actually enticing
Another Spider-Man origin story spins into cinemas this week, the umpteenth time the tale has been told. But lest apathy strike – and believe me, it very nearly did for me at the prospect of enduring it all again – I can assure you this latest Spider-Man, an animated one, is by far one of the most visually enticing translations of a comic book ever committed to the big screen.
Focusing on Miles Morales, a street-wise Brooklyn teen who gets bitten by a spider, SpiderMan: Into The Spider-Verse shakes things up by throwing in a multi-dimensional approach to the webbed wonder.
After supervillain Kingpin tears a hole in the fabric of time, other versions of Spider-Man are pulled in from other dimensions and the story becomes one you’ve seen many times before.
It starts by saying ‘‘Let’s do this one last time,’’ a nod to how often we’ve heard this story.
But with clever twists, the plot is given a thrilling new spin.
But what makes the Into the Spider-Verse really sing is its visuals.
It meshes 3D characters with 2D backgrounds, wrapping them in the swathes of visuals you’d find on the printed page.
It smashes the visual medium to pieces with originality and flair.
With meta touches and cheeky nods, as well as a heartfelt ode to Stan Lee, Spider-Man: Into The SpiderVerse may lose some of its emotional way in the final run, and it may be a little long, but it’s a thrilling retelling of a story that has been told multiple times, and a positively dazzling reinvention of how comic book stories should be translated to the big screen.
From superheroes to lessthan-real-life heroes, Adam McKay’s Vice (in cinemas now) takes a look at how Dick Cheney rose to power via a degree of anonymity. Using irreverent touches similar to those deployed in The Big Short, McKay’s only real vice is his bias against Cheney. But he does manage to pull together a blistering picture, which will figure in awards season.
Irreverent is what The Beastie Boys made a career from, and their nearly 600-page Beastie Boys Book meshes variety and truth as the Licensed To Ill boys tell their own fascinating tale.