Member review

The movie starts in a safe New York, a rare sight for these types of movies, and we see Miles Morales in his element. Just as we are getting used to this everything changes. Miles leaves his comfort zone when he goes to his new school. Everything he and the audience were used to is gone. Miles also has to deal with the unthinkable situation of gaining superpowers. Things in the film continue to be disrupted until Miles ends with Spiderman. Spiderman is quick to realise Miles is like him, and just as we become hopeful that he might be able to help and teach Miles, he is killed and Miles is fully thrown into this new situation seemingly all by himself. Spending this significant amount of the film getting the audience used to a different type of Spiderman movie immediately subverts our expectations that we have come to expect from the theme.

Whilst the overall plot may be the same (saving the day and learning a lesson) this film approached it in a very unique and engaging way. The differences of this film is most apparent in its Art Style. The animated film uses a huge mix of art styles. This style makes the film so much more engaging to watch as we see the styles of comics and computer animation collide, and it stands out compared to any other movie of its theme. This style and the soundtrack both feel authentic to the Miles, as if he had picked it and made the film himself. The Directors really understood who the character was, and bought him to the big screen for the first time in a flawless way.

My favourite scene in the film is the leap of faith. At this point in the film Miles feels he has let everybody down. He feels that despite how much he wants to be, he isn’t ready. However Miles quickly proves that he is ready as he leaps off the building. This is where the Directing, music and art style come together. As he is soaring through the air, the song fades the thoughts in Miles’s head out. The shot turns showing Miles the right way up mid-fall, with the city upside down. The breath-taking shot shows the Miles is in control of his fall. The script says “Miles rises.”, rather than falls in this moment. The whole films about Miles proving himself, and becoming his own Spiderman. So from this point on Miles is a hero who believes in himself and can control his powers and is able to save the day.

Because of all this it’s clear to see why the Film won an Oscar for being The Best Animated Feature Film. It was unexpected despite the incredible art style, great writing and all-round amazing film, its very rare that superhero films, wins Oscars, with Peter Ramsey quoting “it’s a Spider-Man movie, so no way” when he was asked if he’d expected it.