Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Review - 9 Ups & 1 Down

8. It's Meta...But Not TOO Meta

Meta is very in at the moment, but there's certainly a line after which a movie can be too self-aware and wink-wink for its own good.

Though the trailers suggested that Into the Spider-Verse could perhaps tip that balance a tad too far, that's thankfully not the case at all.

Far from a relentless, dispassionate barrage of "remember Spider-Man 3?" gags, the script and visuals take care not to vomit obnoxious or overwhelming jokes at the audience. Yet at the same time, there's a fully-felt love for the character and his associated media.

There are ribs at previous Spidey iterations, because of course there are, but never once does it feel like 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie's Phil Lord - who co-wrote this movie - is getting too complacent with his much-praised self-reflexive style.

It's just meta enough and doesn't push its luck by pandering to the audience.