The well-trodden Marvel universe gets some further Spiderman love with a film that packs more superhero fun than all the other Spiderman films put together. Here you get not just one but seven web-slinging Spideys … and they’re all from different universes.

I’m sure the superhero fatigued will be rolling their eyes about now. But stay with me here, because this Spidey universe flick is the perfect tonic for the Marvel weary.  Take it from me—an ardent eye-roller of the spandex clad—this movie is brilliant!

An origins story of sorts, this animated tale introduces a new Spider-man, teenage Brooklyn graffiti artist Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), who is (yes) bitten by a radioactive spider, endowing him with special powers.  New to the webbed gig, Miles struggles with his new-found powers but when a crack opens in the space-time-continuum, five other Spidey iterations from wildly different parallel universes pour in to help. Among them a female version, Spider Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), and her male counterpart, Peter Parker, both offer their assistance.  One problem; this version of Peter Parker has gone to seed and is a burger scoffing, sweat pant slob who’s given up on hero-ing (Jake Johnson is perfectly cast here).  Reluctantly though Peter helps Miles harness his powers as the posse of arachnid heroes battle to get back to their own parallel universes.

Plot-wise, its fairly standard procedure, but where this tale excels is in its delivery. Drawing on its comic book roots, the same producers who brought us The Lego Movie have gone with an animation style that fizzes and crackles with explosive energy, creating the genuine feeling of a comic book leaping onto the screen. The banging soundtrack will have you buzzing and writer Phil Lord (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) brings a level of quick-witted irreverence and humour that manages to ground this preposterous tale. The result is an unconventional, vibrantly fresh and laugh-a-minute loving ode to the comics.  It’s really something special.

See my reviews for the NZ Herald here and for Witchdoctor here.