“Another Spider-Man movie?” That was the first thought that popped into my head when I happened upon a new movie trailer while scrolling through the trending page on YouTube. Indeed, it was another Spider-Man movie, part of a seemingly infinite series of the iconic web-slinger. From old school Tobey Maguire to the current Tom Holland, Spider-Man has been portrayed in more movies and shows than I can keep track of. As a result, Spider-Man remakes have a good chance of being bland. Furthermore, the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) already has a solid ongoing movie series (“Avengers,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” etc.) in its own franchise, and seeing a separate, standalone Spider-Man movie by Sony confused me. My apprehension was somewhat lessened when I watched the trailer. Surprised by the unique animation and ambiguous (in a positive way) plot line, I decided to watch the movie to quench my curiosity.

The plot of the movie follows a young teenager named Miles Morales who lives in New York City. One day, he’s bitten by a radioactive spider while spray painting with his uncle and develops the classic Spider-Man powers: sticky fingers, web shooting hands, and superhuman strength and agility – along with a couple other unique abilities. Miles soon gets caught up in conflict with the original, Peter Parker Spider-Man and a villain named Kingpin, the latter who wants to open a portal to transport people and objects between parallel dimensions in the multiverse. A group of other versions of Spider-Man from parallel universes become stuck on Miles’ earth and team up with him to stop Kingpin from destroying the multiverse.

Despite my initial concerns, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” was a pleasant surprise and surpassed my expectations. The movie utilized a unique animation style with aesthetic scenes, one-of-a-kind transitions, and memorable soundtracks. The style was something straight out of a comic book, yet it never failed to beautifully depict amazing landscapes and unforgettable action. To add on to this artistic accomplishment, the movie competently maneuvered the scenes and music to instill the intended emotions in the audience, from gut-wrenching sadness to uplifting inspiration. Although the beginning was a little disorienting, the scenes were captivating and entertaining, never failing to hold my attention. Humor was also a significant factor, and the movie had plenty of funny moments that were both relatable and appealing. Finally, the plot line was great, taking a different approach to the idea of Spider-Man. Though it was a little hard to follow at first, the plot was well-paced and expertly tied everything together in the end. None of the characters were stretched out to fit the movie: the villains were badass and driven by an understandable goal, and the parallel universe Spider-Men were hilariously unique. The movie also conveyed positive morals and lessons, with more than one inspirational scene and a touching tribute to Stan Lee. Ultimately, this was an amazing movie and well worth the watch. The only issue I have with it is the beginning of the movie, which was slightly difficult to follow and hurt my eyes with the color display. Though I’m sure people of all ages would enjoy this movie, younger children and adults would like it the most, especially those that are not liable to epilepsy or seizures (beware, there are a lot of flashing lights and fast movement). The movie is something to remember, and I will be stuck with its soundtracks (especially “Sunflower”) in my head for the next few weeks.