"Greatest Spider-Man movie ever made" – The first reactions for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse are here and, oh boy, you should be excited

There were rumblings that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was good - our own preview called it “brave, bold, and brilliant” - but the early reactions to the movie are on a whole ‘nother level. We’re talking an Avengers: Infinity War beater, one of the best Spidey movies ever made, and one of the best movies of 2018 all rolled into one. Here are what the lucky few who got to watch the movie featuring Miles Morales and co. early made of it…

Better than Infinity War

A fair few people have been happy to get off that fence and lay down a very definitive opinion: this movie is the best superhero movie of 2018. For reference, that includes a year that brought us Infinity War, Black Panther, and Venom. High praise indeed…

A Spidey beater

From Spider-Man: Homecoming all the way back to Sam Raimi’s original trilogy, the quality of Spidey’s flicks have swung wildly over the years. Into the Spider-Verse appears to correct that – and the early signs are that this at least makes the top two Spider-Man movies of all time. Excited yet?

What it means to be Spider-Man, Spider-Woman and, uhh, Spider-Ham

Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen may not be as familiar as Peter Parker, but the tide could soon be turning when it comes to which person behind the mask reigns supreme as everybody’s friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. In any case, Into the Spider-Verse nails it.

An animated response

Not only have people praised the animation – which seems to have come on leaps and bounds since the 40 minutes I saw back in October – but one of the animators involved has even reached out to give thanks for the praise all of his, and his team’s, hard work. D’aww.

Stan Lee would be proud

Yes, yes he would. A bombastic, OTT world filled with colourful characters and even more colourful set-pieces that seem to explode off the screen? Let’s hope Stan the Man got a chance to see some of it before his passing.

That's December sorted. Now, take a look at the rest of the upcoming movies coming your way for the rest of 2018 and beyond.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.